One of Franklin’s greatest-ever golf careers is at an end.
For the past few years, Tanner Jones has been among the best players west of Asheville, taking part in back-to-back state tournaments and placing eighth overall at the 5A Championships this May. Last week The Press published Part I of a two-part interview with Jones, including his own history in the sport, the proudest achievements of his high school career and preparing to join the Young Harris College team next spring. Part II can be found below, lightly edited for clarity and length.
So tell me about the next steps? Will you keep on playing through the summer?
Absolutely. I really like to practice, but I love to compete – there's nothing better than showing up and getting the nerves on the first tee box. You can make practice competitive, but there's nothing like the real deal, so I just love competing. I have so many tournaments; I'm actually playing in one Tuesday [May 19]. It's one of the biggest for North Carolina.
Where is the tournament?
Catawba; it's two and a half hours away – it's an amateur tournament. It's a qualifier and it's just one day, so you’ve kind of got to have your stuff.
What will you be qualifying for?
It's a qualifier to play in the N.C. Amateur [Championship]. I think it's one of the quote-unquote “majors” for C.G.A., which is the Carolina Golf Association. It's probably the biggest tournament I've played in, outside of junior events, in high school. State is big, but if I make it into this, then that’s insane.
How many tournaments will you play in this summer?
It's about one every week, every other week. I've been playing in like 15 to 20; there's a lot. But also, ever since I got accepted into Young Harris I've kind of cut down on the smaller ones where we have to go to a hotel to save a little bit of money.
That sounds like a busy schedule.
It's slammed. Last year I qualified for the N.C. Junior Boys, which is the biggest junior North Carolina tournament. It was down on the coast, out past Raleigh, and I had a bad case of poison ivy on both arms. At the tournament it was bad, but the qualifier was just up and down. It was birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, par, birdie, bogey – it was crazy.
Do you see some of the same guys you see at state and stuff at those? Have you gotten to know any of them at all?
Oh yeah, we'll actually do practice rounds together. You're competing against them, but once you get to know them you kind of look at the leaderboard and say, “Oh, he's doing good; I hope he keeps going.” Unless you're right in front of him, then you're like, “I don't want him to do better than me.”
Will those tournaments help you stay fresh for next season?
Yeah, a lot of them are not just the tournament; they’re to qualify for bigger tournaments. I've got a lot of junior tournaments, but I have some amateur tournaments to play with older guys just to see. Hopefully I’ll get paired with somebody college-wise or just a little older to see how good is it out there, instead of junior-wise. There's a kid from Gardner-Webb, and there's a guy who's won it before coming back [to the N.C. Amateur Championship].
What does a typical day of training look like for you?
Usually I’ll wake up at like 6:30, 7:00, go to the range for a little bit, maybe go play nine, and then go chip and putt and play nine later. It depends on the kind of day, but if I'm getting ready for a tournament that's what it is – just get as many reps as you can. But if not, I’ll just go play 18. I have some buddies in Waynesville, and we'll maybe go to Waynesville Country Club and play, not for money, just to compete. They actually go to Christ School [in Arden] so they get out at like 1:00, and so do I. Normally we’ll just go meet up at Waynesville or Springdale and go play.
Are those the two courses you play the most?
I've actually switched to Sky Valley; it's in North Georgia. It's nice, and I just turned 18, but their junior rate was cheap. It's probably one of my favorites around here, but my all-time favorite is Mimosa Hills near Charlotte.
What do you like about Mimosa Hills?
The atmosphere is awesome, the course is nice, and I don't know what it is, but I've always managed to play well there. I don't think I've had an over-par round there; I've always shot like 71 or under. I love that place.
Tell me about seeing Pinehurst and Tobacco Road earlier this year? [After a successful team fundraiser last fall, this spring the Panthers took a trip to two of the state’s most hallowed courses, playing Tobacco Road and touring Pinehurst].
It was special. Tobacco Road was one of the nicest courses I've played, and there was a lot of sand – you don't get that anywhere up here. And then at Pinehurst, you're walking where some of the best players walked. You're looking at the putting green, the course and the shops where the players do, so it's like “Wow, I'm where the good players play.” It was crazy. … I want to say it was once in a lifetime, but hopefully I'll be back.
Sports Editor Will Woolever can be reached at sports@thefranklinpress.com