ON PAR: Caroline Owens and Notre Dame

Hinsdale Central star continues her career at Notre Dame

By Jeff Vorva

A family vacation in the mid-2010s helped change the athletic career of Hinsdale Central’s Caroline Owens. She and her older siblings, Grace and Jake, were heavily involved in swimming and figured their careers would be in the water.

But a trip to Florida that featured golf, golf, and more golf changed all of that.

“I was swimming since I was five years old, and I was pretty good at it,” Caroline said. “I was actually ranked. We took this one golf vacation in Florida and I just kind of rode along in the car. I was forced to go, but I ended up liking it. I started to like it better than swimming. I quit swimming when I was 13, and I have golfed ever since.”
She will be competitive golfing for a little while longer. Owens will continue her career at Notre Dame.

Owens led the Red Devils to a second-place finish in the state in the Illinois High School Association Class 2A state tournament in the fall. She finished third individually with a two-day total of 147. In 2022, the Red Devils were state champions, and Owens claimed 33rd with a 155.

Notre Dame coach Caroline Powers Ellis is looking forward to having Owens in South Bend. “Caroline is exactly the type of student-athlete a coach looks for in a member of the team,” Powers Ellis said in a news release. “She has a laser focus on the course and is willing to hold herself and those around her to the highest standards.”

For Owens, the recruitment was a long process that started in August, 2022 and ended in August, 2023. E-mails, phone calls and visits were a big part of the recruiting process.

“I love it – it’s a perfect fit for me,” Owens said of Notre Dame. “When I was first visiting schools and when I first visited there, I knew I wanted good academics and good athletics. Notre Dame’s tradition of excellence in academics and athletics and the overall sense of community was really great.”

Already, she is receiving love from people after signing.

“Ever since I committed there, I’ve become aware that when I wear my ND hat, everyone who sees it or anyone who has gone there will reach out and say ‘oh, hey’ and are all super nice and kind and always take the time to talk to me and tell me about their experience,” Owens said. “I just really love that.”

She admits that adapting to the sport was hard at first, but with the help of Oak Brook Golf Club swing coach Dan Kochevar, she was able to start to master the sport.

“It took a while,” Owens admitted. “It took a lot of practice. It was definitely a challenge at first. It could be very frustrating. But thankfully, my swing coach has helped me grow a love for the game and get my swing and mental processes where they are today.”

Owens said that her enjoyment of the sport keeps increasing.

“I love that it’s an individual sport, and you can practice on your own,” she said. “You can decide how long you practice, how much you practice, and what you practice. I think that freedom is really nice. You get out what you put in, so it is really up to how hard you work. I really like that because I’m a super hard worker, and it’s great to see directly how your hard work pays off.”

She also appreciates the mental aspect of the game.

“It’s just as much mental and strategic as it is physical. With swimming, I got burnt out because of the 7 a.m. practices, jumping in a cold pool, and staring at the black lines at the bottom of the pool. It’s a little monotonous for me and physically straining,” she said. “But golf is so different in a way that you can get so creative with it. It’s more of a mental challenge.” ■