Golf
Favorite athlete: Ricky Fowler
Favorite team: Philadelphia Flyers
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning Silver Sticks Ice Hockey Tournament in third grade
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Teammate forgetting to tee off
Music on iPod: Anything but the Jonas Brothers
Future plans: College
Words to live by: ‘IT’S GO TIME.’
One goal before turning 30: Get a hole in one
One thing people don’t know about me: My great-grandfather delivered the Lindberg baby.
By Alex Frazier
Anyone who has played golf knows the emotional toll it can exact.
A golfer who can rise above the instinct to toss his club into the water hazard after a bad shot or resist bending his iron around a tree trunk is well on his way to becoming a good golfer.
Central Bucks West’s TJ Summers learned that early in his career.
“It’s difficult to do because if you put all your emotion and feelings into every shot, it’s a four-hour round and it physically drains you,” he said, “so each shot will be affected by the previous shot or an upcoming shot, and it’s tough to play consistently if your emotions are up and down.”
Summers started playing golf recreationally with his father in seventh grade. In his first year of serious competition on the varsity at West in ninth grade, he had trouble controlling his emotions.
“I really had to work on it,” he said. “As a freshman I really showed my emotions after each shot if it was good or bad. My dad would tell me to keep a level head because not only are you showing yourself but also you’re showing everyone else. Especially in high school golf, if somebody sees you hit a bad shot, it gives them motivation to hit a good shot, so you need to keep a level head to show them that a bad shot doesn’t affect you.”
“He’s a very even-tempered young man and never seems to get fazed by any particular event, which is a good golf attribute,” said West golf coach Bob Schilling.
Schilling noted that there was little of Summers’ game that wasn’t strong. He is good off the tee, he’s good with the irons and he has a sharp short game.
But of all his strong qualities, his temperament may be his trump card.
“He’s very even tempered and shows very little emotion on the golf course. Even though sometimes he’s churning inside, he manages to maintain an even composure,” said Schilling. “He has all the tools.”
Each year of competition, Summers improved. As a ninth grader he made the league championship meet. In his sophomore year he qualified for districts. As a junior he finished his season at regionals, and this year he placed seventh in the state.
He was just the fourth golfer from West to qualify for states. Ironically, one of the others was teammate Lily Gordon, so that was two in one year.
“It made it all the more remarkable that over all these years we had so few players ever get to that level, and this year we get two,” said Schilling.
After the first day of state competition, he was tied for third, but didn’t do as well in the final round.
Still, placing among the top 10 golfers in the state is an awesome accomplishment.
“Thinking about how I started off as a freshman and now as a senior, I was very pleased about how far I’ve come,” he said.
“TJ’s a very hard-working, determined young man and has put an awful lot of time and effort into his accomplishments,” said Schilling.
In addition to his accomplishment at states, Summers was selected Sportsman of the Year by the Golf Association of Philadelphia and placed third in the competition for Player of the Year.
“All in all, that’s a pretty nice accomplishment,” said Schilling. “It takes into affect a number of high level tournaments during the course of the summer months. He’s had a pretty nice year.”
Summers’ best round of golf came in a practice round at Turtle Creek the day before districts started. He shot a 4-under par 68. He shot his best competitive round, a 1-under par 70, on the Hershey course, in a summer tournament.
Improving like he did over his high school career didn’t just happen during the short high school season.
As a freshman he became a sponge, soaking up advice and tips from anyone and everyone. He admitted that he just “did enough to make the team,” and that most of the year was a learning experience.
At the end of the season, he knew he had to do more than just play during the high school season.
“Once I started talking to my coach and some of the older kids, they started telling me I should play in tournaments because that’s the best way to get the competition you needed,” he said. “I pretty much fell in love with it and started playing every day.”
Over the succeeding summers, Summers competed in many American Junior Golf Association and Golf Association of Philadelphia tournaments.
They had a huge impact on his progress.
“I saw big improvements each year; the biggest improvement was probably between junior and senior year, but another big jump was between freshman and sophomore year,” he said. “It was a different style of golf. It was knowing more about course management.”
Summers has also been a team leader. The past two years he has been one of the captains.
“He leads by example,” said Schilling. “He’s easy to follow in terms of his demeanor and work ethic.”
It was an experience he was grateful to have.
“I became good friends with all the kids on the team,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. I got to become closer with my coach. It was a good leadership opportunity. My teammates believed in me enough that they could put their trust in me. I really appreciated it and it was a big honor.”
In addition to golf, Summers also grew up playing baseball. He played varsity shortstop as a freshman at Lenape Middle School and played a year on the jayvee at West before he decided, as many high school athletes do, to focus on his main sport. There were just too many conflicts between baseball and spring golf tournaments.
“I had a lot of fun playing baseball,” he said.
Summers works as hard in the classroom as he does on the links. He carries a 3.5 grade point average and scored 1670 on his three SATs. He has taken advanced placement statistics and European history and most of his other courses are honors level.
He belongs to the National Honor Society and is a former Key Club member.
While his favorite subject is math, he plans on a career in sports marketing or golf course management. Someday he would like to be a pro at a country club or even play professionally, though he is realistic about how much of a long shot that would be.
“I would have to do a lot of work,” he said, “but something might click. It’s highly unlikely.”
Next year Summers would like to continue playing golf in college. He was reluctant to name the schools he is considering, but basically he has to make a decision whether he wants to play at a small school or go to a larger one and focus on academics.
He has had some offers from smaller schools that he is considering.
He is waiting to explore his options, whether he will receive lucrative scholarship offers or whether he might have to walk on.
Whatever transpires, you can be sure on one thing—Summers will take it all in stride.
