By Kyle LoJacono
Hana Lee exploded onto the Pasco County golfing scene two years ago as a freshman.
That season, she helped the Wesley Chapel girls golf team qualify for the postseason after the program was unable to field a squad the previous two years. She shot an 85 during that district meet, good enough for eighth place overall.
Despite her talent and success, Hana decided to take last year off from golf at any level to focus on school. She was taking several Advanced Placement classes and plans to pursue a career in anatomy, but the call of the courses was too great to keep her away for her junior season.
“I thought I really needed to play this year,” Hana said. “After a year off, I really wanted to get back into it.”
She started playing again during the summer with her younger brother, David. Her teammates said she still has the ability to hit the ball as far as anyone.
“She’s got distance,” said sophomore Allison Kosloski, who is Hana’s partner in competition. “Her distance is unbelievable. She rivals that of a grown man.”
Her power is just one of the reasons Hana’s mother, Su, first introduced her to golf at age 7.
“When she would be in the playground people would tell me she had good balance,” Su said. “She controlled her body with balance. All kind of people would say it. I decided one day to take her to a driving range because people kept saying it, and she was stronger than the boys.”
Su, who said Hana has received no private lessons, remembers the first day she took her daughter to a driving range.
“She hit like 20 buckets full of balls,” Su said. “She just kept going, and the workers were like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ … At first people thought I was married to the golf course owner because she was so good she must be his daughter.”
Golf wasn’t the only sport she gave a shot.
“My mom wanted me to try out for various sports,” Hana said. “I tried basketball, swimming and a lot of other sports she wanted me to do. She thought why not golf. I was pretty good at it. I liked it at first. I was not that good at first, but I picked it up quickly.”
Hana said the best part about golfing is the mental side.
“I like when you can just put your mind into it and forget everything else,” Hana said. “All I have to focus on is this. I don’t have to worry about anything else.”
Despite her fondness for the isolation a golf course can offer, it was the interaction with her teammates that she said she missed the most during her year off.
“I got to meet a lot of new girls, and it was really fun getting to know them,” Hana said.
Whatever the reason, third-year Wildcats coach Chuck Yingling Jr. is glad his squad has its ace back.
“When you have that kind of talent it makes the whole team better,” Yingling said. “We were competitive my first year because of Hana’s scores, mostly. … Also, when you have someone of Hana’s talent that gives the girls something to strive for. They try to push themselves to keep getting better. It adds credibility to the program to have someone of her talent too.”
