DAVID NAKAGAMI
Assistant Sports Editor
As a freshman, Taylore Karle leads the Pepperdine women’s golf team with a 73 stroke average. In addition, Karle has been the top Waves finisher in each of the team’s eight tournaments. Before next week’s West Coast Conference Championships in Tacoma, Wash., the Scottsdale, Ariz., native sat down and chatted about her start in golf, crazy fans, her brother Austyn and going pro in this week’s edition of “10 Minutes With…”
How did you get started in golf?
“My brother and my dad actually got me started. And one of our family friends, who is now my caddy, he took my brother out just one random weekend and was like ‘oh, let’s try this’ because my brother and I were really athletic and played every sport. We hadn’t really tried golf and I just tagged along because I spent more time with my brother and my dad. So then I just watched my brother swing a couple times and then I picked up a club and started swinging and they wouldn’t let me stop. I didn’t like it at first. I hated golf at first actually because it was so boring. I was a gymnast and played basketball so I was like ‘this is so boring and I’m just out here hitting balls.’ But my dad would be like, ‘You are going to go after school everyday and hit balls and putt.’ I love it now.”
What makes winning in golf different than winning in another sport?
“It’s basically all or nothing. You have everything in your own hands. So if you win, you’re like, ‘Ok, I’ve been doing the right thing.’ But if you lose, you learn so much more on just how to get better and what you’re doing isn’t right or you’re not doing enough of it. It’s mental, it’s all mental. It makes everything else in the world seem really small. Which is pretty good in some perspectives.”
How close are you to your older brother Austyn, a member of the Pepperdine men’s golf team?
“We’re really close. If there’s ever a problem, he’s the first one I talk to. If I ever think about doing something fun, he’ll be the first one that I’ll call.”
How did you two end up here?
“With the golf scholarships and whatnot, when you’re in the system, you have scouts that come to the tournaments and watch you play. They’ll be like, ‘We really want you.’ For me, my three schools were Stanford, here and then ASU. For him, it was Harvard, Princeton and here. It was really weird how it worked out. I ended up going a year early so that we could both go to the same school, which then ended up being here. We were either going to go together to Stanford or here, and here just seemed like a better fit.”
How competitive are you and your brother?
“We don’t brag or boast about it, but yeah, after every tournament, either his or mine, we’ll text each other or call each other and be like, ‘How did it go?’ or ‘How did you feel about it?’ or ‘It’s OK, you’ll do better tomorrow.’ We’re really supportive of each other. But yeah, we get in our competitive streak when we’re practicing either for lunch or Malibu Yo or something. It’s pretty feisty, but it’s good because that’s how we practice.”
Do you play against each other?
“It’s back and forth. I think our last match, I was one under on the front and he was one over. But then we played a match play deal and I was 3-under on the back and he was one under on the back and we came out even just because he strategized. He’s just so freaking smart, it’s a joke. There was like three meals on the line. It was big time, so even though I beat him in score, we still split it. He makes things really competitive. We’ll definitely be seeing a lot more of him as far as on the top of the rankings and what not.”
What has he taught you?
“A lot. I just remember being really young and he would always be the one out there hitting balls and putting. He was always the one who could putt, and I was always the one who could hit because I like hitting better and he has a lot of touch. I have really good touch now, but growing up he was pure touch. I would want to just sit in the locker room and watch TV instead of go because it was just so boring. This was when we were like 11. He would always be like, ‘Taylore, Dad is going to be mad at you.’ So I would go out and hit with him. Just being with him made me want to try harder.”
Where is one of the most interesting places you’ve played golf?
“I went to Japan last year in September. It was interesting. It was weird. Nobody spoke English. You could say hi and that was it. We learned more Japanese than they learned English. I had my first hole in one there, so that was fun. And their ritual is you buy everybody on the entire course drinks. And I’m like, ‘Uh, no. I can’t afford that much sake.’ So I just bought my team ice cream. It was fun. And I’ve almost been to every state in this country to play golf.”
What is the craziest things you’ve seen a spectator do on the course?
“Oh, I have a good one. I played in three professional women’s tournaments last year. One of them was local, in Arizona. The tournaments are Thursday through Sunday, and you either make the cut or you miss the cut, and I made the cut. So I went to the weekend, and that’s when more people come out and watch. There were these high school guys, and I’ve never seen them before in my life, and they made shirts that said, ‘I love Taylore’, ‘Will Taylore go to prom with me?’ and I forget the other one. Totally random. I never met them before in my life and they would yell my name. There were ropes that spectators can’t go past, and they would go up against the ropes and yell my name. It was weird, but it was funny to have their support.”
Who is your fantasy pairing in golf?
“Tiger [Woods]. I know everybody’s like, ‘Oh, I love Tiger.’ But seriously, I actually pay attention to the little things that he does and I put that into my game. He’s definitely my role model.”
What is one golf and one non-golf goal for your future?
“Golf-related, obviously to win nationals. It’s only about a month away, so I’m really working hard for that. And the tournament next week, coming up. But really nationals. Non-golf related, I want to say something along community service wise. Probably to get out and give a couple of hours here and there as much as I can because I’ve just been so caught up in school and golf. I go to church when I can. Like Jumpstart. One of my suitemates does Jumpstart, and I just wish I could go, but I can’t. Hopefully this summer I’ll have a few hours here and there.”
Do you still play piano?
“I practice as much as I can on the broken HAWC piano. One of my friends actually introduced me to the pianos that they have in the music building. I had no idea. I had no clue. And those pianos in there are amazing. So I’ll definitely be in there more. It’s been hard just with college. I haven’t learned any new pieces just because I haven’t had the time, but I do keep practicing, so it’s good.”
What is it like being a freshman and leading the team?
“It feels good. It feels right. Not only are my scores leading but I enjoy being a leader. Catherine Hull had come back and visited us about a week ago and she even commented on it. That really stood out to me because I noticed it but not as much as she did. She was like, ‘Wow, you’re looking up to the freshman here.’ She said it to (senior) Leanne [Bowditch]. She didn’t know what to think because that’s just how it is, you know? That’s just how everything has come to play. Definitely next year, with five new freshman coming in, it should be fun. I’m really looking forward to working hard. Just to finish out this season, I think we have a lot ahead of us, so that’s good.”
How has your first year at Pepperdine been?
“I’ve learned self-discipline, time management for sure. Just along with juggling everything. Just with golf, my first semester was awful, my fall season was just bad. So I think that affected me. I excelled more in the classroom than I did in golf, and I like to keep it the same, both really good. I didn’t work out as much. I had a lot of health issues. It was kind of like a monotone semester. I had issues and I would work with them. I had challenges and I would work with them. I never really got to sit back and relax or anything. It was always something. I had no social life whatsoever. None. And now I do. I’ve made some really good friends here at Pepperdine so I’m really happy about that. This second semester I’ve just learned from my first semester and it’s just been great. It’s been a big change.”
How is it like being the only American on the team?
“Everybody definitely brings a different aspect. Let’s just say I have a USA putter grip. My putter grip is definitely red, white and blue and it has ‘USA’ on it. But it’s fun. All the different accents for one. Just learning about different cultures.”
How did you feel in the LPGA events that you participated in?
“It felt like home. It felt good, it felt so good. Everybody has their thing that they do just to feel really good, and that would be mine.”
Is there a chance that you’ll go pro next year?
“My plan is to be here four years. The rule is 18, you have to be 18. So if I wanted to, I could. But anybody can go pro at any time. It’s just if you’re ready or not. I certainly will not be going pro until I am 150 percent ready, whenever that may be. But my plan right now is four years here.”
04-10-2008