Alabama Women's Golf Q&A: Kristen Gillman
4/20/2017 3:15:00 PM | Women's Golf
RollTide.com will be posting Q&As with members of the Alabama women's golf team throughout the season so fans can get to know the student-athletes competing for the Crimson Tide. This week, we visit with Kristen Gillman. The freshman is currently the No. 5-ranked golfer in the country and earned her first collegiate victory at the Bryan National Collegiate earlier this month.
When did you begin golfing and why?
Kristen Gillman: I started playing golf and doing tournaments when I was eight, but I probably started hitting a golf ball when I was about five. My older sister (Emily), who plays at Nebraska, and I started together. We would go out there and go hitting for fun and enjoy it. Then my dad put us in tournaments at the same time, so we started coming up in our golf careers together.
When did it click in your mind that you wanted to further your hobby at the collegiate level?
KG: I played in high school and I actually committed to Alabama at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, so I knew that I would be coming here for a while. I knew I wanted to compete at the collegiate level when I was in middle school. I played a lot of sports when I was younger; basketball, I swam a lot, I love competitive swimming and I also love gymnastics, even though I don't think I was that good at it. But in sixth grade I stopped the other sports and started focusing more on golf.
If you committed here as early as your sophomore year, when did you begin the recruitment process?
KG: Alabama didn't recruit me as early because I wasn't playing as well then. A lot of the Texas schools began to recruit me in the seventh grade. It was cool because Texas has so many golfers, I knew some coaches, so I started going on visits just for fun. My sister, since she is two years older, she wanted to play collegiately too, so she started going on visits and then I just started the process as well. We went on a few visits together, we both went on one to Nebraska together when I was in eighth grade.
What made you choose Alabama and did you know anything about UA before you came?
KG: I didn't know anything about Alabama. There were a lot of Texas girls that I had known for a long time and they were committed here, we have two other girls from Texas on our team now. They committed before me. After looking at everything, I realized that I wanted to get out of Texas. I didn't want to go west so I had to go east, and I wanted to stay south, so this was a perfect fit. I was looking for more of a smaller college town.
 I was planning on taking visits to Auburn and Georgia, but at the last minute I got a call from one of the coaches at Alabama telling me that they had a scholarship open. My first thought was, 'Oh, I don't think I will like it, let's not go.' But in the end, I took a visit here, and ended up falling in love. The campus is really cool, it's big but not too big. We have awesome coaches. I think we have the two best coaches in college golf. The team gets along really well. And, another reason I came here is that this team is good. I knew I wanted to go to a place that had a chance at a national championship.
Having a sister who plays golf at Nebraska, was there ever any tension or pressure when choosing what school you were going to play at?
KG: No, we were never really planning on going to the same school. My entire dad's side of the family lives in Nebraska, so she went there and had family there. But when it came down to it, there was no way I was going to handle the snow.
How was your transition from high school to college?
KG: The hardest thing about leaving home is that I don't have any family here. I've only gone home at Christmas. So, it gets a little lonely not having family here, especially compared to my sister who only has an hour drive from my grandparent's house. My parents do travel to all my tournaments though, so that's nice. The transition overall wasn't that bad. I knew what to expect. I'm pretty good at managing my time so that whole transition to school wasn't too bad. The transition in the golf aspect, I felt like it was pretty much the same. We still practice a lot, but we do travel a lot which was different. But, high school really prepared me well for all of that.
You have traveled around the world competing in golf tournaments. Did you ever imagine that what started as you and your sister hitting golf balls for fun would turn into something this big?
KG: When I started golf, I felt that I was pretty good to begin with, but I never thought it would ever reach this level. Stuff like that doesn't even cross my mind. When I won the US Amateur in 2014 when I was finishing, I was almost in awe. I went into the tournament thinking I wouldn't even make the cut, much less win, out of 170 people, it's crazy. So, no, I never thought that starting out I would ever reach this level. I never thought that it could give me so many opportunities as it did, either. I think I have traveled to about eight different countries in the past three years because of it.
Even though you're now competing for UA, will you continue to compete in those large-scale tournaments that took you all over the world?
KG: You can still compete in them. Most of the ones that I did were junior tournaments representing the United States, so there aren't as many of those once you're in college, but there are still a few like the Curtis Cup. They pick about ten women on average out of all the amateur golfers in the United States, so if get picked, I would play.
What are you goals as an athlete?
KG: One is to stay as humble as possible and not to become wrapped up in it all. Another one is to maintain hard work ethic. I want to work as hard as I can always and not think back wishing I worked harder a few years down the road. One of goals, specific to golf, is that I have always had a dream to win a major tournament, especially the U.S. Women's Open. I do want to play professionally in the future, for sure.
What is your favorite place you've traveled through golf and why?
KG: I traveled to France, and that was really cool because I had always wanted to go to France, it's so pretty. I have also been to Scotland a lot. That was extra special because that is where golf was originated, so it was really neat to see all the history there. My favorite tournament so far at Alabama was my first tournament at Vanderbilt. I had never been to Tennessee, which is crazy to think about because I have been to just about every other state, but it was my first time there. We played really well, and set a lot of records and it was my very first college tournament, so that is my favorite tournament so far.
What would be a piece of advice that you'd want to give to your younger self?
KG: My advice to my younger self would probably be to make sure you don't make golf your entire life. To go out there and play golf as a hobby, have fun with it, but don't let it define you as a person. I would emphasize relaxing and enjoying it because eventually I won't be able to play golf anymore one day. Enjoy it while you can!
Players Mentioned
