Heldman coming up aces for GCA girls golf

Emily Heldman thought she had hit a pretty good tee shot on the par-3 11th hole at Blue Bear — but she underestimated just how good.

“I thought it would just land somewhere on the green, and I’d be able to one- or two-putt it, but it kind of just bounced in,” the Greenwood Christian junior said of her hole-in-one, which came during the New Palestine Invitational back on Aug. 20.

“It was kind of shocking; I was definitely surprised that it happened.”

That perfect mix of skill and luck helped boost Heldman on her way to a season-best round of 92 that day, well under her scoring average for the year.

Heldman plays in the No. 2 position for GCA, a feat that is even more impressive when considering she splits her time between golf and soccer during the fall. Though other high school athletes have balanced two sports during the same season before, doing so with a sport like golf that requires more everyday attention to succeed is considerably tougher to pull off.

So far, she’s making it work.

“Fortunately, she’s disciplined enough where she can go anytime to the course and practice on her own, which she does,” GCA golf coach Jon Robinson said. “She’s a pretty responsible girl.”

One responsible for the first recorded ace in school history.

Heldman will be hoping for similar magic today when the Cougars tee off in the Center Grove Sectional at Hickory Stick. Based on what she’s been seeing from her teammates lately, she’s optimistic heading into the round.

“As a team, we are definitely getting better,” Heldman said. “I see all of us coming together and putting more of our low scores together on the same day.”