Prior to the Covid pandemic, playing golf wasn’t really on the radar for Oak Hill senior Ian Maynor.
With all the other sports grinding to a halt, the ability to get outside and maintain social distancing changed his perspective on the game.
“I started golf my freshman year during the Covid time,” Maynard said. “My dad would sometimes go to Briar Patch when it was open and I would mess a round a little bit, but I didn’t play really.”
Four years later, Maynor is one of the best high school golfers in the area and will now continue his career at the next level as a Golden Bear.
Monday morning, with family, coaches, teammates and friends in attendance, Maynor signed a National Letter of Intent to play golf for WVU Tech.
“This really means a lot. I have put a ton of time and effort into this and I am really excited for the future playing in college,” Maynor said.
Signing with the Golden Bears could not have fit better into Maynor’s future plans.
“WVU Tech is one of the only schools in West Virginia that offers a degree in construction management. I wanted to pursue that too,” Maynor said. “To play golf there is a bonus. It’s awesome. All of my siblings have gone there too and they have given me good insight on Tech.”
WVU Tech golf head coach Garrett Goosman was excited to add another area standout to his team.
“Growing up in the area (Gauley Bridge), I always try to recruit local guys. especially one that is a great guy and has a great family,” Goosman said. “Everyone spoke so highly of Ian and when his family reached out it was a no-brainer for me. We had the major he wanted and he wanted to stay home and commute, it was a prefect fit.”
Transforming himself from a person that had never played golf to a collegiate prospect in such a short time is an amazing feat.
Wes Hinkle owns Fincastle Golf Academy in Bluefield, Va. Hinkle has worked with Maynor over the last 18 months and offered some insight as to why Maynor has found success so quickly.
“The biggest thing that sticks out with Ian is his work ethic. He is a grinder,” Hinkle said. “When we try to fix something or put something in place, it’s like the club is glued to his hand. I think he goes home and sleeps with that golf club and get up and eats cereal with it the next day. The work ethic is second to none with this young man which is wonderful.”
Maynor was also gifted with some natural talent that is a big key to success on the links.
“Then there is his club speed. He has club speed and he hits the ball a ton,” Hinkle said. “It is hard to teach speed and he has the natural ability.”
Hinkle was also impressed with level of understanding about the game which Maynor possessed when he first began to work with him.
“His progression in such a short period is impressive,” Hinkle said. “He hit the ball really well when he came to me, but we fine tuned some hand positions with him and some body positions.”
“We really worked on getting him an understanding of how the golf swing works,” Hinkle went on to say. “That way, when he found a tough spot on the course where things weren’t going right, he could self fix some stuff in regards to the geometry of the swing.”
Being such a young golfer in regards to experience, the next step for Maynor will be building confidence and handling the mental grind that comes with the game.
“There is a lot of competition at the next level and obviously it keeps getting better. I think for Ian it will be the mental piece. There are times that he goes out and shines. You can feel the confidence just oozing out of him, Hinkle said. “Every once in a while he takes a step back with maybe some self doubt, which we all do as golfers. When he knows his swing is there for the day, he can do anything he wants with the golf ball.”
Maynor is in tune with the challenges ahead and is anxious to move his career forward at the next level.
“My chipping and putting have really saved me a lot of strokes, especially when the long game and the mid-range game isn’t going your way,” Maynor said. “It will take some time to adjust to the tees since they are moved all the way back and the pressure that comes along with it. I just have to get used to the distance and train myself mentally.”
