Ever since she picked up her first club at the age of four, one of junior Anne Bahr’s biggest challenges in her golfing career has been her transition to Eastern, along with conquering her self-doubt and dealing with injuries.

Bahr’s first mental challenge was making the 1,704-mile transition from her home in Boise, Idaho to Charleston.  Bahr said she had to deal with missing her family while trying to find a balance between golf and school.

“It was really tough,” Bahr said. “My freshman year was hard due to missing my family.  Also, it was challenging to get used to everything.  It took a little while getting used to being gone so much for tournaments and trying to make up for it in class.”

What helped Bahr get through her freshman year were her teammates.

“My team made up for it and just the people I met.  It was a lot of fun but it was challenging,” Bahr said.  “The winter was tough. We have cold winters in Idaho, but not like here.  You step outside and then there’s the wind-chill.”

Bahr has gone through times where she doubted herself as a golfer. 

During the fall season of her sophomore year, Bahr said at the time, she was trying to control herself mentally, however it proved to be challenging for her.

“Last year in the fall was tough because I was trying to get myself under control and trying to get my mental game to a better level than where it was at,” Bahr said. “You hit a bad shot and then you start doubting yourself and then it kind of spirals out of control.” 

Over a year later, Bahr has learned not to linger on those bad holes.  She said the key to moving past those mistakes is forgetting them as soon as possible.

“Those bad holes you have to forget about them and move on,” Bahr said.  “I have to take that step and say, ‘okay I can do this, I can shoot better than what I’m doing right now,’ It happens, it’s painful, but I just try and move on from it because I know I’m better than that.”

Last spring, Bahr developed a cyst on her right wrist. 

Bahr said having the cyst was probably her biggest setback in her career. 

“I had a cyst and they couldn’t get it out because it was right next to a vein and an artery,” Bahr said.  “That was a little frustrating.  It was two weeks before the season started and once season started, we went four tournaments straight.  I just had to work through it.”

Bahr injured her back in practice and her first tournament was two weeks away.

“I hurt my back this past February and I was out for two weeks,” Bahr said.  “When the rest of team was practicing in the better weather, I would wake up and not get out of bed.  I was very worried about the first tournament and I had to trust my base from the fall would be there.”

Last year at IPFW, Bahr had her first top ten finish as she tied for sixth with her senior teammate senior Chloe Wong.

Bahr said her back is now healthy and has returned to her fall form.  In last weekend’s tournament at the Saluki Invitational at Southern Illinois University, Bahr finished tied for 24th, her highest ranking in the tournament so far.

Adam Shay can be reached at 581-2812 or at acsha@eiu.edu