ELLAVILLE – Schley County senior golfer Thad Clark signed a letter of intent to continue his education and play golf at Bryan College, a Christian liberal arts college in Dayton, TN.

Clark signed his scholarship on Wednesday, April 24, at Schley County High School.

Clark was also recruited by Andrew College and Piedmont College, but the atmosphere and the facilities at Bryan won him over. “I went up there for their scholarship weekend. I saw that the facilities are fantastic. They are state of the art,” Clark said. “The fact that I would be in a Christian environment and that I would be around people that actually care about what I do really influenced me to go for Bryan.”

Bryan head golf coach Peter Bollant got in contact with Clark through National Prospect ID, a recruiting service that helps high school athletes get connected with college coaches for the purpose of getting athletic scholarships. “I got in contact with him originally through that,” Bollant said. “We had a number of conversations and we talked about Bryan. He came up for Scholarship Weekend. We introduced him to Jake Goins, our assistant coach. He will be the next head golf coach at Bryan in July.” Bollant went on to say that while Clark was up at Bryan, they had him practice his golf swing on a simulator. “Thad had never been in a simulator before. With just one small adjustment, he went from driving the ball in the simulator from 335 yards to 350,” Bollant said. “Coach Goins held the record on the simulator for the longest drive. Thad got up there and took a few swings and was driving the ball 335 yards, which was really good. Goins made one adjustment with Thad’s swing. Three swings later, Thad broke Goins’ record for the longest drive in the simulator.” Bollant went on to say that one of the things that he loves about Thad is that he has a desire to make a positive difference in the world.

“I’m looking forward to what he’s going to do to help their golf program,” SC athletic director and boys’ head golf coach Gabe Theiss said. “I’ve known Thad for a long time because of family connections. As a golfer, I’ve known him for a bout five or six years. He has been golfing a lot longer than that. When he was in seventh grade, I believe, he was still playing baseball. I asked him how his golf game was going and he said that he hadn’t played in a couple of years because he couldn’t get to the course as easily as he used to. His great grandfather used to take him all the time. I told him that I’m at the golf course every day during golf season. I told him that when baseball season is over with, I want him to go with me to the course. He’s been back at it ever since. I’m extremely proud of the work that he’s put in. I’m excited about the talent that he has and the opportunity that he has to play at the next level.”

So far this season, Clark is averaging a score of 76. His major highlight so far this year is finishing runner-up at the Stratford Invitational with an even par of 70. Clark has also shot under-par scores in two of his nine-hole matches.