Badgering: Brooke Ferrell
April 19, 2017 | Women's Golf
Senior golfer Brooke Ferrell talks about toughness, trading places and what she’d do if she had one mulligan in life.
BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin women's golf standout Brooke Ferrell goes into the Big Ten Conference meet this week with atonement and history on her mind. A senior from Edgerton, Wisconsin, she led after the opening two rounds last season, but fell short in her attempt to become the first league medalist in program history. If Ferrell succeeds this time around, she'll do so while battling chronic tendinitis in her right wrist. It's an injury that's required multiple anti-inflammatory injections during her career, including one in November and another in January that caused her to miss the only meet of her college career. Ferrell took a break from a recent practice at University Ridge to talk about toughness, the UW student-athlete she'd like to trade places with for a day and what she'd do if she had one mulligan in life:
Are you tough?
"Yes. My personality has changed since I first started golfing. When I first started, I would cry all the time. You can ask my parents. I'd get out there when I was 12 years old, I'd bogey my first hole and I'd be depressed for the rest of the round. But one of the best qualities I have now, I think, is my toughness. I try to be really resilient on the golf course. All the energy that comes at me, negative and positive, I try to take all of it and put it inside and I release it as birdies and positive energy. I try to be really resilient and tough on the golf course."
Can you outline some hurdles that took you down this path?
"The biggest hurdle was my own doubt and my own uncertainty if I was good enough to play at this level and beyond. My biggest competitor is always myself. I'm so hard on myself. I ask a lot of myself. It doesn't matter if we're practicing or qualifying — whatever — I expect a lot out of myself. That's probably the biggest hurdle I've gotten over since I first came to UW. I've become my own best friend because if I can't be my own best friend, how can I expect anybody else (to be) on the golf course."
You set the school record for lowest single-season stroke average as a sophomore (74.72) and lowered it to 73.25 as a junior. Now you're sitting at 72.09. What part of your game has improved the most to account for that two-stroke improvement?
"I'd say a little bit of everything, but I always think it comes down to putting. That's such a big thing. The funny thing is, over the course of a season taking two strokes off a scoring average is a lot. To be that consistent, I think, is something I really pride myself on. It's two putts a round essentially. I hit a lot of greens, so I have a lot of opportunities. I've always played that way. Ball striking has been the absolute strength of my game. I've continued to build on that and I work really hard on it. My swing coach, Dennis Tiziani, has helped me a ton with that."
Did you expect this much improvement during your UW career?
"I can't say I expected it, but I would say I hoped for it. We all hope that when we come to UW-Madison and play golf for the Badgers — something I've dreamed of since I was really young — that we can be a record-breaker and that our names can be in the record book. You can only hope for that. You never want to expect that out of yourself because that's a lot of pressure, but looking back on it now, I've gotten so much out of this. I've done some incredible things and grown so much as a player and a person. I wouldn't say I expected it, but I put a lot of hard work in, so it's not unreasonable to expect better outcomes from hard work."
What's the most pressure you've ever felt on a golf course?
"It would have to be in the Big Ten championship last year. … I came out and I shot 65 and had a four-stroke lead after day one. I didn't know how to play with a four-stroke lead at that point. I knew how to play with a one-stroke lead, but when you have a four-stroke lead, I put so much pressure on myself to keep that four-stroke lead that after the second day I only had a two-stroke lead and it was like, ugh, people are cutting into my lead. I felt that after the first day when I led by so much that if I didn't win it would be the biggest letdown and it truly was. I don't know if I'm still over what happened at Big Tens and I'm looking for some revenge this year."
What would you do differently?
"I would play like I was trying to win instead of playing like I was trying not to lose."
What's your major and why?
"I'm a marketing major. I'm very social as you can probably tell. I really like to interact with people. I like trying to sell things. I like to try and figure out what people are thinking and how to persuade them. My major has fit me perfectly."
If you could trade places with any UW student-athlete for a day, who would you choose and why?
