Photo by Frank Couch
Spain Park Golf
Spain Park's Jordan Susce on the first green during the Spain Park Invitational golf tournament in April at Timberline Golf Club in Calera.
Even at its highest levels, golf is like a puzzle. All of the game’s pieces fit together, but at times, it can feel nearly impossible to solve.
It’s a common quandary golf enthusiasts know all too well. Whether errant tee shots or wayward putts, varying components constantly threaten to derail an otherwise commendable round.
But, as with any temper-testing challenge, there is a solution to the problem.
It begins with composure.
“I think that’s the difference in the really good golfers and those who can’t quite get to that point, because they can’t control those emotions as well,” Spain Park girls golf coach Kelly Holland said. “The golfers that are really good are able to have a short memory, and they’re able to forget if something didn’t go as well.”
That’s what sets Jordan Susce apart. Throughout the spring season, the Spain Park junior demonstrated limitless composure and uncompromised resiliency as she led her team to five tournament victories.
“She’s been in situations this year where maybe she hadn’t played as well as she wanted to, but she’s one of the best rebounders I’ve ever seen,” Holland said. “She just keeps working at it until she figures it out and gets back on track.”
Her resolve was on full display at the sub-state tournament in early May. Keeping cool despite various hiccups, Susce fired a 2-under-par 70 to tie for low-medalist honors and spur the Lady Jags to the team title.
It wasn’t her first time finishing atop the leaderboard as an individual.
During the 2016 season, Susce won Vestavia’s Hike the Hills tournament, the Spain Park Invitational and the Athens Golden Eagle Invitational. She concluded her spring campaign by tying for ninth at the AHSAA Class 6A-7A state championships. Along with teammate Caroline Waldrop, who placed seventh, she helped Spain Park finish third against a premier field.
Susce’s success on the high school scene hasn’t come by accident.
Rather, it’s the product of her persistence.
Personally coached by swing instructor Wayne Flint at Riverchase Country Club, Susce works on her game seven days a week. “You try to get a club in your hand every day no matter what, even if it’s for 10, 15 minutes,” Susce said. “Just go putting just to do something.”
Already equipped with a laser-like focus, Susce’s devotion to golf grew sharper this spring. After playing on Spain Park’s golf and tennis teams as a freshman and sophomore, she shifted her focus solely to the links for her junior season.
The act of dedication didn’t go unnoticed.
“Jordan brings to the team that she’s going to work harder than anybody else to be the best,” teammate Mary Katherine Horton said.
Growing up on the Riverchase golf course, Susce was first introduced to the game at an early age by her father, former Mississippi State baseball player Steve Susce.
Years later, Jordan still approaches the game with passion and eagerness.
She doesn’t plan — or want — to stop.
Bringing her dedication from the course into the classroom, Jordan, a newly inducted member of the National Honor Society, dreams of playing collegiately at a high-level, Division I school.
“I love it, and I never want to stop playing,” Jordan said, “and that’s why I chose it — to play for life.”
