Backward hats, white T-shirts and gym shorts.
Sure, it wasn’t the most fashionable golf attire. But Pete Kowalinski, a Solanco grad and former Lancaster-based golf professional, wanted sons, Andrew and Thomas, to enjoy the sport at its core.
No worrying about score. No overthinking shots. Simply spending time with family in the sport that’ll last a lifetime.
“I wanted to show them that golf is something that can be fun,” Pete said. “I knew they were pretty athletic, but I wasn’t expecting them to do what they’re doing in school, in their competitiveness, in college after (high school). But my primary focus with them was that it’s a game that’s meant to be fun, and this is something that we can all do as a family as well. Until forever.”
Andrew and Thomas still recall that round at Evergreen during the spike of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s stowed in their memory bank for the moments when golf tests their mental boundaries.
There haven’t been many frustrations for Conestoga Valley’s senior twins. Monday and Tuesday’s PIAA Class 3A championships at Penn State’s Blue Course in State College will serve as the culmination to their trumpeted prep careers.
How they got there is even more noteworthy. Andrew and Thomas penciled the same two-day score — 8-over 152 — at the District Three tournament to punch their PIAA tickets.
“I think we were both happy to just make it to states because we had a rough couple days,” Thomas said. “But I would say that it made us feel closer, and I think that shooting the same score kind of made us realize that we’re closer to each other than we thought. I think that raises the competitiveness, too, between us.”
If there’s been a surplus of anything in the twins’ golf journey, it’s been friendly competition. Thomas wants to outclass Andrew. Andrew seeks the upper hand on Thomas.
Both began taking golf more seriously in their underclassmen years. Thomas started forming stronger belief on the Lancaster County Junior Golf Tour when he was keeping stride with the league’s standouts. Andrew’s turning point was in a match his sophomore season, when he played as an extra and broke 80 for the first time.
Since building their foundation, it’s been a race to the top two spots in the standings. The brothers tied for three low medalists each this fall, captaining CV to a 29-1 record and a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two title.
“I feel like the competitiveness kind of goes aside when I’m in a tournament,” Andrew said, “because I just see the leaderboard, and I see both of us together. I’m always asking the marker what (Thomas’) score’s at, because I’m always trying to beat it. But it just feels great for us to be out there together.”
While sibling rivalry is the main component to Thomas’ and Andrew’s climb, having supportive teammates and an engaged coaching staff has been equally substantial.
Thomas highlighted coach Brandon Hershey’s captivating practices. Andrew said team camaraderie, specifically when he became more involved his sophomore year, has been a synonymous spark.
Golf wasn’t originally the preferred sport. Baseball and track and field chewed up most of the twins’ time.
“Now that we can play golf together, there’s more spending time with each other, and I think that grew into competitiveness,” Thomas said. “And now all we want to do is beat each other. But it’s fun to be able to have somebody that you’re guaranteed to play with and practice with, pretty much for the rest of your life.”
Monday’s PIAA appearance will be Thomas’ second while Andrew is entering uncharted waters. Shooting low is always the goal, but the brothers believe they’ll extract more from the shared experience.
“I kind of want to leave an example of golf, in the end, isn’t about what score,” Andrew said. “It’s more about having fun and spending time with your teammates.”
That’s how they embarked on their golf passage — with backward hats, white T-shirts and gym shorts, and the intent of enjoying the sport at its core.
It’s a message they’ve never lost sight of.
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