Brandon Russ '25 Recruiting Profile

Why ME? I will strive to better myself while also encouraging my teammates to be better than they are on and off the golf course. I have been playing golf since I was seven years old. I took a break from the sport when I was nine to pursue my love for baseball but soon realized I actually loved golf. My first year back playing golf I made the middle school team and was placed at number 5 which did not make me happy at all. During the season I realized just how rusty I had become during my break from the sport. At the end of the season we had a inner-squad match in order to see who was going to play in our conference match and I came in second place but wasn’t put on the team because the coach knew the other player better. The next year after that I practiced all summer and during the off season and was number one for my seventh and eighth grade year. I had teammates look up to me for the first time in my life and I realized I needed to help them out when we were practicing so that they could enjoy the sport as well. My first year of high school I made the varsity team and was seated at the number two spot because the coach knew the player above me better despite me beating him in all of the matches we played. I didn’t let it get under my skin as much though and kept striving to be better than I was. I also began my first ever out of school tournaments and it was a rough scene. I shot 121 in my first tournament at Lake Nona and 99 the next day. My sophomore year we got a new golf coach and he placed me at the number one spot and I began to feel more confident and ended up placing third at my district match and qualified for regionals. Although I didn’t play good at regionals i was very happy to see how far I had come. I played even more tournaments that summer for the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour and my average between my freshman and sophomore year was better by a 12 strokes. I am currently a junior in high school, my golf season has already ended I was seated number two this year behind a freshman who came out of nowhere shooting below par in all of our regular season matches, I didn’t let it drag me down because it taught me how much more I need to work at my dream of becoming a college athlete. I finished this year averaging two over par in my regular season and placed second at districts. I also recently completed my first 2024 tournament at Sea Island GA and played mediocre shooting 80, 84, 82, was not my best tournament but definitely wasn’t my worst. Until next year I am going to be grinding through tournaments, Practicing, and working out to be the best I can be for my senior golf season. 

Brandon Russ

23, February 2024