By Mark Ambrogi
For Center Grove High School senior Lexi Stuart, it doesn’t get much better than a nice day on the golf course.
“I love when you hit a good shot, just the way it feels,” she said. “It makes you want to continue to practice and play from my perspective. Being outside is something I always love. I naturally gravitate toward the sport.”
Not that it’s always relaxing.
“Golfing is stressful but at the end of the day I love it,” said Stuart, who also swims for the Trojans. “I think it’s more stressful than swimming because I put more pressure on myself. It’s not what I want to do, but it’s what I tend to do.”
Trojans coach Cale Hoover said Stuart has steadily improved each season.
“With the work she has put in during the off-season we expect her to become a steady presence at the top of our lineup,” Hoover said. “She has a good head on her shoulders and tends to not let things bother her on the golf course. As Lexi has matured, so has her game. She has a lot of energy, but she now plays a more calm and thoughtful game of golf.”
Hoover said Stuart does a nice job of avoiding double bogeys or worse.
“Lexi’s biggest strength is her course management and decision making,” Hoover said. “She rarely gets herself too far out of position and does a nice job recovering when she is out of position.”
Her work ethic is another strength.
“She spends countless hours at the course practicing and preparing daily,” Hoover said.
Stuart said overall she had a pretty successful summer.
“I’ve gradually gotten a lot better, and I committed to college,” the University of Indianapolis recruit said. “Things are starting to fall in places, which is really good.”
Stuart said making her college commitment took some pressure off. Stuart said she wasn’t considering UIndy until coach Brent Nicoson reached out.
“I love the environment,” she said. “Other schools had reached out to me, but I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”
Stuart shot 71-73 to finish second in an Indiana Golf Association PGA Junior tournament in May at Kokomo Country Club. She then shot even par in the third round of her final junior tournament of the summer at Otter Creek.
“Physically, my swing is a lot closer to where I want it to be,” she said. “I’ve gotten a mental coach, so he’s been helping me a lot.”
“I think we could definitely give a good run,” Stuart said. “We came in second in the State Preview (tournament), and we didn’t even have our best stuff.”
The State Preview was held Aug. 5 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, the same course as the IHSAA state finals.
Stuart started playing golf in sixth grade and began taking it more seriously as a freshman.
Stuart competes in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and relays for Center Grove’s swim team. In the 2023 IHSAA state finals, she was on the sixth-place 200-yard freestyle relay team and eighth-place 400 freestyle relay team. In 2022, she was on the 200-freestyle relay that finished eighth.
THE STUART FILE
NAME: Lexi Stuart
AGE: 17
HEIGHT: 5-foot-10
CLASS: Senior
COLLEGE PLANS: Play golf at University of Indianapolis and study business
SPORTS: Golf, swimming
HOBBIES: Hiking and being outside
FAVORITE TV SHOWS: “Riverdale” and “Outer Banks”
FAVORITE SUBJECT: Math
FAVORITE ATHLETE: Rosie Zhang
FAVORITE MUSICIAN: Morgan Wallen
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Sanibel Island, Fla.
PARENTS: Corey and Jenny Stuart
