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Roaring applause to golf claps, USF athlete switches sports

Posted by Marc Seide ⋅ February 23, 2012 ⋅ 1 Comment

Junior golfer Karli Heimbecker. Courtesy: USF

The transition from a contact sport to a non-contact sport can be tough for any athlete, but USF student Karli Heimbecker’s transition wasn’t difficult.

The youngest sibling of three, the 20-year-old international studies major didn’t begin her athletic career playing golf.

“I had other sports I was interested in, mainly soccer,” Heimbecker said.

Her older siblings, David and Dani, both played golf in high school and at the collegiate level, which influenced Heimbecker into playing golf her freshman year of high school.

“I didn’t start taking golf seriously until I was in high school,” she said. “I just decided to tryout for the team because soccer was in the spring and golf in the fall.”

“I started working towards a golf scholarship my last few years of high school,” Heimbecker said. “I knew I needed to choose soccer or golf…. I couldn’t pursue both of them. At first, it was tough knowing that I was leaving it because I played it for the first 14 years of my life.”

Playing golf her last two years in high school led her to a golf scholarship at USF, forcing her to give up soccer.

Now in her junior year, Heimbecker looks to continue to improve her game with dreams of becoming a professional golfer.

The next tournament for the USF women’s golf team is on Feb.27 in Weston, Fla.