People sometimes claim golf is an easy sport, but to Catherine Vivongsy, it is anything but. Vivongsy started playing golf when she was little and started to love the sport.

“I started playing golf when I was 9 when my parents involved me in a summer golf camp. After that, I instantly clicked with the sport, so I continued being involved with it,” Vivongsy said.

Vivongsy works on golf almost all of the time, whether it be playing in tournaments or even cleaning her clubs.

“I play about 4-5 times a week, including tournaments,” Vivongsy said.

This summer, she was offered a huge opportunity to work with Congaree, a prestigious golf program for promising individuals in order to further improve their game.

“My experience at Congaree is definitely an experience that will last me a lifetime. Not only did I get to meet new people and play at their incredible courses, but I also got to experience what college schedules were like, as well as how to be independent like college students are,” Vivongsy said.

Though Congaree greatly helped Vivongsy with golf, she says that she still needs a lot of work.

“Over the summer, I’ve been going through several changes in my swing, and it’s been taking longer to fix than expected. But at this point, it’s coming together slowly, and I’m continuing to work hard at it,” Vivongsy said.

In addition to all of the training she attends, the golfer also spends a great deal of time participating in tournaments.

“I’ve competed in about 7 to 8 tournaments over this summer,” Vivongsy said. “Some of the most memorable ones being the Wolfpack Classic at Loonie Poole, UNC Finley and the Tour Championship for Peggy Kirk Bell at Pine Needles in Pinehurst.”

Although Vivongsy’s summer was filled with golf, she says it hasn’t affected her social life in a negative way.

“Through tournaments, volunteering and the trip to Congaree, I’ve met a lot of new people, which has helped me branch out to even more people. This has helped me to open more doors for me, and more opportunities and possibilities for career paths and goals that I want to achieve,” Vivongsy said.

She opened her junior season Sept. 10, leading her team to a second place finish with her 39 score, which was good for fourth overall.

Vivongsy said, “I could have a lot more improvements in my game, but overall I think as a team we did really good, and I look forward to spending time with my team, with practice, and moving together and having fun.”