COLORADO SPRINGS – As a high school senior, Sarah Bentley has a lot on her plate. Whether she’s active in student leadership as the Mesa Ridge student body president or competing on the golf course for the Grizzlies, she has a ton going on in her life.
But she’s learning early that having a full plate as a teenager is teaching how to thrive in all aspects of life. And in some ways, golf provides the best lessons for all of them.
“Playing golf, it’s you versus yourself,” she said “It’s not you against anyone else, it’s not even you against the course, it’s you against your own mindset. That relates to every other part of life.”
When she finds balance in battling her own mindset, she thrives. And while she has thrived in the classroom, she has also thrived on the golf course.
She played her way to the individual Colorado Springs Metro League South championship this season and helped the Grizzlies claim their second straight team league title. According to coach Monte Fetters, she holds six team records, perhaps the most impressive of which is highest finish at a state tournament. She finished 31st last spring in a loaded Class 4A field. It was her second time qualifying for state. She made it as a freshman and probably would have made it as a sophomore had the COVID-19 pandemic not wiped out the season.
Her impact that she has had on the program really can’t be understated.
“This is our second league title and we had never won a league title before,” Fetters said. “She’s been all-conference for three years and this year she was the player of the year this year. I bet we’ve won four tournaments because of her. She raises the level for everybody.”
College teams took notice, and she will head to Denver next year to compete for the Metro State Roadrunners. Earning a scholarship is just another example of how talented she is not just on the course, but at balancing every aspect of life all while playing perhaps the world’s most frustrating game at a high level.
“Missing a lot of days definitely makes you have to stay on top of things more,” Bentley said. “You miss two days of school a week and you’re playing a catch-up game which in a weird way sounds like it should set you back, but I like to think it forces me to stay on top of my stuff more.”
Building mental toughness is a must when competing at the collegiate level and Bentley has certainly shown the ability to do just that. When she dives into a round, she maintains her focus on each shot in order to get the best result possible.
She grabbed two tournament wins this season as she took the TCA Titan Invite at Cherokee Ridge and then won the Elizabeth Cardinal Invite at Spring Valley. In nine tournaments, she finished in the top 10 in seven of them. A big reason for that is her ability to stay locked and in focused on the task at hand.
“She has a very good temperament for golf,” Fetters said. “She’s easy going, she’s relaxed and she doesn’t get too high or too low and that always helps with golf.”
That temperament has served her well thus far. All that’s left for her senior season is to battle through regionals and take on the 4A state tournament one last time.
