ROGERS — Rogers High golfer Trevor Barton hit the books this summer.
And the result was a record-breaking season for the Mounties golfer.
Barton had a strong junior season this past fall, working his way from the junior varsity squad to the varsity lineup.
BOYS GOLFER OF THE YEAR
Trevor Barton
School: Rogers High
CLASS: Senior
NOTABLE: Was medalist at 7A/6A-West Conference Tournament and finished third at the Class 7A Tournament. ... Finished seventh at the Overall Tournament. ... Won medalist honors at seven of the 11 matches the Mounties played. ... Named All-State and All-Conference.
Barton has always been solid off the tee and his game around the green was also improving. But something was missing that was keeping the Mounties’ golfer from elite status.
“Trevor could always hit the ball, but he was battling being his worst enemy,” Rogers coach Marcus Alexander said. “When something went wrong, he didn’t always handle the situation. He would let a bad shot affect his round.”
To fix that, Barton read the book Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game. He learned a lot.
Barton used the book and a lot of practice time to win medalist honors at seven of the Mounties 11 matches. He then finished third at the Class 7A Tournament with a 2-over 74. He won a playoff for the third place finish and that allowed him to be the first Mounties golfer to qualify for the Overall Tournament since Jay Houk made back-to-back appearances in 1998 and 1999.
For his efforts, Barton is the All-NWA Media Boys Golfer of the Year
“Senior year, you couldn’t tell if he was having a good round or a bad round,” Alexander said. “Trevor had a committed spring and summer, and from the first tournament he was very consistent with his scoring. He practiced non-stop.”
And a little reading helped, too.
“My sophomore to junior year, I got better by hitting ball after ball on the range,” Barton said. “From my junior to senior year, it was all the mental game I worked on. I went through the book Fearless Golf, and that really helped me out.
“I got from the book that you can’t control what has already happened. You can’t look back and you just have to keep going and concentrate on the next shot.”
Barton also said playing with some of the better golfers at the Lost Springs Golf and Athletic Club in Rogers helped his game tremendously.
“It’s always good to play with golfers that are as good, if not better, than you,” Barton said. “It makes you better. We would play for something here and there, so there was a little pressure. I learned to handle the pressure when something is on the line.”
Barton didn’t have a plus-80 round until the Overall Tournament, which featured the top 21 golfers from the state’s seven classifications. Barton shot an 82 for a seventh place finish.
“There was a lot of pressure, but that tournament was a lot of fun,” Barton said. “There were a lot of people there watching. It was a good learning experience.”
Barton has received interest from several colleges and he is also exploring walking on at Arkansas.
“If that doesn’t work out, I will look at some other options,” Barton said. “I’d really like to play college golf.”