Aug 29, 2024 By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read

Ally Wolling of Bethel Park enjoyed a successful summer season of golf capturing female player of the year honors from as well as finishing first in her division during Southwest Pennsylvania Junior Golf action.

After a sensational summer on the links, Ally Wolling of Bethel Park is hoping for an awesome autumn in girls golf.

Acknowledging that there are ‘more experienced’ golfers ahead of her, Wolling said, “I’d love to win the WPIAL title. I think I can do it if I work hard enough. Anything is possible.”

It is conceivable that Wolling will qualify for the district championships for the first time in her career as well as enjoy a continued success because she has labored long during the summer break preceding her senior year at Bethel Park High School.

For starters, she started taking lessons at the Kuhn Golf Academy after training two years at First Tee of Pittsburgh. The academy is owned and operated by David Kuhn, who has 28 years of experience perfecting golf swings as well as teaching methods and techniques of the game. Not only is he a certified AimPoint instructor, he has coached the Peters Township boys team for decades. He guided the Indians to a record-breaking season in 2023 that included a WPIAL title as well as a PIAA championship.

“Ally has developed a love and passion for golf over the last few years and has worked towards really improving her game,” Kuhn said. “She has made some positive strides this summer and looks to have a good senior year at Bethel Park.”

Wolling ended the summer season being named the Female Player of the Year in her age division and placed first for the championship flight for the Southwest Pennsylvania Junior Golf Tour.

Wolling said the accolades ‘mean a lot and that practice indeed makes a difference.

“It’s taken dedication and a lot of hard work,” she said. “You have to work hard to get what you want.”

Wolling added that the summer season has prepared her for her fourth year of competition on the Lady Hawks golf team.

“It’s given me a lot of confidence,” she said. “The summer got me ready for the season and taught me more about the mental game of golf. You can’t get down on yourself. That’s my Achilles heel. I’m trying to be as calm as I can be.”

Off the greens, Wolling has discovered a few relaxing activities. In the spring, she plays lacrosse with her sister, Morgan, for the Lady Hawks. She has competed in lacrosse for eight years.

“It’s something I wanted to do so I stuck with it, but I prefer golf. It’s my main sport. I’m better at it,” she admitted.

Additionally, Wolling is a seasoned photographer. Shooting scholastic sports is her forte. She donates her images to the yearbook and The Hawk Eye, the school’s newspaper, as well as posts pictures on social media. She also is a videographer for Blackhawk TV, a channel dedicated to live productions of Bethel Park High School sporting events.

“During my sophomore year, I was looking for something to do,” Wolling explained. “The photography (and videography) took off from there.”

Wolling intends to parlay those creative skills into a career. She plans to golf in college while majoring in athletic communications where she hopes to break into the sports filming industry.

Currently, she is looking to play golf and gain a good education at either Waynesburg University or Penn West-California.

While averaging 83 for 18 holes and 40 over nine holes, Wolling also finds time to maintain a 3.85 GPA in the classroom and work a part-time job in the pro shop at 1781 Club (formerly Scenic Valley Golf Course) in Venetia.

Regardless of where her golf career takes her, Wolling will have a sport for life; one that provides directions throughout her existence.

While her parents, Erin and Zachary, have been her Polar star, Wolling’s coaches have provided guidance as well.

Noting she started golfing because of her father seven years ago, Wolling said that it was a trip to the driving range with him that made her “fall in love” with the game.

In the few lessons she has already taken at the Kuhn Golf Academy, Wolling said that she had learned plenty that will help her on and off the course. Thanks to the AimPoint method employed by Kuhn, she has already improved her ability to read greens as well as her putting.

“Golf is full of challenges,” she said. “Things happen. They don’t always go your way. So, you have to be ready for everything but you also have to be patient.

“Golf is such a mental game. If you play a bad shot, you will know because you didn’t do something right. So you correct your mistakes. It’s the same in life. You are going to make mistakes. The secret is to get back up and try again.”