Kaitlin Drolson won’t play in a tournament with a No. 4 ball. She will only carry six balls at once—no more no less. She only marks golf balls in red. Drolson knows exactly what she wants.
The Pepperdine University women’s golfer has also known since she began playing golf competitively at the age of 8 that her dream is to compete as a professional golfer.
Tying for second place at the West Coast Conference Championships last year Drolson has performed beyond the standard for a sophomore. She says a combination of great coaching and hard work her freshman year sent a team of mostly freshmen to 10th place in the NCAA Division 1 championship tournament.
The 2009-2010 fall preseason hasn’t gone quite as smoothly. The onslaught of the H1N1 virus also known as the notorious Swine Flu cut the team down to just four players at the recent Landfall Tradition tournament. The disadvantage led the team to a 17th-place finish at the biggest event of the fall season.
“It’s just like in anything said Coach Laurie Gibbs. You are going to have your ups and downs. I like to look at the season and NCAA records as a whole.”
Drolson isn’t letting this season’s rough start get to her. With the preseason having just come to a close she has high hopes for the spring season.
“This year we should do really well at Nationals said Drolson. Right now everyone’s chemistry is really great along with the coaches and the workouts.”
Drolson is a well-rounded individual striving to maintain a healthy balance between athletics academics and activities. The economics major chose Pepperdine for its national golf ranking as well as its coastal location.
Drolson is just as focused in the classroom as she is on the course. However she finds it a constant struggle to maintain a healthy grade point average while sharpening her golf game.
In what little free time she has Drolson enjoys watching golf going to the beach and visiting Malibu restaurants such as Howdy’s Taqueria and Marmalade Café.
She considers herself a foodie and a pinkberry fanatic. Her favorite class at Pepperdine is nutrition primarily because there is cooking involved.
Drolson maintains close camaraderie with her teammates calling her team a close-knit family.
“She’s the most supportive of anyone said teammate Lisa McCloskey. She always has a smile on her face and if you ever have a bad round she always has something to bring you back up.”
Perhaps this sense of family comes from Drolson’s own family. Her golf days began in her hometown of San Diego where she would play golf with her father on the weekends. She gives her family quite a bit of credit for inspiring her golf noting how supportive they have been.
College life has introduced new challenges for Drolson. Between the course and the classroom she is more than preoccupied.
And it isn’t that hard to believe. Drolson already has one U.S. Open tournament appearance under her belt. Competing in 2008 as an amateur at the Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem Pa. she missed the cut by just two strokes. Drolson said playing in the biggest tournament in the world was the “best experience of my entire life.”
If things go as planned Drolson should have plenty of chances to compete in the U.S. Open. She plans on pursuing golf as a professional career after college.
Playing for a nationally ranked team Drolson is right where she needs to be. Pepperdine has turned out six pro women’s golfers since 2000 including Katherine Hull a consistent money-winner on last year’s LPGA tour.
If the professional career doesn’t work out Drolson plans to coach college golf.
“Kaitlin has talent said Gibbs. With the right focus and approach she would be an excellent player or coach.”
