Brittany Sanchez is a three-time national champion in gymnastics, golf, and skydiving. Currently finalizing a PhD, she has tried hickories for the first time and said “the sense of accomplishment” is very real. She is pictured above with Brian Giboney whose son, Grayson, an accomplished golfer in his own right, took the photo.
By Brian Giboney
(Brian Giboney is an SoHG member who has been an avid parachutist for years. He is a long-time contributor to Parachutist magazine and also pens the occasional free-lance golf article. He was happy to share this outing with his friends in the SoHG. – Ed.)
In life we all meet some very unique people. Through my passion for the sport of skydiving, I’ve become good friends with perhaps the most interesting person the world over. Her name is Brittany Sanchez.
At age six Brittany started competing in gymnastics and by 11 was an Olympic hopeful, training under legendary coaches Márta & Béla Károlyi. She won a national championship in vault, but by age 14 she had missed her window and took up golf. Brittany played golf in high school and continued at the college level. In 2001, she added a second national championship when her Southern Nazarene University golf team won the NAIA National Championship.
After golf Brittany started skydiving and BASE jumping. To date she has made over 5,000 skydives and 500 BASE jumps, and in 2011 added a third national championship – in skydiving. In between skydives and the occasional round of golf, she earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and is currently putting the final touches on her dissertation on gene and sequence variants at Texas A&M. She is soon to receive a much deserved PhD.
To summarize: THREE national championships (gymnastics, golf, and skydiving), two degrees, and a PhD all before the age of 34.
When I offered an introduction to hickory golf, she did not hesitate. Brittany was excited for the chance to try a new challenge. Twin Lakes Country Club was selected as the venue and off we went to the course.
No instruction was needed for the accomplished golfer. Her first hickory shot was a niblick that sent the ball airborne. The round was smooth and we ended up shooting a two-person better ball score of 77. I certainly did not have my best stuff and was thankful to have her as my teammate or I might have shot in the hickory 90s that day. After the round I asked Brittany to share her experience – in non-PhD terminology.
“The first thought on the range was these clubs do work and no big deal, but out on the course I quickly realized how challenging it is playing with 100-year-old hickories,” she said. “The rewarding part is hitting a great shot [she hit several] with the old clubs. When I finally made a par, it took me back 20 years to when I first started playing golf and made my very first par. The sense of accomplishment is real with the hickory clubs. I also appreciate my modern clubs much more now.”
If you are looking for a new sense of accomplishment on the golf course, hickory golf just might be for you.