A perfect finish to a golf career that's just getting started for Clarinda's Rasmussen
Clarinda’s Taylor Rasmussen said earning a medal at this spring’s state tournament was the perfect finish to her high school golf career.
And she did it, on a day when she wasn’t playing her best golf. In fact, she said it may have been the worst round of her season, but she held on and finished 10th in Class 2A. The result finished her Clarinda golf career, and her transition to Wayne State’s golf program has already started.
Rasmussen is the Southwest Iowa Herald Spring Sports Female Athlete of the Year after a season that saw her finish at or near the top of the leaderboard in every event she entered.
Clarinda senior Taylor Rasmussen ended her high school golf career with a 10th-place state finish Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29, at the Class 2A State Golf Championships in Marshalltown.
“I really wanted to get one or two at pretty much every event that I played in,” Rasmussen said. “I wanted a good average, to perform to the best of my ability and see progression over the season. I was pretty happy with how I did for meets and tournaments. I always medaled and my goal was to aim as high as I could and play well.”
Rasmussen had a fantastic finish to a fantastic career. She placed second at the Hawkeye 10 Conference Tournament, second at the regional first round tournament, trailing only teammate Addy Weinreich, helping the Cardinals to a team appearance in the regional final. She won the regional final tournament and then placed 10th at the state tournament.
The Clarinda girls golf team finished second Friday, May 15, at a Class 2A First Round Regional Tournament at Shenandoah, advancing to a regional final. From left: Mike Anderson (head coach), Elle Nelson, Maggie Carlson, Victoria Schutt-Andersen, Taylor Rasmussen, Jalon Olson and Addy Weinreich.
At state, a 36-hole, two-day event, she opened with an 80 before firing an 83 on day two. She finished, then had to wait to see if the scores of final pairings would come back to her enough for Rasmussen to earn a medal.
“I was not playing my best at state,” Rasmussen said. “I’m still not sure what happened, but lots of pressure, lots of stress. I went on a little par streak over the final five holes, though. The last hole is a par three and there are like 150 people watching. It’s a good distance for a par three and I ended up with a bogey. Then, I’m watching everyone come in and watching scores and one girl, I think she needed a double and, unfortunately for her, she hit it in the sand and then hit it over the green.”
The state tournament medal was a great achievement for Rasmussen, who began golfing at a young age, saying she was introduced to the game by her parents.
“I liked to be outside and doing stuff all the time as a kid,” Rasmussen said, “so we would do tournaments and my love for the game from there.”
She said it took until her freshman year before she realized that she could play the game at a pretty high level, saying that realization came when she beat a conference champion in one round. In her high school career, Rasmussen missed qualifying for the state berth by a single stroke as a freshman, and again as a sophomore, before tying for 15th in the state field as a junior. She said her consistency on the course is where she has grown the most.
Clarinda senior Taylor Rasmussen plays her approach shot on the opening hole of a Class 2A Regional First Round Tournament Friday, May 15, in Shenandoah. Rasmussen finished second overall with a 79, helping lead the Cardinals to a runner-up total of 359, advancing to the regional final.
“I have also realized the science and work that it takes,” Rasmussen said. “Golf is definitely a game of mechanics. I used to just go up and hit the ball and now I’m constantly watching videos on golf swings and trying to get better and going to lessons.”
Speaking of mechanics, Rasmussen has a unique pre-shot routine where after lining everything up, she backs off the ball and raises her club parallel to the ground over the ball.
“When I line up to the ball, I use my club to double check everything,” Rasmussen said, “just because I want to be as accurate as possible. No one else really does that. And at the green as well. I do the same thing, but with my putter, and that’s to feel the break of the green. That’s been the biggest game changer in my putting.”
Rasmussen adds that once she realized how vital a good short game is, that became a big part of what she continues to work on. She adds that the community that the game of golf has given her has been incredible.
Clarinda senior Taylor Rasmussen plays the ball onto the 1st green Tuesday, April 21, at a home quad. Rasmussen posted a 39 to win individual medalist honors by a single stroke.
“As I have gone through high school and everything that golf at Clarinda has given me,” Rasmussen said, “the whole community has been really supportive. I’m always golfing with random people, and then our team, especially, has been really supportive. We have a lot of fun.”
Rasmussen has played in several non-school tournaments during her high school career as well, something she has continued doing this summer.
“I do a lot of Junior PGA and also U.S. Kids,” Rasmussen said, “and that has all made me a way better golfer, because those girls are really good and you learn a lot from other people. Last summer, I won a Junior PGA event in Iowa and that was really big. It gives me that confidence that I can compete at the highest level and that’s a game changer.”
Rasmussen next makes her way to a collegiate golf career at Wayne State, located in Wayne, Nebraska. She joins a program that won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) championship in April and finished 17th at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships. The Wildcats return seven of the eight athletes that were on last spring’s team. Rasmussen said work has already started on the transition to playing college golf.
Clarinda senior Taylor Rasmussen drives on hole No. 9 Friday, April 17, at the Shenandoah Tournament. Rasmussen was the tournament's runner-up with a 78, leading Clarinda to a runner-up finish in the Large Schools Division, with a 376.
“I have started summer workouts, and I lift three times a week,” Rasmussen said. “I’m playing in as many larger tournaments as possible, and I’m done playing from the women’s tees and play from the men’s tees now, just getting that distance and learning how to hit with my longer clubs.”
She admitted that transition has been a tough one so far but said it goes back to consistency and that’s something she’ll continue to work on.
“This summer, I just want to have a good average and get better,” Rasmussen said. “I’m changing my swing a bit right now to be a little more consistent. Going into Wayne, I just want to make the team and hopefully get some low scores.”
She said playing in summer tournaments and transitioning to the college game is as far as she has gotten in looking at where golf may fit into her life, long-term. She said maybe coaching is something she would like to take up in the future but fully expects that golf will always be a part of her life in some capacity.
It’s been quite the career at Clarinda for Rasmussen, and for a girl that simply loves to play the sport, it’s easy to think, she’ll continue to play the game at a higher and higher level for as long as she can.
Related
Video interviews with Clarinda, Shenandoah regional final golf qualifiers
