Schuberth Blazing a Trail for KP Golf

With both a dad and an older brother who loved playing golf, it was inevitable that Kayla Schuberth would eventually take a swing at the sport. She picked up a club when she was four and hasn’t left the sport since.
“I just loved the game immediately; it was fun and I was pretty good at it,” the King Philip junior said. “With the family history I knew that I was eventually going to try it and once I found that I loved it my parents kept me in the sport.”
Around the age of eight, Schuberth began taking part in golf tournaments and somewhere between the age of nine and ten she realized that she was really good at the sport. Already a gymnast, she possessed the upper body strength that allowed her to hit the ball a good distance.
“She’s one of the strongest female golfers in the Hockomock League,” first-year KP coach Myles McHugh said. “Her golf swing is very powerful and it goes a long way. She definitely hangs with the boys, straight up.”
Entering high school Schuberth decided to try out for the golf team, which was made up of all boys.
“I was definitely nervous trying out for a guy’s team, but I felt I could play and it would look good later on if I wanted to play in college,” Schuberth said. “The first day of tryouts was tough and nerve racking, but by the second and third days I was playing with confidence.”
Having made the team she put forth a decent season, maintaining a position in the King Philip top four while shooting an average of 43. During her sophomore campaign, she moved up to third on the Warrior depth chart and could have been headed to the Hockomock Championships, if not for her lack of selfishness.
“I had just edged out the fourth golfer on the team, our scores were pretty close. He was a senior and had never gone to the Hocks so I gave him my spot,” Schuberth said. “I was only a sophomore and had two years left. I knew that I’d get another shot.”
With two more years to get another shot at playing in the Hockomock League Championship, Schuberth put her mind to her gymnastics work that winter. Unfortunately, that December she injured her ankle and had to take some time off from the sport. Not only could she not participate in gymnastics, she couldn’t run any of her track events and wasn’t even allowed to get onto the golf course to prepare for the upcoming season.
“I originally thought that I was going to pursue gymnastics in college, but when I injured my ankle I figured that I better stick to golf as it was a lot easier on my body,” she said. “Being out was tough as I couldn’t get out and play in any tournaments all spring and summer, so when this season began I found myself a little rusty.”
Schubert’s season started slowly due to her injury but she soon made up for it. She finished the season strong and went to Hocks where she played good enough to move onto the Sectionals. Unfortunately, the junior was diagnosed with both an eye and ear infection one day before. Although she gave it her all and battled through her illness, she was just not herself on the golf course and didn’t play to her usual standards.
Despite the bad luck, coach McHugh was still impressed by her performance throughout the season.
“Kayla started out slow because of that injury, but overcame that and the stronger she got the better her game got,” McHugh said of the junior captain. “She is a driven individual and being a gymnast she is used to the pressure. She had a handful of matches that won it for us throughout the season.”
According to the coach, Schuberth shot a 38 against Attleboro and 39s against both Stoughton and North Attleboro--critical in King Philip capturing victories.
Still not cleared by her doctor to take part in either of her other two sports, Schuberth has decided to give diving a shot and try out for the KP swim and dive team this winter. In addition, she is going to play some virtual golf so that she can keep her swing in check for her senior campaign. Come spring, when the courses are ready, she’ll begin participating in some tournaments.
“I believe that I need to get some coaching. I have never had a coach and have always taught myself,” she said. “If I want to play on the next level I need to improve my game.”
Schuberth is currently in talks with the golf coaches from both Coastal Carolina University in SC and High Point University in NC. In the meantime, she’s planning on taking care of her game in Massachusetts as she gets ready for her senior season at King Philip. Her goals are to be the Warrior’s number one golfer and climb the ladder to the Hockomock League Championship as well as the Sectionals, hopefully finishing in the top 15 of both.