"I would trade places with (men's basketball player) Nigel (Hayes). I think he has a fantastic platform with the personality that he's shown (to) our student body, the country, basketball world. He's gained so much attention and fame from that and he's been able to use his voice very powerfully and I would love to be in that position for one day. Everyone knows who Nigel Hayes is and I would love for people to know who my name is. That would be a very cool thing, so I'd probably trade places with him."
You know he also takes some grief for stating his views, right?
"He does. I think when you have a bold personality and you share your ideas, I feel like Madison is one of those places where we're very diverse and very open to expression. Although other people, even myself, may not agree with everything that he says, to have the confidence and the courage to actually stand up and say what you believe in and to not worry about what people think of you and what people are going to say, I think that takes a lot of courage and I commend him for it even if I don't agree with everything he says."
You get one mulligan in life. What would you change?
"I'd go back to last year's Big Tens and I'd replay my second and third rounds."
Can you give me an item on your personal to-do list that you absolutely must cross off?
"I want to go to the Masters. I want to go to the Masters so badly. My family wants to go, so I tell them, 'When I make it big, if I make it big, we're going to the Masters.'"
Do you watch golf on TV?
"A lot."
How do you feel about viewers calling in alleging that a player has erred?
"I don't know if I dislike anything about golf more right now. What happened to Lexi Thompson is just horrible. A major (title) was ripped away from her by someone in their living room calling in (to complain). I think what she did, I get it (incorrectly placing a marked ball on the green), but I don't think that once she's signed a scorecard, played 12 holes of her next round, that they should be able to come out and tell her, 'Oh, by the way, you've been penalized two strokes for playing from a wrong position and two more strokes for signing a wrong scorecard.' She had no intent to do it."
What's the best thing to happen to you this season?
"Battling the injuries I've been battling, it's made me appreciate my tournaments that much more and my time here that much more. I had to miss my very first tournament of my career this spring. That was a very humbling experience having to sit at home and watch and cheer from afar. That was hard for me, but in a roundabout way, it made me appreciate the game so much more. It really hit me that it's my senior year. In a roundabout way, that's a good thing that happened to me."
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UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin women's golf standout Brooke Ferrell goes into the Big Ten Conference meet this week with atonement and history on her mind. A senior from Edgerton, Wisconsin, she led after the opening two rounds last season, but fell short in her attempt to become the first league medalist in program history. If Ferrell succeeds this time around, she'll do so while battling chronic tendinitis in her right wrist. It's an injury that's required multiple anti-inflammatory injections during her career, including one in November and another in January that caused her to miss the only meet of her college career. Ferrell took a break from a recent practice at University Ridge to talk about toughness, the UW student-athlete she'd like to trade places with for a day and what she'd do if she had one mulligan in life:
Are you tough?
"Yes. My personality has changed since I first started golfing. When I first started, I would cry all the time. You can ask my parents. I'd get out there when I was 12 years old, I'd bogey my first hole and I'd be depressed for the rest of the round. But one of the best qualities I have now, I think, is my toughness. I try to be really resilient on the golf course. All the energy that comes at me, negative and positive, I try to take all of it and put it inside and I release it as birdies and positive energy. I try to be really resilient and tough on the golf course."
Can you outline some hurdles that took you down this path?
"The biggest hurdle was my own doubt and my own uncertainty if I was good enough to play at this level and beyond. My biggest competitor is always myself. I'm so hard on myself. I ask a lot of myself. It doesn't matter if we're practicing or qualifying — whatever — I expect a lot out of myself. That's probably the biggest hurdle I've gotten over since I first came to UW. I've become my own best friend because if I can't be my own best friend, how can I expect anybody else (to be) on the golf course."
You set the school record for lowest single-season stroke average as a sophomore (74.72) and lowered it to 73.25 as a junior. Now you're sitting at 72.09. What part of your game has improved the most to account for that two-stroke improvement?
