Student Golfer Strives to Balance Sport, School

Evan Dill was six-years-old when he picked up his first golf club and became a regular at the driving range.

“We started taking him when he was pretty young — old enough to know how to stay out of the way of a club,” said his mother, Anna Hartford. “I played in a league and his dad is an avid golfer, so it was a nice place to take him. He would putt around or swing the club on the range.”

Those days on the greens have since launched the sophomore’s athletic success. This weekend, Evan, 15, heads to the state tournament at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington.

Though the member of the high school’s boys golf team has been playing for more than a decade, he said he only began taking the sport seriously about two years ago.

“I even dropped the sport for an entire year because I wasn’t enjoying it at all,” he said. “When I decided to start playing again, I had a little bit of success so it motivated me. Then a little more success — those small victories kept me motivated. It’s the greatest feeling in the world when you sink a long putt or you keep hitting shots.”

These days, it’s not just on the golf course that Evan is excelling. He is also an advanced honor student and a talented trumpet player.

He also makes time to hang out with his peers.

“I really like just goofing off with my friends,” Evan said. “Not doing stupid things but doing things that are creative and interesting. Just sitting around the TV gets monotonous.”

Anna Hartford said when it comes to finding balance in life, her son is learning a valuable lesson.

“The mind and body need to work in harmony — the physical part is as important as mental part,” she said. “If we can teach him at young age how to have that and still have friends and fun and stay on task when he needs to, that’s a great gift we can give him.”

Evan hopes to one day pursue a professional career in golf, whether it’s playing or teaching the sport.

“If I could have a successful career in it after college, that would be awesome,” he said. “I never get tired of it. I could do it all day, every day. It’s something I’m really passionate about.”

Right now, his mind is on the trip to the state tournament this weekend.

“It’s a pretty big honor,” Evan said. “I went to sectionals last year and I shot a 97, which was probably one of the most humbling moments in my golfing career. Golf can humble you and quickly take away your pride. I worked the whole summer and all golf season for this, and it paid off and it feels really good.”

The Hartfords are proud of their son.

“Evan has worked extremely hard for three years to get his game at the level it is at,” Anna Hartford said. “Golf can be a relentless sport. The competition at the high school level is extremely difficult. To get where he’s gotten at the age of 15, it came through hard work, failures and successes. We’re really happy for him. He’s able to see hard work can really pay off.”