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She's An Ace On The Golf Course

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By CLIFF GILL Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 15, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - According to Wikipedia, Tiger Woods began playing golf at age 2. Mitchell High junior Kristen Pitts waited until the ripe old age of 3.

"My dad, who owns Steve's World of Golf in Hudson, had clubs fitted for me," said Pitts, 17. "His first lessons included the phrase, 'low and slow and wham,' which means to take a controlled backswing and then a hard downswing."

Pitts also attended golf camps at Crescent Oaks Golf Club in Tarpon Springs to improve her game.

During her elementary school years, she often joined her father on the golf course.

"If I made a good shot, it was called a 'rider,' which allowed me to ride in the cart with him," recalled Pitts. "If I made a poor shot, it was called a 'walker,' which required me to walk to the ball. Those lessons helped me to concentrate on making accurate shots."

Pitts joined the Mitchell golf team her sophomore year. In nine-hole matches against other high schools, she improved her scores from the 60s to the mid- to low-40s. Her best nine-hole score in a match was 40.

At the conference tournament her sophomore year, she forgot to bring her golf shoes. She borrowed a pair of sneakers from a friend's mother.

"They must have been good luck, because I shot an 81 and holed a 35-foot putt on the final hole to help win the conference for our team by one stroke," she said.
Mitchell golf coach Joe Castellano vividly recalls the event. "Kristen actually played the best round of her career, which helped us to win our conference title," Castellano said.

"Since she was in the final group, all of the other golfers and spectators were watching as she made that incredible winning putt."

This year, Pitts finished with a conference score of 88, the eighth-highest score in a field of more than 80 golfers. "She has a tremendous attitude and drive to succeed and I'm proud to be her coach," Castellano said.

Last fall, she won the Member-Member Tournament at Meadow Oaks Golf and Country Club. On a 220-yard par-4, Pitts wowed the onlookers by driving the green and birdied the hole.

Pitts is equally as impressive in the classroom. Her 3.5 GPA includes honors English and math. She has qualified as a member of the All-Academic team her sophomore and junior years. Next year, she plans to take four dual-enrollment classes, which will enable her to have a semester of college completed by the time she finishes high school.

She captured second place in a written competition and was voted first by her classmates in a speech that focused on the impact her family has had on her business perspective.

A number of her teachers commented on her focus and determination.

"Kristen was a student in my creative photography I & II classes," said photography department head Justin Fenton. "Aside from her outgoing personality, her most apparent personal trait had to be her determination for success. On multiple occasions, she would spend an entire class period in the darkroom working on a specific photo. After printing and developing the enlargement, she would ask me what was right or wrong or what needed to be improved. She started coming in to use the darkroom an hour before school started and every day at lunch. As can be imagined, her photos came out fantastic. She has probably logged more time working in the darkroom than any other student I have ever taught. She may or may not pursue photography any further, but she has set her focus on doing her best at whatever endeavor she undertakes and she does."

Pitts works at the Gills YMCA as a certified lifeguard and is certified in Capron Wednesday afternoons, she volunteers at a local assisted-living facility playing simulated horseshoes, setting up a miniature golf course and scooping ice cream for the afternoon socials.

"The residents have so much knowledge and experiences that they share with me," she said. "If I can lift their spirits just by listening to them and spending one afternoon a week with them, it's worth it."

On Fridays, she helps prepare 250 pieces of fish for the Friday night fish fry at Meadow Oaks Country Club. She also works at her father's golf store, emailing customers about sales and upcoming events.

"Kristen has a high level of pride in the school, team and herself," Mitchell principal Ric Mellin said. "A true student-athlete, she displays a positive attitude, is a leader by example, shows respect for the game and others and acts with responsibility, honesty and integrity."

Teachers, coaches: If you would like to nominate an outstanding student-athlete to be featured in an upcoming In The Community article, contact Cliff Gill at reportercliffgill@yahoo.com or (727) 860-4903.

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