"I'd say a little bit of everything, but I always think it comes down to putting. That's such a big thing. The funny thing is, over the course of a season taking two strokes off a scoring average is a lot. To be that consistent, I think, is something I really pride myself on. It's two putts a round essentially. I hit a lot of greens, so I have a lot of opportunities. I've always played that way. Ball striking has been the absolute strength of my game. I've continued to build on that and I work really hard on it. My swing coach, Dennis Tiziani, has helped me a ton with that."
Did you expect this much improvement during your UW career?
"I can't say I expected it, but I would say I hoped for it. We all hope that when we come to UW-Madison and play golf for the Badgers — something I've dreamed of since I was really young — that we can be a record-breaker and that our names can be in the record book. You can only hope for that. You never want to expect that out of yourself because that's a lot of pressure, but looking back on it now, I've gotten so much out of this. I've done some incredible things and grown so much as a player and a person. I wouldn't say I expected it, but I put a lot of hard work in, so it's not unreasonable to expect better outcomes from hard work."
What's the most pressure you've ever felt on a golf course?
"It would have to be in the Big Ten championship last year. … I came out and I shot 65 and had a four-stroke lead after day one. I didn't know how to play with a four-stroke lead at that point. I knew how to play with a one-stroke lead, but when you have a four-stroke lead, I put so much pressure on myself to keep that four-stroke lead that after the second day I only had a two-stroke lead and it was like, ugh, people are cutting into my lead. I felt that after the first day when I led by so much that if I didn't win it would be the biggest letdown and it truly was. I don't know if I'm still over what happened at Big Tens and I'm looking for some revenge this year."
What would you do differently?
"I would play like I was trying to win instead of playing like I was trying not to lose."
What's your major and why?
"I'm a marketing major. I'm very social as you can probably tell. I really like to interact with people. I like trying to sell things. I like to try and figure out what people are thinking and how to persuade them. My major has fit me perfectly."
If you could trade places with any UW student-athlete for a day, who would you choose and why?
"I would trade places with (men's basketball player) Nigel (Hayes). I think he has a fantastic platform with the personality that he's shown (to) our student body, the country, basketball world. He's gained so much attention and fame from that and he's been able to use his voice very powerfully and I would love to be in that position for one day. Everyone knows who Nigel Hayes is and I would love for people to know who my name is. That would be a very cool thing, so I'd probably trade places with him."
You know he also takes some grief for stating his views, right?
"He does. I think when you have a bold personality and you share your ideas, I feel like Madison is one of those places where we're very diverse and very open to expression. Although other people, even myself, may not agree with everything that he says, to have the confidence and the courage to actually stand up and say what you believe in and to not worry about what people think of you and what people are going to say, I think that takes a lot of courage and I commend him for it even if I don't agree with everything he says."
You get one mulligan in life. What would you change?
"I'd go back to last year's Big Tens and I'd replay my second and third rounds."
Can you give me an item on your personal to-do list that you absolutely must cross off?
"I want to go to the Masters. I want to go to the Masters so badly. My family wants to go, so I tell them, 'When I make it big, if I make it big, we're going to the Masters.'"
Do you watch golf on TV?
"A lot."
How do you feel about viewers calling in alleging that a player has erred?
"I don't know if I dislike anything about golf more right now. What happened to Lexi Thompson is just horrible. A major (title) was ripped away from her by someone in their living room calling in (to complain). I think what she did, I get it (incorrectly placing a marked ball on the green), but I don't think that once she's signed a scorecard, played 12 holes of her next round, that they should be able to come out and tell her, 'Oh, by the way, you've been penalized two strokes for playing from a wrong position and two more strokes for signing a wrong scorecard.' She had no intent to do it."
What's the best thing to happen to you this season?
"Battling the injuries I've been battling, it's made me appreciate my tournaments that much more and my time here that much more. I had to miss my very first tournament of my career this spring. That was a very humbling experience having to sit at home and watch and cheer from afar. That was hard for me, but in a roundabout way, it made me appreciate the game so much more. It really hit me that it's my senior year. In a roundabout way, that's a good thing that happened to me."
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