Ulrich inks her name in Hartington Golf Club record book

HARTINGTON — There is a new leader among the women’s records at the Hartington Golf Course.

Last week, Cassidy Ulrich shot a 35 back nine from the men’s tees to tie Pam Howell’s course record for women,

She ended the 18-hole round with a 74.

Ulrich said her familiarity with the course really helps her.

“I play nearly every day and most of the time it is at the Hartington Golf Course,” Ulrich said. “There is a big difference between playing college golf and high school, with the length of the course being the biggest factor. I go out every day really focusing on getting better every day, even if I am not scoring better, but as long as I make more greens in regulation, hit more fairways, or even making more putts.”

The University of Nebraska-Omaha golfer and former Cedar Catholic standout understood the dramatic effects of moving back to the men’s tees.

“Holes get a lot longer and challenging,” she said. “The Hartington course is actually a lot shorter compared to the courses I play in college, even If I do play from the tips here. I really like the challenge of playing from the men’s. I play the women’s tees about twice a year with my goal of getting the course record but always fall apart during my round.”

Ulrich has always wanted the course record since being a youngster and claimed the nine and 18-hole records her senior year with scores of 37 and 77.

“Getting the course record from the men’s tees has never even crossed my mind,” she said. “I’ve been playing good, but I really didn’t think I could shoot 35 from the men’s at this course, as many guys who play those tees know that this course can get very challenging with hard pin placements.

“Pam Howell definitely didn’t make it easy, but my next goal is to break it and just keep getting better. Now that I’ve shot 35 once I know I can do it a few more times, and hopefully get lower.”

The day as a whole was a good one despite a good but not an awesome front nine.

“I shot 39, which is a decent round for me, but I shanked a shot out of bounds on hole eight then bogeyed hole nine,” Ulrich said. “So even though it was a good score I really felt like that big mistake needed to be eliminated on my back nine. I didn’t even realize how well I was playing on my back nine until I was on the last hole and realized that I hadn’t made a bogey all round, something that is huge for me.”

She achieved her feat while playing with three men to help bring out her competitive side and up the level of challenge.

She was also glad her putting cooperate as it can be up and down at times.

“It feels good to really see my game finally coming together,” she said. “The past two years of college, I struggled with my golf game and never felt comfortable with my swing after making so many changes in my transition from high school to college. I ended up redshirting my freshman year, then I lost my sophomore year due to COVID, so now I’m sitting here with four years of eligibility left and feeling great.

“Now that I’ve stepped up my golf game a little bit, I feel very confident going into the Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championships later this summer and then moving into my fall season in Omaha.”

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