Golf balls aren’t the only things being driven by Buellton resident Laura Fullmer. According to her coaches and parents, Fullmer is extremely driven as a student, an athlete, and in all that she does.
Fullmer attends Santa Ynez High School and lives with her mother and father. When she was 6 years old, her grandpa taught her how to golf.
“I had never played a game,” Fullmer said. “My grandpa kept turf on the porch in Seattle. He gave me plastic golf clubs and had a tin can that he held on the floor. He told me to practice by using the golf ball [and] to put in the can. ... I thought it was a pretty fun game,”
When she was 12 and in middle school, Fullmer picked golf up again. She tried out for the team, and has been golfing ever since.
“I thought it was cool that most of my family played golf in their spare time; it is a nice relaxing game,” she said.
One of the things she enjoys about golfing is that it isn’t a competitive sport.
“Golf is supposed to be a fun, relaxing thing outdoors in nature, with everyone who cares about you—friends and family,” Fullmer said.
She said she appreciates having such motivating team members who help each other during times of stress.
“Without the team members, it wouldn’t be the same; we share a sense of bonding,” she said.
Fullmer said even if she fails, and things don’t go the way she planned, she learns.
“Sometimes, during competitions and games, I don’t do so well in the beginning. It tends to disappoint me. One time, I decided to forget about every bad shot that I had … and become more optimistic about how I was playing,” she said. “After doing this … I forgot all of those bad feelings [and realized] worrying about the bad shots just holds me back.”
Ashley Coehlo said Fullmer is a joy to coach.
“She wants to succeed, she is driven. Laura listens so well; she has a desire to do well, not only in golf, but also in school. She takes AP classes and is focused on the future,” Coehlo said.
As she looks to the future, Fullmer said she would like to continue golfing. She hopes to go on to community college, and then to a university. She wants to play golf at each of these institutions.
Golf has given Fullmer something to shoot for. It has taught her what it means to be a good athlete.
“A good athlete, to me, is someone who is hard working, fair, knows the rules, shows good sportsmanship, doesn’t take things too seriously; if they do they’ll forget how fun the sport is,” she said.
