The North Augusta High School Girl’s Golf team had a championship season, and, on a team of excellent golfers, one player’s achievements stood out from the rest and was recently honored with a spot on the All-Aiken Standards Girls Golf Team. Junior at North Augusta High School, Cassady Fortson started playing golf at the young age of 5. Her love of golf and passion for the game was on full display this last season as she earned a spot on All-Region and was a top finisher at the state championship. When asked about her early years playing golf, she says, “I started playing at the first tee of Aiken and loved the game ever since.”
Even though Fortson plays and practices frequently, she knows she always has room for improvement. Fortson noted that her biggest improvement was establishing a more consistent playing pace. She says, “my pace of play while playing on the course and my putting has improved a lot which cuts down on how many strokes I have on each hole”. Another area of her game that has paid dividends is the selection of a partner that compliments her game and playing style. Fortson chose Ansley James. Fortson says “over the past few years, Ansley has helped me stay focused on my goals and not get distracted. She also motivates me to keep wanting to go to the course every day until dark.”
After lots of practice and working on improving her game, Fortson had an outstanding year. She was the No. 1 player on the team’s 5-AAAA championship team and earned all-region honors with a tie for fifth at the Midland Valley Country Club. She just barely missed out on earning a spot at state as an individual. Amongst these accomplishments she was chosen as a member of the All-Aiken Standards Girls Golf Team. Only 4 other local players were selected for this honor. Fortson was thrilled and said “it was an honor to be nominated because the team was voted on by coaches in the district. It made me feel like I had truly improved and accomplished my goal for junior year.”
Even though golf takes up the majority of Cassady’s time, she does enjoy her free time. “When I am not playing golf, I enjoy hanging out with friends or shoe shopping”, she said. As Fortson’s high school career is slowly coming to an end, she has goals and aspirations for both senior year and college. Fortson states that her goal for senior year is to continue to improve her game and begin the process of contacting college coaches in hope of getting recruited. As for college, Fortson says “I want to play golf in college somewhere that is both academic and athletically beneficial and hopefully play on a scholarship.” With one more high school golf season left, the North Augusta High School community looks forward to watching Cassady grow as a player and is excited to see her future accomplishments.
Photo Credit:Greer Worley
Pictured: Cassidy Fortson
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