Silence falls across the green as Madeleine Zang ’23 lines up a putt to finish her

round. A step back from the ball, a deep breath, and a smooth stroke. Fi!een feet,

ten feet, five feet, and in. It’s a new course record at Rossmoor Golf Course.

Zang was introduced to golf early in her life, when her dad took both her and

her sister out to their local country club. There, Zang found a passion for the game.

“I started playing golf when I was six years old,” said Zang. “From there, afer

playing the weekends, it started to become a more serious extracurricular, that [I]

kind of just chose to continue with it.”

Despite Zang’s full commitment to golf, she was originally on the fence with what

sport she most wanted to pursue. However, Zang’s decision ultimately came down

to the difference in the nature of golf that set it apart from the others.

“I’ve tried soccer and I played tennis for a while, and then it was just kind of

choosing between tennis and golf,” said Zang. “I just really liked the individual,

patient nature of golf. Basically, the only person I’m competing

against is myself on the golf course, so I just really like that aspect

of it.”

Following Zang’s final decision to pursue golf was an

unmatchable focus and determination that got her to where she

is today. Despite getting off to a slow start, she eventually caught

on and hasn’t looked back since.

“Before freshman year . . . I wasn’t that great

at golf. But I worked really hard . . . to just

kind of get to where I am now,” said Zang.

Zang’s game speaks for itself, and certainly

leaves lasting impressions. Coach Patrick

Noone of the PHS Golf Team noticed her

commitment, talent, and personality first hand

the first time he saw her on the course.

“I mean, obviously the first impression would be how good of a

golfer [she] was, but it’s more than that,” said Noone. “It’s how good

of a kid she was, and how friendly and how enjoyable she was to

be around, and how she was with all the other teammates on the

team. She’s a great golfer, but an even better person.”

Zang’s career in golf took a turn in the summer of 2022 when

she committed to the University of Pennsylvania for golf, a

huge step further into her career not only as an athlete, but as a

person as well.

“It was just really cool [to] be able to talk with coaches [and]

talk with my coach about how to go about pursuing coaches

[and] seeing what schools even want me on their team,”

Zang said. “It was kind of stressful at times, but you

know, [it was] super fun ... I’m really excited.”

While Zang’s high school career in golf may

seem completed, there’s one thing that she has been

chasing since her first season: starting a girls golf

team at PHS. When she joined the golf team her

junior year, she noticed that the school team for golf was

co-ed, and since then, she’s been pushing hard to start up

an individual girls team.

“She’s been the spearhead, me and her have

been a spearhead for getting a girls program

here, and this would be the first year for it,” said

Noone. “So from her hard work [and] by sticking together, [we’ve] been able to get

a girls program her senior year.”

Starting a golf team is no small feat, but Zang is properly equipped with both the

experience and skills necessary to captain the team.

“I just definitely think she’s a good leader. She’s very organized, she knows what

she’s doing. She’s also really wanted to start a [girl’s] golf golf team, since we haven’t

had one yet,” said Jacqueline Zang ’25, Zang’s sister and teammate. “She’s definitely

been very proactive in getting everything organized, and having matches, getting

uniforms, [and] making sure it could actually work, because it’s been a work in

progress for a couple of years.”

With the start of a new season, Zang is hopeful in creating a fun yet competitive

team that can build bonds that last.

“It’s just a really good opportunity for them to come into the sport,” Zang said. “I

mean, as long as you’re interested and you’re willing to try. I think that’s honestly the

best thing that could happen.”