Marble Falls golfer Macy Fox is young ace

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — The latest Fox to make her mark on the sports scene is 12-year-old Macy Fox, the daughter of former rodeo standout Todd Fox and Marble Falls school board member Kelly Fox.

This Fox, however, is carving out her own legend on the golf course.

Recently, Macy, a Marble Falls Middle School student, finished in a four-way tie for second place at the Texas A&M Traditions tournament in the girls 11-18 division. During the two-day event, she shot a 78 and an 80 for a total of 158. She is one of the youngest golfers in the division. It’s only the latest top 10 finish for Fox.

“It’s a great sport,” Macy said about golf. “You can play it all your life. You can play it with all your friends.”

Macy has been playing for at least four years, and she and her dad travel to various tournaments across the Austin and San Antonio areas.

Her approach to the sport is much like her approach to holes. She attacks both with focus and determination. She awakes between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. to get in a workout before starting her day. In the afternoon, she hits the links, where she continues to work on her swing and other fundamentals of the sport.

“It’s a lot of hard practices,” Macy said. “You have to practice every day, at least an hour-and-a-half. You have to love the sport to place in it.”

Macy earned 800 points last year and made the cut in all five South Texas Professional Golf Association Junior Golf Foundation tournaments in which she has played. She won tournaments hosted by the Twin Creeks Country Club in Cedar Park, the Jimmy Clay Golf Club in Austin and the Prestige Tour at Bay Forest Golf Club in La Porte last summer.

Along with the fundamentals of golf, Macy constantly works on her mental game.

“You can’t get frustrated,” she said. “You have to come back on the next hole and a get a birdie.”

Just like the pros, the junior golfers walk the course as they play. Macy said being in shape is important in order to finish strong at tournaments.

“I take naps after tournaments,” she said. “You need to rest your muscles after you walk that much. You go to bed extra early.”

She is the younger sister of former Lady Mustang basketball standout Farren Fox, a 2005 graduate who played for St. Mary’s University.

“She’s very supportive of it,” Macy said of Farren. “She says, if I love the sport, I should keep playing. She thinks it’s great.”

In addition to playing the various courses across the Highland Lakes, Macy said she watches many golf tournaments, even as she is dressing. She’d like to model her game after Tiger Woods, who is credited with bringing more fans to the sport. He has consistently been ranked No. 1 in the world.

“He has a great swing,” she said. “He’s a great golfer. His swings are very strong. He has a very athletic swing. To have an athletic swing, you have to wake up in the morning and workout. He’s very inspiring in what he does. I hope to be ranked No. 1 in the world.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com