Zachary takes a mulligan on her volleyball plans, chooses golf

Most recently in their travels to Newman, Kansas for the Newman Invitational, their last tournament of the regular season, the women of UCO golf have had quite the season.

The women who traveled for the Bronchos included Kinsley Hall, Madison O’Dell, Susana Olivares, Mika Ramos and Arin Zachary. All the women have their motivations for playing golf, but Zachary took the most indirect route to the fairway: Zachary graduated high school from Abilene Wiley in Abilene, Texas where she was originally a volleyball star. 

“I picked up golf my freshman year of high school,” Zachary said. “I was playing volleyball at the time and I decided I didn’t want to run in the off-season, so we decided to pick up a spring sport.” 

It did not take long for Zachary to decide that she liked golf way more than volleyball and that she wanted to take it seriously. 

“Obviously, I started because I didn’t want to run, but what kept me coming back is the fact that it’s just you and the golf course,” she said. “You can work as little or as hard as you want, and it’s all on you.” 

Zachary admits that golf was not as easy as she originally anticipated, saying she remembers not even being able to make contact with the ball the first day she went to the driving range. 

Making the move to Edmond, Oklahoma was not an easy decision for Zachary, who is close with her family and considers herself a homebody. But there was just something about that Broncho spirit that she just could not turn down. 

“The coach is amazing, the facilities are great and I really liked the school,” she said. “I toured a few other places, but UCO was definitely my favorite and I couldn’t see myself anywhere else.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zachary  has retained an extra year of eligibility. As Zachary continues her career and grows as a golfer, she falls more in love with the game — not just because of the self disciplined work ethic, but also because she is meeting people on the way.

“My favorite thing about golf is how many friends I have made and continue to make,” Zachary said. ”I’ve gotten to know so many girls from all over the country because of golf.” 

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