Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
In the swing and on the greens
Griffiths, Charleston duo claim top honors for area high school golf
VAN BUREN — Van Buren’s Drew Griffiths remembers the moment very clearly the first time he beat his dad, Brandon, on the golf course although his dad has a different version.
“He claims it was when I was 17, but I remember it very vividly; it was at Eagle Crest and I was maybe 12, 11 to 13, somewhere in there,” Drew Griffiths said. “I beat him by one or two strokes. I told my mom, and she thought it was the biggest thing ever.”
That’s always a big moment in the life of a son.
“He doesn’t admit it,” Griffiths said. “He thinks he can beat me now.”
Griffiths has earned victories over a lot of foes over the past several years.
He’s the inaugural All-River Valley Democrat-Gazette Boys Golfer of the Year.
Griffiths finished fourth in the Class 5A state golf tournament to help lead Van Buren to a third-place finish.
His career has been a steady progression for the four-year varsity golfer for the Pointers.
“It’s progressed a lot,” Griffiths said. “I’ve gotten bigger and stronger through the years. You kind of have to change your game as you get bigger. You learn how to play golf and manage yourself to where you can have a little area where you shoot and not have big numbers. You kind of keep it a general area. I think that’s one of the biggest things in golf is to be consistent.”
He competed against Class 6A competition as a freshman, missed the state tournament by one stroke as a sophomore and finished fifth last year with an 80 at the Class 5A state tournament. This year, he led Van Buren to a conference championship with a whopping
3 1- s t roke lead and was the individual medalist with a 71.
Griffiths began playing golf when he was 3 years old and also played baseball and basketball until the ninth grade when he turned his attention to just golf.
“The last four years, it’s just been straight golf,” Griffiths said. “My dad and some of his buddies always told me you can play golf all your life, and you can’t play baseball and basketball the rest of
your life. I knew I had a special talent and could go a long way with it compared to basketball and baseball. I chose golf, and now I’m running with it.”
Griffiths just signed to play collegiately at Arkansas Tech and continues to play wherever or whoever he can.
“All the time, I’ll play with my dad or my buddies that are either my age or younger,” Griffiths said.