PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Her coach calls Libby Boone a consistent golfer, but an even better teammate.
Boone was the only female player on the Carlisle golf team this past season and turned in another excellent season, qualifying for the schoolgirl state tournament for the third consecutive year. She made both the Penobscot Valley Conference all-conference team and was an Aroostook League all-star team selection, both for the third year in a row.
Her match scoring average was 47 for nine holes last year and she lowered it by a stroke to 46 this past season.
But it is unselfishness that is the quality that sets the Presque Isle High School senior apart, according to Carlisle Coach Marc Weeks.
“Golf is an individual sport which can be played, as it is in high school, in a team format. Once you start play in a match, you are really on your own in that you are your own player, decision maker, coach and referee,” Weeks said. “Libby is an exceptional teammate. Her thought process is dominated not by her personal achievements, rather, ‘I will not let my teammates down.’
“Because she always puts team first, her selection as a two-year captain was an easy choice. She sets the example on and off the course in terms of attitude, effort, cooperation and sportsmanship; leading by example and taking the underclassman under her tutelage,” Weeks added.
Boone was a latecomer to the sport. She spent her elementary school years immersed in soccer and softball, but took to golf around the age of 13 and hasn’t looked back.
“I started going out and watching my dad play and that’s where my interest started,” she said. “My grandparents bought me my first set of clubs and they have been playing golf for a long time, and I soon realized it was a perfect way for me to spend time with them and will be something I’ll always connect with and have the memory of first playing with them and my dad.”
That initial interest soon turned into a passion as she began taking lessons from Barry Madore, the club pro at Presque Isle Country Club.
Presque Isle High School senior Libby Boone gets ready to hit a shot during a Carlisle golf team match this past season. Boone received several awards during a successful career.
(Contributed photo/PIHS Athletics)
She still plays often with her father and has enjoyed her involvement in a ladies league at PICC, which she said has allowed her to practice in a more competitive setting.
Boone has gone on to win the junior-junior club championship, the junior club championship and the ladies club championship over the years.
As a member of the school team, she has been Weeks’ most consistent performer each of the past two seasons.
“Her reliability in a sport in which every golfer has a wide variance in scoring is remarkable,” Weeks said. “We use the lowest four scores of the seven starters to determine which team wins a match and we counted Libby’s score every match for the past two years. No other player in our program came close to this, regardless of scoring average. From a coaching perspective, that consistency is noteworthy.”
Boone said she has enjoyed being a part of the high school golf team despite being outnumbered by the boys.
“Going into a mainly all-male school team my freshman year was intimidating and I was afraid of not being accepted by them, but over the years it’s become easier,” she said. “I’ve felt very lucky that I’ve had the group of guys I have had over the past few years who have been accepting of me and always look out for me both during and after the season.”
She says she has appreciated their honesty, which has helped her become a better player.
“One of the biggest lessons I’ve taken is to be told how it really is,” Boone said. “With most of the guys, they will tell me how it is with little to no sympathy because it’s for my best interest and that has helped improve my game and toughened me up.
“The guys, whether they realize it or not, have pushed me to try and keep up with them and do what they could do. Though at times that may have caused me more stress, it was something that kept me motivated to work harder,” she added.
