Hometown Hero: Ella Manley of Calhoun, Georgia

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — When you think about the game of golf, there's a certain peacefulness and tranquility to it. It's you, a white ball and nature. Sure, sometimes it can go a lot better and look a lot nicer than others, but no matter what, the one thing that doesn't change is that it teaches you how to deal with challenges on your own. Even in a "typical," southern community like Calhoun, Georgia, it's all about what the player makes out of that experience. Middle Tennessee freshman Ella Manley made the most of hers.

Calhoun is a small town in northwest Georgia. Manley recalled that there was not much to do growing up other than play sports, which is something she loved from an early age. She played basketball, softball and golf growing up. She spent a lot of time at Fields Ferry Golf Club, which was just 15 minutes away from her house.

"I had a nanny that used to pick me up from school and would take me to the golf course almost every day," Manley said. "It was always usually just me out there by myself because I was pretty much the only young girl in Calhoun that enjoyed golfing. I did play with a lot of guys, but being the only girl brought me a lot of independence."

Manley became very competitive, however, being the only girl out there. Playing against guys that sometimes may outdrive her or have a better short game, she never backed down and it contributed to that competitive nature that she displays today as a Blue Raider.

"I really don't like to lose," Manley said. "When you're going against guys who are a little bit better than you, it really pushes you to want to be better. Every time I played and got beat, I never took it."

With every lump she took, it only made Manley better. If she ever lost, she'd go to the driving range or putting green for another hour after she played a round, furthering her deep-rooted love for the game she derived from her dad, Jeff, who was a college athlete himself. Though he wasn't a golfer by trade, Jeff's love for the game and willingness to play a round with his daughter on a lot of weekends at the course around the corner from the house furthered their relationship and showed Ella as she grew older that she was head and shoulders better than a lot of the competition she was facing.

"My dad really got me into the game," Manley said. "He told me how many opportunities it could give me by going to college and what it could bring me after college. Having golf, I feel like gives me so much more than other sports can, so I thank my dad for that."

Fields Ferry isn't exactly Augusta National, sure, but it's woven into the fabric that is Ella Manley as a player today. When they weren't playing with some of her dad's friends, they spent a lot of time at Fields Ferry. There isn't anything truly unique about it, just like Calhoun compared to many other small towns in the south, but it meant a lot to the Manleys because it was theirs. Sure, it was awesome to get to play in other country clubs around Calhoun, but Manley wouldn't trade her experience for any other way because it showed her that she could succeed no matter what the landscape.

It showed her that she was truly a dominant player not just in Calhoun but in the state of Georgia. A three-sport athlete at one time, she realized in her sophomore year of high school that she had a future in golf. It led to a dominant three-year run that resulted in a trio of state titles at Calhoun High School.

"High school was really fun, and I enjoyed those years," Manley said. "My senior year, especially, the state championship was at Fields Ferry. I had a lot of the community out to support me, and it was truly special to win it in front of my friends and family."

Despite being a three-time state champion, there wasn't exactly a flood of offers coming in. MTSU's then-head coach Chris Adams invited Manley up to Murfreesboro to tour MTSU and also visit the facilities the Blue Raider golf programs are blessed to have at The Grove, and Manley instantly knew that Murfreesboro was going to be her future home.

"Once Coach Adams reached out and I visited, I loved everything," Manley said. "I love Tennessee, and growing up just two hours from here, I spent a lot of time traveling to Tennessee as a kid, too, so it made coming here really fun."

Whereas most high school athletes making the transition to college are usually a bit nervous to head out on their own for the first time, Manley's independence that she developed from all those afternoons hitting golf balls into the Calhoun sunset made her eager to get out and start a new adventure on her own. The numbers this past season spoke for themselves. Manley set a freshman record for the lowest stroke average in program history at 75.17. Manley's team-leading six rounds of par or better equaled the second-most by a Blue Raider freshman, and she was the only Blue Raider to play in all 10 tournaments this spring. She had 70 birdies and three eagles, both team highs, and had a hole-in-one in her final hole of the Ozarks National Tournament, earning her Conference USA Player of the Week honors.

"Growing up practicing, I was always on my own," Manley said. "When I first got to MTSU, practicing with an entire team was a different vibe. I've enjoyed competing so much with these girls on our team. We push each other, and it's definitely gotten me better and helped me improve my game."

Getting out of the blocks and having one of the best debut campaigns of any athlete on campus this past season, Manley is hopefully still just scratching the surface of becoming the player that we will one day look back on as Blue Raider fans. Whether it ends up in a professional career, or even one as just a successful college teammate who helped her team win multiple titles, Ella Manley, Calhoun, Georgia native, has shown that her competitive nature and independent spirit will be a true asset to the Middle Tennessee golf program for years to come. More importantly, however, it will prove to be an inspiration for anyone else who is trying to make it out of those special places like Fields Ferry Golf Club in Calhoun, no matter what that place is for them.

"When I was growing up, I had so many role models and influences to look up to," Manley said. "I have a 10-year old nephew that loves golf back home, so to be an inspiration to him and other kids is something that just means the world to me."

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ella Manley

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