Golfer Jacob Penny had wanted to one day etch his name in Durant High School’s record books. A solid freshman season gave him the confidence needed to do so, but he didn’t think that, less than a full month into this 2015 season, he’d already have to field interview questions about how he did it.
On Thursday, Aug. 27, Penny and the Durant High boys team went to their home course, Valrico’s River Hills Golf and Country Club, with an 0-1 record and a match with East Bay on their minds. They left with a 1-1 record, and Penny left with the school record for lowest score in a round. He shot a 32.
“Everything just seemed to click at once,” Penny says. “It wasn’t really one strong part of my game — everything went well that day.”
SHAKING OFF THE RUST
The last time Jacob Penny was getting his name in the newspapers, he was a freshman at Durant. He generated some hype for himself with his play and, along with then-senior Chase Levesque, put Durant’s name in postseason conversations.
Of the two, it was Penny who ultimately made it to states and placed in the top 50. Penny tied for 33rd overall, 14 over par, at the Mission Inn Resort & Club at Howey-in-the-Hills. It was a good finish for a freshman golfer, but not so much for him. He wanted to improve on that finish as soon as possible.
“I wasn’t too happy about that,” Penny says.
It was a goal he still believes he can attain, and one that had to be put on the shelf last year. Penny didn’t play for Durant in his sophomore year, as his classroom game needed more work than his golf game. Without the pressures of playing competitively and everything else that comes with high school sports, Penny spent last year fine-tuning whatever areas of his golf game that he could.
“I went to the course and practiced every day, nonstop,” Penny says. “Since the end of my freshman year, and the time I took off, I got new clubs. I took the time to get used to them.”
In the classroom, Penny’s work at improving his grades paid off. He rejoined the team this season and is no longer worried about running into that problem again.
All he had to do was live up to the expectations for himself on the course.
SOONER THAN LATER
All that time spent at River Hills paid off, to say the least.
Penny has been averaging a 34 per round, leading the Durant boys team. He estimates that he’s now averaging around 295 yards off the tee. He’s been enjoying playing with his teammates because they’re “always encouraging each other to get better.” When everyone’s keeping their cool, everything can click: much like it did in the second match of the season, when Penny set the record.
“It’s funny, because I wasn’t expecting to break it this early,” he says. “I wanted to take it slow. But I’m not complaining at all.”
He said his decision-making was on point and that luck seemed to be on his side.
“Everything was well-rounded,” Penny says. “I didn’t make a lot of bad shots — everything was really good.”
Now Penny’s goal for 2015 is to get back to states and place in the top 10. But, before then, he’s got one particular match on his mind: Newsome.
“We didn’t beat them our freshman year but, if the team comes together like I know we’re capable of, we can take them this year,” Penny says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
WHAT’S IN THE BAG?
When Jacob Penny came back to the Durant golf team this year, he did so with a new arsenal.
The junior switched to a Titleist set, going with 915 woods and rounding it out with 714 MB irons. Given what he’s accomplished thus far, it seems as though Penny found the right set.
