Madison Moosa holds her own on Grace Academy boys’ golf team

When Madison Moosa steps onto the golf course, her goal is to win no matter where or who she is playing.

Moosa, 17, has proven she can hang with competition in state and local tournaments, against national or international fields on the junior circuit, and even on the Grace Academy boys’ golf team.

Moosa was ranked as high as No. 1 in North Carolina by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association in 2013, when she was in the eighth grade.

Moosa is the girls’ No. 9 in the state (TYGA), the highest-ranked player from Charlotte. She also is golfweek.com’s No. 9 in the state.

“It’s nice to see all the rankings and be near the top, and I enjoyed being the No. 1 player in the state, but overall it’s not that important to me or something I focus on a lot,” said Moosa, who started playing golf at age 8 and in year-round tournaments at 10. “I want to be No. 1 in the United States, but even if I got there I wouldn’t be satisfied. I’m a very competitive person and am always focused on what I can do to get better.”

“If I accomplish one thing, I’m already thinking about what I can do next,” Moosa said.

Her Grace Academy coach, Barry Wilkins, also the general manager and head golf professional at Olde Sycamore Golf Club, said the key to Moosa’s success is her passion.

“Madison really loves golf and never gets tired of playing golf,” said Wilkins, who is in his fifth year as the Grace Academy golf coach and has coached Moosa the past three seasons. “When she is not at school, you know she’s on a golf course somewhere, working on her game.”

“Even though she has accomplished so much, nothing has gone to her head,” said Wilkins. “Her motivation is because she always believes she can be better. She is a very competitive person and very motivated to accomplish everything she has in mind on the golf course.”

While Moosa spends most weekends competing on the junior circuit, she said one of the highlights of each year is playing for the Grace Academy team.

Moosa was the only girl to play for the Grace Academy boys’ team for the past two seasons until she was joined by classmate Campbell Robinson this year.

Despite having to play from the boys’ tees – she usually gives up 30-40 yards off the tee – Moosa is consistently one of the top three players on the Grace Academy team, according to Wilkins.

Moosa averages 2- to 3-over-par per nine holes from the boys’ tees, putting her with Grace Academy’s top two boys, sophomore Sam McGee and freshman Nicholas Studeli.

“I look forward to high school golf because I love putting my game to the test against the boys,” said Moosa, who added that most of the guys are like her brothers. “They really push me.… I definitely don’t like to lose anything, but I do love the challenge of trying to beat them. All of that just pushes me to work harder. I want to be the best at everything I do.”

Against female competition, she averages about 75 per 18 holes. Her handicap index is plus 1.4. She has shot a career-best 68 twice in the past year, first at Pine Needles at the Big I Junior Classic in Pinehurst, and then at the Charles Tilghman Junior Championship in Myrtle Beach.

Moosa feels like she has “one of the best short games in the state,” she has worked tirelessly on getting longer off the tee with her new coach, Chan Reeves, who works out of Atlanta Athletic Club.

Moosa says she has added about 25-30 yards off the tee since she started working with Reeves in July, and now can drive 235-240 yards.

In summer 2014, Moosa won the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour Masters, finished in the top 10 at the North & South Championship at Pinehurst and top 20 against a national field at the Scott Robertson Memorial Tournament in Roanoke, Va.

Moosa followed that with a strong winter season that included big victories at the Charles Tilghman in Myrtle Beach in December and the Ballantyne Junior Open in February.

This summer, she plans to play a full schedule, including the U.S. Junior qualifier and the U.S. Amateur qualifier.

Despite having two years left in high school, Moosa has her sights set on being a Division I college golfer, and maybe more.

“My goal is to play all four years in college at an ACC or SEC school,” said Moosa, who is a straight-A student. “Then I want to go on tour and play professionally.”

Wilkins said nothing Moosa accomplishes would surprise him.

“I definitely think Madison is going to be a major Division I golfer,” Wilkins said. “Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done, but I also think one day we will be watching her on the LPGA tour.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Madison Moosa holds her own on Grace Academy boys’ golf team."