Getting a grip

Boyd hopes adjustments pay off in the future

By: Rich Fisher
   Brittany Boyd won’t ever be confused for Tiger Woods (then again, who will?), but at the moment, the South Brunswick High senior shares a common trait with the world’s greatest golfer.
   Boyd has endured an up-and-down season as the No. 1 player for the Vikings’ girls golf team, but there has been a reason for that. It’s the same reason why Tiger struggled after blowing away the Masters field back in 1997.
   After that incredible showing, Woods changed his swing and the world wondered why as he muddled through the next season. The results have spoken for themselves.
   In the middle of this season, Boyd decided to make some changes herself. Not with her swing, but with her grip. Either way, she is enduring the expected struggles.
   "You know when you switch your grip, you have to expect good rounds and bad rounds," Boyd said. "I’m trying to switch it for the long run."
   Her change came at the suggestion of older brother Jim, who is the head pro at Hillsborough. It seemed that Brittany was hitting everything to the right, because her club face was opening up too much at the point of impact. Because of that, she would aim left so the ball would go right, meaning valuable distance was coming off her shots.
   "Jim told me if I changed my grip and turned my left hand over more, it would fix that and I would have better accuracy," Boyd said. "It’s really been tough to feel comfortable with my grip like that."
   And as the frustration set in at times, Boyd admitted there was a temptation to go back to her old way.
   "During matches, I’ll have a couple of bad holes, and I’m tempted to re-do it, aim left and hit it good. But in the long run, I know this will be so much more beneficial for my game.
   "And every now and then, I’ll crush one. And that’s what keeps me going."
   Boyd has needed discipline to maintain that swing, especially at last Thursday’s girls’ state tournament. She finished 22nd out of 38 qualifiers with a score of 48-52-100 at the Marriott Seaview in Absecon. The course will house an LPGA tournament next month, so it was as challenging as the miserable weather the field had to endure.
   "The weather was the biggest factor that affected our games, but obviously the pressure and playing a course we didn’t know much about affected us too," Boyd said. "I had higher expectations than last year. It’s a shame that I kind of choked during my senior year at states. I could have done worse, but I could have done better."
   That synopsis does not surprise Viking coach Jaymee Boehmer.
   "She’s a little hard on herself at times," Boehmer said. "She’s extremely competitive and she’s there to win. She works really hard and she’s just serious about getting better."
   Boyd will have the chance to atone for her state performance today (Thursday) in more familiar surroundings. The GMC girls’ tournament takes place at Bunker Hill, the Vikings’ home course.South Brunswick’s Priyanka Chanchani is the defending GMC champion while Boyd finished fifth last year.
   "I just hope I don’t choke," said Boyd, who will play intramural golf for American University next year. "That’s a bad thing to say, but I hope to play up to my own standards. I hope I can shoot a 45 or below and finish in the top three."
   The GMC’s will be the culmination of a brief high school career, but Boyd has been on the links for quite some time.
   She has been golfing since her youth, and it’s not hard to see why. She pretty much would have nothing to talk about around the dinner table if she didn’t.
   Her father golfed, along with Jim. Her other brothers, Ian and Cameron, were both members of the Viking boy’s team.
   "My dad taught me when I was really young," Boyd said. "Coming from a Scottish family, I grew up on golf and found a love for it. I learned to swing a club when I was 11, but it wasn’t like I was devoted to it then. I just kind of did it. When I was in eighth or ninth grade I started getting into it.
   "It was tough going out with my brothers, because I was always the worst, and I’m still the worst," she added with a laugh. "But they were always supportive. They never told me I was slowing up the group or anything like that."
   When Boyd arrived at SBHS there was no girls golf to speak of. But she knew Boehmer through playing soccer, and Boehmer told Brittany how she was organizing a club team.
   "She was really thrilled that we were doing it," Boehmer said. "She plays all over the place and I know that family likes its golf."
   In assessing Boyd’s game, Boehmer said "She has a real good short game. She pitches very well, gets up to the green really well. She’s a pretty consistent player, you can really count on her. Even when she has a bad day, it’s like a 50."
   "I can chip and putt pretty well," Boyd said. "My drives are decent, but I guess my irons need work in terms of accuracy. And I can’t get out of a bunker to save my life. There’s always just so much you can work on."
   At the moment, that work has to do with a new grip, which is causing temporary problems for the sake of permanent improvement.
   19th HOLE: Chanchani and Kerri Tracy also went to the state tournament for the Vikings last week. Tracy, making her second trip, carded a 101 and finished 26th, while Chanchani shot a 111.