Pro golfers Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Roy McIlroy appear to be heading to the Hall Of Fame for pro golf. Could one of Fluvanna’s own make it there one day too? Fluvanna County sophomore Jack Stanke is on the rise. The number one seed all sophomore season, he was already qualifying for matches his freshman year as a Fluco.

Stanke is not only a gifted golfer, but also a good role model. A lot of the younger team members enjoy watching Stanke play, and pay particular attention to the mechanics in his swing. Even the golf coaches—Steven Szarmach and Bryan Searcy– get Stanke to model a practice swing when another team member is struggling with theirs. “What I’m doing is right and I love to be the example for others,” he said.

Stanke’s swing is no accident. Starting golf at age nine, he soon began lessons with local PGA professional Mark Marshall.  “He has really helped me developed my game into what it is today,” Stanke said of Marshall. But it wasn’t just Marshall who helped Stanke improve. “The upper classmen at FCHS have helped me a lot,” he said.

As a freshman, Stanke had a beautiful conference round and pushed himself right into the regional competition with former teammate Dylan Garrett. Even now, his accomplishments on the course have been outstanding for just a sophomore. But his golf career still has a long way to go. “It was nice to see Jack have success last season after all the hard work he put into golf, but he knows that he will have to continue to work hard to get where he wants to be,” said Coach Searcy. Stanke recently shot his best score ever– a 79 on 18 holes—an experience he hopes to repeat regularly. “I want to shoot a low 80 on average when I play 18 holes and about a 41 on 9 holes,” he said.

As good as Stanke has become, he is not really concerned about his future with golf and picking a college. “If I get a scholarship that will be great. But if I don’t, I won’t be disappointed in any way,” he said, noting that he wants to be an engineer if a career in golf doesn’t work out. No matter what his future holds, Stanke will always be playing in his free time. And just maybe, with a little luck and lots of hard work, someday there will be a Fluco in the golf Hall Of Fame.