At his home golf course, Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, Georgia, Carter Loflin has to use every club in his bag. Some golf courses, Loflin notes, can make you one dimensional – you rely only on one or two shots. Not at Berkeley Hills, and not at Dothan Country Club in Dothan, Alabama, either.
The latter is the annual host of the Press Thornton Future Masters, one of the long-running, high-level junior events of the summer. The tournament was played for the 71st time this summer and Loflin, 16, teed it up for the 10th time.
“The golf course is really similar to the golf course I play every day,” Loflin said of the venue. “It feels kind of like a second home to me.”
Scores: Press Thornton Future Masters
Familiarity often breeds success, and Loflin finally got to add a win to his long history at Dothan. He’s already made friends with many involved in the tournament, and on June 27, he got to put on the navy blue winner’s jacket for the first time. Loflin had rounds of 67-70-67 at the par-70 Dothan CC to edge Zach Adams by one shot.
Carter Loflin’s dad, Stephen Loflin, first heard about the tournament from a notable past champion, Stewart Cink. The Cinks are family friends, and the Future Masters, Stewart said, had been one of his favorites as a kid. Stephen started researching it, and Carter first teed it up as a 7-year-old.
“Carter had a huge affection for the game since he was 3 or 4,” Stephen said.
The Future Masters has been a good measuring stick for his progress. A creek runs across the middle of No. 10 fairway at Dothan. The first year he played, Carter couldn’t carry it – on his second shot. Now he can reach the green on that par 5 in two.
The fourth time Carter entered the tournament, he finished third in the 10-and-under division, his best finish before this summer’s win. The goal shifts now: Carter wants to defend his title. Cink is one of only two players who has successfully done that at the Future Masters.
Junior golf unfolds in a heartbeat, perhaps even more so from a parent’s perspective. Some players develop quickly – seemingly gaining yards of distance overnight – and for some, it happens more slowly. That’s a concept that Carter’s swing coach, Mike Perpich, has preached.
Carter puts it in car terms, like he once heard another family friend say. Some kids are porches and need to play a sportier type of golf game.
“Some kids might be a different type of car that can’t run with a Porsche and if they stay in their lane they’ll do well,” he said.
Carter played most of the final round blind to what other contenders were doing. He started the day five shots back and two groups ahead of the leaders.
“I never knew if I was anywhere close or if I had it in the bag,” Carter said. “I knew the pins were tough on the back, maybe the leaders were playing really good, but if I made some birdies, I might be able to move up.”
What if he had been the one with a big lead on the final day? He likes to think it wouldn’t have changed much.
“I play tournament golf in a way that’s controllably aggressive,” Carter explained. “I’ll just play to my strengths, I’ll play to my shot shape.”
Before the Future Masters, Carter had won two Southeastern Junior Golf Tour events in May and early June. He played with PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd’s son at an SJGT event in Brunswick, Georgia, earlier this spring and the senior Byrd spotted something in Carter’s putting stroke – he was moving his body before starting his stroke.
“Golf, the amazing thing is, people will share things with you, and want you to progress,” Stephen marveled. The tip made all the difference.
Carter said his strength is getting off the tee and getting himself in position to make birdies. Lately, he’s been able to convert more and more of those birdie putts. From a friend playing at Kennesaw State, Carter also picked up a gate drill for the putting green involving a chalk line and a couple of tees. He’s devoted considerable time to it.
In winning the Future Masters, Carter said the biggest lesson was not to worry about what other players were doing.
“Just play golf the way I knew,” he said.
Carter and a friend had succeeded in qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball that was initially to be played in May. It would have been his first USGA start. He had also planned to play the Bubba Conlee this month, an event that was also canceled.
Instead, he’ll spend much of the rest of the summer playing close to home – a few more events on the SJGT, and hopefully the Georgia State Amateur (so far, he’s an alternate). And he’ll continue to grow – regardless of where he plays.
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