Devin Cooper started playing golf when she was in seventh grade at Highland, and now the freshman is playing her third season for the Huskies.

“Right now she is shooting 20 strokes better than she was two years ago,” said Mike Milliman, Highland’s coach. “She started off having never swung a club before.”
Cooper is now averaging about a 50 per round, and she enjoys driving and making contact with the ball on the fairway. As she benefits from her long game, improvement with her short game could help her overall score.

“Pretty well,” said Cooper, when asked about her season so far. “This is my best year yet.”
Golf is always a constant challenge. Constant or frequent play, aided with practice, can help scores and results or sometimes not. That is the quandary faced when teeing off, and Cooper is aware of this.

“You can always keep getting better,” she said. “It’s not like you ever reach a point where you are just good enough.”

Against New Paltz last week, at Apple Greens, Cooper shot a 57, in the 144-172 loss, as she rides through the highs and lows the game puts any golfer through. And there is always work to do as to cope with the game’s obstacles.

“She’s great kid,” said Milliman. “She tries hard, very patient with her game.”
The Huskies were 3-2 coming into their contest with New Paltz and dropped to 3-3 with the loss. Cooper has primarily played golf during her previous varsity seasons with Highland, but she plans to play more this summer to help her game.

If Cooper continues to focus on her game, she will always help her team. And it’s a group she enjoys playing with.

“It’s pretty fun,” she said. “We’re all friends.”