SHE’S GOT GAME: Plymouth’s Flavin earns coveted KLAA title
Annie Flavin recently won medalist honors at the highly-competitive KLAA Conference championship played at Fox Hills and Kensington Metropark courses.
Reigning KLAA Conference girls golf medalist Annie Flavin has developed a proven method for overcoming a less-than-perfect shot when she sets out to conquer metro-Detroit golf courses and her peers that are doing likewise.
“When I hit a bad shot, I remind myself that getting in my head isn’t going to help me,” the Plymouth High School senior shared on a recent sunny afternoon at Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center.
“I try to stay focused on my next shot, and I usually have my coaches there, too, to talk to.”
The good news for Flavin (and bad news for her opponents): She rarely hits a bad shot.
That 70s show
On Tuesday at the Kensington Metropark Golf Course, Flavin carded a round of 77 to earn individual medalist honors in the talent-loaded 36-hole Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship. The first 18 holes of the competition were held one month earlier at Fox Hills, where she shot a 75.
“Winning this has been a goal of mine since my freshman year,” admitted Flavin, who outlasted Northville runner-up Cam Baker by three shots despite carding rare (for her) bogeys on her final three holes. “It feels good because the KLAA is very competitive, there are a lot of very good players whom I’ve had a chance to play with and get to know over the past few years.
“The last few holes, I kind of knew I was leading. I finished a little shaky, but I tried to keep my focus on my own game, not the girls who were chasing me.
“Even though I knew I had won, it was a little bittersweet, too, because I knew my high school golf career was winding down.”
(To check out a video of Flavin’s sweet swing, click here.)
Amazing accolades
Flavin is a rare four-year All-KLAA performer who routinely splits fairways with 280-yard drives.
Among her senior year accolades: she shot under par in four-straight nine-hole matches.
On Wednesday, minutes before a media interview, she was asked — without any warm-ups — to hit a drive that would be used in an Instagram reel.
She promptly took a golf ball from the interviewer, teed it up on the first hole of one of the Fox Hills Classic courses and smoothly walloped a draw that stopped rolling at least 270 yards down the middle of the fairway.
“Annie is a generational talent,” raved Plymouth Golf Coach Kevin Niemiec. “Players like Annie don’t come around very often. Plymouth High School has had a great golf tradition over the past 10 years, with the Boczar twins (Bridget and Grace), Brooke Morris and Katie Chipman, among others. Annie is carrying on that great tradition.
‘She’s unflappable’
“Annie’s demeanor is unflappable. Golf is not like basketball (another sport in which Flavin excels). There’s not a bench, there’s no timeouts that help you regroup. You have two minutes from one shot to the next to figure things out. Annie uses those two minutes to her advantage. She forgets her last shot immediately and starts thinking, ‘What are we going to do on this next shot?’
“The way she plays a course is almost surgical. She knows most of the courses in southeast Michigan like the back of her hand. When she does play a course for the first time, she’ll kind of follow the lead of the players she’s grouped with in terms of whether they hit driver on a particular hole. Although, she hits it 270, 280, so she’s not like most of the players she’s grouped with.”
Two-sport star
Flavin is the 1-in-a-100-or-so high school golf stars who rarely picks up a club during the winter.
“Once golf season is over, I take a break from golf to focus on basketball and helping my team win,” she said. “Not playing golf in the winter is probably a disadvantage at times, but I enjoy basketball, too.”
Equal parts admirable and surprising, Flavin is unsure of whether she’ll play collegiate golf — even though there are several coaches of college golf programs that contact her regularly in an effort to convince her to play at the next level.
“I haven’t decided whether I want to golf in college yet or just go for the education,” she admitted. “I’m not going to commit to playing college golf unless everything feels just right about the school and the program.”
Iron-willed golfer
Unlike most golfers — both with advanced or mediocre skills — Flavin’s favorite clubs might surprise you.
“I like to hit long irons,” she said. “A lot of times we’ll play shorter courses, so I’ll hit a long iron off the tee then hit a long iron into the green. I’ve always felt comfortable with my long irons.”
Flavin’s golf journey teed off when she was in kindergarten when she’d join her father, Barry, on the links.
“I would just go out there and wack the ball,” she said smiling, explaining her introduction to the sport. “Once I was in middle school, I started taking it more seriously, entering tournaments and getting lessons from Craig Piscopink. He helped me build a strong foundation for my swing, teaching me techniques I still use to this day.”
Flavin’s legacy is firmly established
She also was tutored on the links by Kelly Sivier, a pro at Meadowbrook Country Club, where her family (parents Barry and Kristy, and younger sister Molly) maintains a membership.
In a cool twist, Flavin competes in high school basketball against Sivier’s daughter, Peyton, who is a star player for Northville.
Whether or not Flavin plays in college will not diminish her her golf legacy — one built on a near-flawless swing and an even better temperament.
“I’ve had so much fun playing golf,” she acknowledged. “We’ll see what the future holds.”
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
