Sophomore women’s golfer Addi Kooi did not grow up playing golf. Instead, she describes herself as a “late bloomer” in the game of golf.
In fact, the only reason she picked up the game was because it was something to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I started playing golf around age 13,” Kooi said. “It was during the pandemic, and my brother would always go out and play, and I’d always get left behind. One day I just decided to go out there, and I fell in love with it.”
However, golf was not the easiest sport for Kooi to pick up. Despite the growing pains of learning how to play the game, Kooi still maintained an upbeat attitude.
“It was the first sport that really challenged me,” Kooi said. “[But] I just loved it.”
Even through the initial struggles, Kooi recalls the successes that came along the way because of her love of golf. She believes the drive it took to eventually succeed came from both internal and external factors.
“A lot of [my determination] just came from my love and passion for the sport,” Kooi said. “I’d spend six hours out there a day and it felt like nothing. I grew up with a lot of fellow golfers who are college golfers now, and my brother really pushed me as well. I hung out with some of the boys’ teams, and they, obviously, were way better than me. [When] you hang out with better people, it kind of pushes you to be better.”
Kooi was a three-time most valuable player for the tennis team at Westfield High School while also playing golf. She feels having two sports to focus on instead of one was beneficial as she continued to improve at golf.
“It was super rewarding,” Kooi said. “I think it taught me a lot of discipline and time management, and just how to make the most out of every day. Going back and forth from tennis and golf just helps you to adapt in different situations.”
By the end of her high school golf career, Kooi had turned into a reliable scorer for Westfield, helping the Shamrocks finish as the state runner-up in 2023. She also contended for the individual state title back-to-back seasons — finishing second and third, respectively.
Women’s golf head coach Christie Cates was a strong believer in Kooi’s golfing ability even as a first-year and commended her ability to settle in as a player. She specifically highlighted a round early last fall as a positive sign for how Kooi was adjusting to the collegiate game.
“Last year at Bradley she was four-under,” Cates said. “I think then [we] saw what the possibilities were. As a freshman, [we] never know how they’re going to adapt, not only [on] the golf side of things, but [with] school and everything. Seeing an under-par round so early from a freshman is definitely not the norm.”
Kooi recalls setting goals before her first year on the team and highlights the help of teammates, including junior Treva Dodd as instrumental to her success.
“I got to college, and I was like, ‘Maybe my goal is just to make the starting five,’” Kooi said. “I had Treva as a great role model, and she really pushed me freshman year.”
In addition to Dodd helping her teammate adjust to collegiate golf, Kooi credits the self-belief of Dodd as a good model for her to learn from.
“Treva is the most confident person,” Kooi said. “Not only does it translate to herself, but it translates to [her] teammates because when you have someone that’s confident in themselves, they’re confident in you. They push others and they have that belief in you. And so then, you start to gain that belief in yourself. She really showed me how to be confident on the course.”
Both Kooi and Dodd recorded multiple top-five finishes during the fall season — with Dodd having two and Kooi having finished in the top five in every event during the campaign. Dodd contends that the competitive nature of the two in practice helps them become better as the season progresses.
“I think it’s really fun to challenge each other,” Dodd said. “It starts in practice when we have little challenges [such as] a chipping game. We’re all super competitive and all around the same talent level. Going back and forth with her all the time is really fun and [we are] always trying to beat each other in a positive way. [We are] trying to beat each other’s scores, [which] ultimately brings the team score down every time we play.”
While the two want to beat each other in practice for bragging rights, they understand the importance of helping each other out when the scores truly matter.
“Ultimately, we’ll help each other out in the tournaments and practice rounds and everything,” Dodd said. “We want to help each other out, but I think at the end of the day, pushing each other to shoot the best score possible is what gets us [to] be confident.”
Between the fall and spring of her first year, Kooi underwent a swing change. While it was not an easy transition, Kooi and her head coach knew the short-term struggles would make her better off in the long term.
“I remember last fall, Coach [Cates] came up to me after the first couple tournaments [and] said, ‘This isn’t gonna work for the spring,’” Kooi said. “[My swing] was bad. It was about a 40-yard hook and I got through it in the fall, but I didn’t play to my potential, and I ended up changing swing coaches [which] was a big process. [Cates] introduced me to my swing coach now and we worked really hard, [around] once or a couple times a week for four months straight until the spring season started, just to get a little bit of change going. In the spring, I didn’t have my best [results]; I was just starting to get into a different swing. But I kept working with [my swing coach] and we just kept improving from there. [In] the summer, I really broke out and finally found my swing.”
With a new swing has come a great deal of success for Kooi. She has won twice in five events — at the University of Dayton Invitational and the Northern Kentucky Fall Invitational — and looks to keep building off of her success when the calendar turns to 2027. She believes the bond of the team will help them when they face conference opponents they did not see in the fall.
“I think just staying close during the offseason [will help],” Kooi said. “We’ve hung out a ton since [the fall] season ended, and just keeping the team chemistry [is important]. We haven’t really seen many conference teams this fall, so we don’t really have any way to compare to them yet. I think just going in thinking that we can beat all of them is [critical].”
Cates credits Kooi’s cool demeanor as integral to her individual success through her three semesters on the team so far.
“She’s a lot more positive out there,” Cates said. “Even if [she has] a bad hole, she’s certainly at the level where she’s certainly going to get that back with a birdie or two. I think tough situations can certainly make you better, and where her mental game is now, it’s perfect for golf. [Kooi is] never getting too high or or too low. You don’t know if she’s out there shooting four under or she’s shooting four over, which is such an important part of the game.”
When the spring season kicks off in February, Kooi’s primary goal is not personal accolades, but instead to be a good role model for her fellow teammates.
“I think [my goal is to] be a positive light to the team and to continue to work hard,” Kooi said. “I can show girls that you can improve every year, and I want to improve every year, not only as a golfer but also as a team leader. Treva has shown me that you can improve in scores and you can improve as a leader on the team. I want to help the younger girls step into that role as well, that’d be my ultimate goal.”
Cates has already seen Kooi step up as a leader and praises her positive energy on and off the golf course.
“Addi’s a great teammate,” Cates said. “If I could have nine ‘Addis’ on the golf team, I certainly would. [She is] really positive with teammates, gets along with everyone and has a great personality. [Kooi] is one of those kids who leads by example. She’s not quiet by any means, but she lets her work ethic speak for itself.”