Michelle Waters is steadily becoming a reliable player for the Simon Fraser University women’s golf team.
In just her first year at SFU, the former Kwalikum Secondary School Kondor is showing what she’s made of.
Waters, who graduated from KSS in 2014, took time before her next tournament in Couer d’Alane, Idaho — the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship — to talk about her season thus far as a member of the SFU Clan.
“It’s been an eye opener,” Waters said. “Definitely a big adjustment for me. It’s challenging, being involved with golf on top of all the academics but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“I feel pretty lucky to be able to do what I do,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot about time management and how to survive with little amounts of sleep too.”
Coming off a tie for 51st at the NCAA West Regional Spring Preview in Rohnert Park, California, Waters fired a team best 166 over two rounds (82 and 84) and helped lead the Clan to a 19th place finish.
It’s been a slow and steady improvement through the season for Waters but she still isn’t satisfied with her play on the course just yet.
“I haven’t been overly thrilled with my performances at tournaments,” Waters said.
“The numbers just aren’t quite where I want them to be. I know I’ll be working a lot more on putting in practices over the summer to try and get to that next level of my golf game.”
“But I’m happy with the fact that I’ve earned a spot in the top four on the team, so I’ve been able to travel to all the tournaments so far this spring, so I’m happy with that.”
Travelling to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho this week, Waters caught a brief glimpse of the beautiful Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, which features a floating green that you need to travel to by boat.
“It’s a really nice course,” Waters said. “We caught a glimpse just from the putting green but it looks like a great track. The island green that you have to get to by boat is pretty cool!”
Waters knows that the improvements in her game will come with time and practice, something she knows she’ll have to work extra hard at in order to get the results she knows she’s capable of having.
“There’s a few areas to work on,” Waters said. “I’d like to focus more on my short game, spending more time chipping and putting.”
“I think that really learning to read the greens and all those things that you have to take in to account while you’re out there playing, it’s those little things that make all the difference out there.”
If she continues to improve like she has been all season, so far, Waters should find the success she’s continually looking for each week she steps back out on the course.
It’s all coming around for the first year university student as she navigates both the educational side of things and the, often times tricky, game of golf.