The legendary Arnold Palmer once said, “Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.”

What better exemplifies Forrest’s Sara Browning, diminutive in stature, but blessed with an indomitable spirit of perseverance and humility, plus a pretty darn good golf game.

Browning, one of only two Lady Rockets’ golfers to appear in multiple state tournaments, was rewarded for her skill on the links and character on and off the course when she recently signed a Letter of Intent to attend Freed-Hardeman University next season on a golf scholarship.

“When I took over as coach of this golf program a couple years ago I knew just watching Sara play one time I knew she was going to be a true leader for this team without a doubt,” Forrest golf coach Andy Burkett said. “So to see her sign this Letter of Intent and get this scholarship, I’m really proud of her, I will definitely miss her, but I’m super proud for Sara.”

Freed-Hardeman seemed to be the perfect fit for Browning, who said about attending the Henderson University for the 2020-2021 Campaign, “I’m so excited, the coach is really great and Freed is a great place, it feels like family there already, so I’m just excited.”

Browning finished 16th in back-to-back Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association state golf tournaments, won two Gary Wells Cups, finished in the top five in the individual portion of the last two district and region tournaments, and turned in five top three finishes in Sned’s Amateur tour events in her five-year career on the Forrest golf team.

“Being part of a team is by far my favorite thing, being by myself is not nearly as fun as being with the team and being with my friends,” Browning said. “Just simply going to practice every day and being able to be with the team is my favorite memory.”

Along with the three returning players at FHU, Browning will have some familiar company when she tees it up next season for the Lady Lions, who also signed Hickman County’s Bailey Gilbert.

“Being and competing with all the good players in college will motivate me to be a better player and push myself,” said Browning, who averaged a score of 41.1 for nine holes in her senior season. “I want to get down to the mid-30’s for sure.”

Browning and Gilbert have been competing against each other for several years with the Lady Bulldogs winning the last two district titles and both golfers playing in the anchor position.

“Sara’s composure is what has carried her so far in her career,” Burkett said “She knows going in to every single match that she is going to play the best girl from every other school and it has never fazed her one bit.”

“If anything she is kind of the intimidator whenever it comes to playing girls from other schools, they are the ones that are intimidated to play against a girl like Sara.”

Gilbert is also the current individual district tournament top medalist and has played in three state tournaments, finishing 11th, 14th, and 41st the last three seasons.

The Lady Lions are coach by sixth-year head coach and 2005 Freed-Hardeman graduate Chris Hodges, who led the squad to their first-ever NAIA national ranking last season.

“It’s exciting for the program to have good people at our campus, with golf you travel quite a bit and that team chemistry is really important,” Hodges said. “The girls are going to be around each other for nine months out of the year, so being able to get along with each other and just having good overall people that you can trust to do the right things is very important to me and Sara is just top-notch.”

The American Conference school had 14 Top-5 finishes and four wins under Hodges in 2018-2019 and its home course is a gem.

The Chickasaw Golf Course at Henderson is a Jack Nicklaus signature design and plays at 6,030 yards from the college ladies tees.

“To me length isn’t that important as long as her short game is strong, so if she is in front of the green in two and can get up and down 75 percent of the time, that’s ok,” Hodges said. “I’m not big on strength, I’m more big on your mind, thinking your way through the course and I have had several girls in the past that have had the same length as Sara, so she will be just fine.”

“I have no doubt she will be a top-five for me, right now with her signing today I have five on the roster for next year and want to get to seven, just to get some competition amongst the girls, but I think with her work ethic she will be playing a lot for us next year.”

Browning has played Chickasaw and she feels it fits her game and is similar in length to the state tournament tract at the WillowBrook Golf Club in Manchester.

“I know I need to get longer, because in high school we play at about 5,300 and in college we will play at 6,000 or more which is what we did at the state tournament and it was a challenge,” Browning said. “Chickasaw is so beautiful, the course is great, the greens are great, the whole course is great.”

Browning currently sports a perfect 4.0 GPA at Forrest and wants to major in nursing at FHU.

“I’m fortunate enough to deal with Sara in the Forrest Beta Club and she is also an AP Literature student as well,” said Burkett, who teaches the AP Literature class. “She is a fantastic girl in and out of the classroom, so Freed-Hardeman definitely got a super caliber girl.”