It has been a momentous few months for Natalie Ring.
The former Marquette All-American volleyball player was back in Milwaukee in early May to receive her undergraduate degree, and the 6-foot-1 outside hitter has been focused on the next step in her career with Texas A&M after transferring to the reigning national champion in December for her final season of NCAA eligibility.
Amid those dramatic life changes, she has been back home in Madison for a brief window, meaning she gets to spend time doing normal family activities, which for the Ring clan includes rounds at Nakoma Golf Club.
That led to another core memory for Ring in May when she recorded her first hole-in-one while playing alongside her father, Joe, who won six WIAA championships in 18 years as golf coach at Madison Edgewood High School.
“We played a lot growing up,” Ring told the Journal Sentinel. “My sister and I both did Junior Golf … and a lot is a relative term.
“My dad was a big golfer. He golfed at the University of Wisconsin, and then he played professionally for a while down in Florida, attempting to make it on tour. So he’s a huge golfer. And my mom golfs, obviously not quite at the same level, but she’s really good.”
Natalie Ring aces 137-yard seventh hole at Nakoma
Like any good golf story, this one starts with shaking off a few shanks.
“It was kind of crazy because I came off of like my worst hole of the day was on sixth,” Ring said. “It’s like a super-long par-5 and didn’t play it super well.
“So I was, like, OK, we just gotta hit something good.”
So Ring cleared her mind as she pulled out an 8-iron on the 137-yard, par-3 No. 7.
“I knew I hit a good shot,” she said. “And my dad was, like, ‘Watch it!’ And I’m, like, ‘OK, sure.’
They saw the ball bounce just short of the pin and start rolling toward the hole.
“He was, like, ‘Keep watching it!’ ” Ring said. “Then he kept getting more excited.
“The ball just eventually disappeared over the lip of the cup, and my mom was, like, ‘What just happened?’ My dad’s freaking out.”
The accomplishment officially sank in when Ring walked up to see the evidence.
“We kept driving up and got towards the green and, like, there’s no ball,” she said. “My dad’s ball is there, my mom’s ball is on the green, but mine’s not there. And I was like, ‘OK, that’s definitely in there.’ ”
Natalie Ring excited about playing for reigning NCAA champion Texas A&M
Nakoma gave Ring a plaque to commemorate the shot.
“I was like, this might be the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Ring said.
That’s coming from someone who was part of MU teams that won a Big East championship and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Ring’s 497 kills last season ranked 25th in the nation.
“Volleyball, I’ve practiced so much and I’ve worked so hard at it to achieve things,” she said. “It’s obviously super cool, and you never expect it in the same way.
“But I really don’t golf that much. When we would go out over the summer, if we started to get frustrated with how we were playing, my dad would be, like ‘You do not practice enough to be frustrated at this.’ ”
Joe Ring is still waiting for an ace during a round, though he has hit one in a hole-in-one contest.
“I’ll probably never beat my dad at anything in golf ever besides that,” Ring said.
With another athletic feat in hand, Ring will head back to Texas A&M in late June.
“I just wanted to develop the most I possibly could as a player,” she said. “And so I think [head coach] Jamie [Morrison] has done everything that he said he was going to in that regard.
“That’s just been super fun to work with him and the whole staff and everyone. It’s just been a really awesome opportunity and I’m excited for the season and to see what we can accomplish.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Marquette All-American Natalie Ring has hole-in-one on golf course
Reporting by Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
