Olivia Aronhalt, a senior girls golfer at OLHS, is ‘swinging’ for success. Aronhalt, the first girls golfer to ever qualify for states in Liberty history, will be attending division 1, Indiana University Indianapolis in the fall to pursue her golfing career.
Despite playing other sports growing up, Aronhalt has been dedicated to Golf since she was 8 years old. Even at the age of 9 she would practice frequently and compete in competitions, oftentimes even beating the guys in her age group. Over the years Aronhalts love for the sport grew as did her success.
Aronhalt says, “I think my love for the sport from a young age is what fueled my passion for working towards my goal of playing at the collegiate level.”
Throughout middle school Aronhalt set records and dominated the playing field, and she didn’t slow down once she got to highschool. The 4 year varsity player earned the number one spot on the team for playoffs as a freshman, tied the school 18-hole record of 69 her senior year, won sectionals, and was the first ever female golfer from Liberty to qualify for states as an individual.
Dawn Aronhalt, Olivia’s mother says, “Liv always held herself to a high standard and always wanted to do her best for herself, she found success and comfort in working to improve her game.”
Those around Aronhalt can vouch for her constant desire to improve her game, learn more about the sport and herself as a player. But it wasn’t always easy for Aronhalt, not even usually, she often found herself in tough situations, on and off the course that she had to work hard and stay strong to work through. Oftentimes golfers find themselves in tricky situations that you have to be strategic, calm, and disciplined to get out of in order to see the outcome they want, and it doesn’t always work out, but that’s the game. But Aronhalt applies this off of the course too.
She says, “the lessons you learn on the course don’t only apply to golf, like most sports you learn real life skills through them.”
She continued to explain how golf has taught her to be calm in difficult situations and to work hard for what you want. Aronhalt finds peace in the game and loves how golf always has something to offer and something new to learn. During her senior year of high school, her season was going great from the looks of it and she was going strong. But she wasn’t happy with how her shooting average looked while trying to be recruited. But this obstacle only lit the flame inside her to keep improving even more. She practiced everyday, lifted, and always looked for ways to improve. In the end her hard work paid off when she was recruited by a great school that she will soon call her home, the IUI Jaguars. Aronhalts love for the game and dedication is a great example of how hard work pays off.
She says, “I want to show younger players or players in any sport that struggles and obstacles in and outside of your sport are only trials God gives you to help you in the long run and if you work hard and trust the process it will all work out.”