Golfer’s sights on American dream
The prospect of coaching in America excites Regan McCabe. PHOTO/Warren Buckland
By Anendra Singh
HE HAS whittled his handicap down to three but the remarkable thing about Reagan McCabe is that he has had just about no schooling in golf.
But all that will change in August when the 19-year-old from Hawke’s Bay jets off on an American scholarship to Missouri Valley College on August 20.
“My dream is to be a professional but if I don’t go well with golf then there’s the academic side to fall back on,” says McCabe who has completed his first year in commerce, majoring in economics at Victoria University in Wellington.
The former Havelock North High School pupil is working at a pack-house to save money to add to his $18,000 scholarship.
He is banking on accumulating $24,000 since he started working in November and hopes to secure an on-campus job to get into the comfort zone of student life.
“It’s not cheap” so McCabe has set up a Give a Little website page so people can help him realise his dream.
“For me, primarily, it’s education. I love studying and playing golf so there’s an opportunity to do both in America and that’s outstanding, really.”
McCabe, who lives with his grandparents, Kath and Bill, in Clive appreciates he’ll have to main his grades and contribute to the college team to graduate with a degree.
At Victoria University last year, he got A grades in all his seven first-year units, bar one.
“My worst grade was a B+,” says the teen who made the Dean’s List for the top 5 per cent of students last year.
“It’s an honour to make the Dean’s List because not too many do make it.”
His only flirtation with coaching came in the form of two lessons with former Maraenui Golf Club professional Duane Todd who he worked for in the pro shop.
“It was my first proper lesson and the only thing Duane changed was my stance – it was too open.
“I’ve always been a good striker of the ball,” says the Maraenui member who is of the belief that the discipline of cricket makes an individual natural transition.
The prospect of having US college coaches tinker with his game doesn’t faze the former HNHS first XI cricketer who captained the second team.
“I won’t be going back to the drawing board but the challenge is that I will go backwards before I go forward.
“I will be adjusting and practising then, hopefully, pushing for a scratchie handicap,” says McCabe who has been below a six handicap for the past 30 months.
He is anticipating more training in a more structured environment as well as more tournaments while in the US.
On a trivial scale, he sees the funny side of having to adapt to measuring shots from metres to feet and yards.
“Since the opportunity arose, it’s been full on so I’m going to do it now.”
Last year in Wellington, McCabe had noticed on Facebook that National Scouting Report (NSR) Australia was offering scholarships.
He booked in with about 100 other prospects, including Bay’s Lucy Owen who he suspects came through a different avenue.
The golfers hit balls at a driving range, putting and chipping as NSR talent scout and former Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting made assessments.
The organisation charged him a $5000 fee to enter its programme and McCabe also made a video of himself playing golf for the benefit of the US university.
Like numerous other aspirants from Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, McCabe had the prerogative to accept or decline an email from his college in December.
His brush with golf came at the age of 8 when he went on campervan trips with his grandparents to rural New Zealand to follow his uncle, Andy McCabe, pursue his speedway pursuits.
Andy, of Napier, is a former World 240s champion (Rotorua) who represented New Zealand in the superstocks class in the United Kingdom as well as the Formula One Speedway.
“I used to follow my uncle and play golf in between,” says McCabe who went as far south as Dunedin and up north to Waikato.
He has collected official balls, with myriad clubs’ insignia on them, as part of his collection that lives on stand on the deck of their Clive home.
At the age of 10, the public Mangateretere Golf Club beckoned before he moved to Maraenui about five years later.
For the record, a grinning McCabe recalls beating Central Districts Stags Ben Wheeler, Kieran Noema-Barnett and Ben Smith in a round of golf not long ago.
source: http://m.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503460&objectid=11449748