The oft-used adage states that it takes at least 10,000 hours of practice to master a given skill.
Erie senior Logan Hale begs to differ.
In 2018, at the age of 11, Hale started competing in the sport of golf – known for being a game of perfection and tradition, which can take years to become even halfway decent at – and by the end of 2023 – just five years later – she owned a handful of course records, an individual state championship, two team state championships, had qualified for the US Girls’ Junior Championship, and had made the cut at Colorado Women’s Open, an event that allows juniors and amateurs to compete against adult professional golfers.
Even now, Hale isn’t entirely sure how she developed this remarkable talent so quickly, though her best guess credits the natural athleticism her and her family fostered from a young age.
“I think I just grew up playing multiple sports,” Hale explained. “My parents really put me in any sport possible when I was growing up. Plus, my mom played competitive soccer when she was younger and then my dad did a bunch of sports as well.
“The thing with ski racing is, that was my childhood for a really long time. Ever since I can remember, basically since the time I could take my first steps, I was putting on skis. So, I think skiing for so long, on top of all the other sports that I played, and having that multi-sport background has just been so helpful for golf. A lot of people are like, have you been playing it longer than we think are like, ‘Have you been playing it longer than we think?’ And I just think having that baseline athleticism from all those other sports has been super helpful for golf.”
“I think she’s a really gifted athlete, who is very driven,” Erie High School golf head coach Brandon Bird said. “When you get both of those things out on the golf course, I think that’s a recipe for magic, and we saw that play out last year at state and in qualifying for the US Girls’ Junior Championship. I think that in terms of athletes that play golf, she’s probably one of the top athletes that have ever, really taken golf seriously.”
Beyond just her athleticism and competitive drive, Hale believes her comfort in high-stress, high-adrenaline moments, which she says she learned from ski racing, is another aspect of the cross-training that was especially valuable.
“Golf is more of a tentative sport, and that’s very different from the aggressive mindset I got from ski racing,” Hale said. “I was taking risks and taking certain aggressive shots, where some of the girls I was playing with were just hitting simple shot after shot and trying to put it in easy places. I’ve had to work on that, because I was definitely a little too aggressive when I was younger, but still, I think the thing a lot of people say when they see my game is that it’s aggressive.”
At last year’s 4A state championship, Hale’s “magic” golfing prowess and steady pulse under the bright lights helped her finish eight strokes better than the next-best competitor and 15 strokes ahead of the best score that didn’t belong to someone with a state championship already under their belt.
Hale’s accomplishments are made even more impressive by some of the mental hurdles she’s been forced to face, especially considering the focus and concentration the game of golf requires.
Chief among those obstacles might be the fact that Hale’s biggest rival and fiercest competitor is also her strongest teammate and a close, longtime friend – Hadley Ashton.
In 2022, Ashton – presently a junior at Erie – won the individual state crown by shooting 147, to Hale’s 156, and, along with Hale, helped Erie’s girls golf team win their first-ever state championship in 2022.
The next season, roles reversed, as Hale out-shot Hadley, 137 to 145, and the Tigers secured their second-straight girls golf title.
That sort of rivalry could easily cause enough tension to damage team chemistry or even cost the two their friendship, but amazingly, it hasn’t seemed to be that big of an issue.
“They manage it as well as you could hope any teenagers to manage it,” Bird said. “There are ups and downs, for sure. I saw, two years ago, the pain in Logan’s eyes when she didn’t win state and Hadley did. Yet, she was proud of her friend and teammate. And then the same thing last year. Hadley had expectations of winning state again and then she saw Logan, her teammate, do that.
“It’s still an individual sport at the end of the day, and so it’s about trying to manage their personal disappointment with team success. I think it’s hard for them, but they’ve done it exceptionally well.”
Hale echoes that sentiment.
“It’s a rare challenge and it’s difficult at times, but we’ve been best friends for a while,” Hale answered, regarding her relationship with Ashton. “She’s someone that I always looked up to when I was younger and I first started picking [golf] up. She was the one to look to, and she’s always been very impressive. Getting to know her throughout the years and then moving up towards her level and being on the same team now has been really amazing. We’ve been able to separate [the rivalry] pretty well. Sometimes, we’ll even forget we golf together, because she’s just one of my closest friends.”
Their friendly competition has pressured both golfers to be the best versions of themselves and has helped them both develop at a jaw-dropping pace.
Not many top-flight athletes have had high school teammates who can regularly go toe-to-toe with them, and that unique bond seems to have been a crucial element to Hale’s rapid progression in the sport.
Now, with the 2024 state championships approaching, Hale sets her sights on a threepeat for Erie and another titanic clash with her best friend.