When Troy Mullins '09 headed out to study abroad in Beijing her senior year, she packed a set of used golf clubs – toting them halfway around the world on the off chance she'd have time to use them.
Having found a bike in Beijing, she'd take solo 25-minute rides from campus to a driving range she'd found. "I'd have 'me time' and go hit a bunch of balls," recalls Mullins. "I had no idea what I was doing, but nobody cared."
Eventually, Mullins not only improved her technique – she went on to a pro career in long drive golf, in which athletes compete to hit the ball the farthest.
The first Black woman to win a world long drive tour competition, Mullins holds the record for the longest drive by an American female golfer, at 402 yards. (Only five women in the world have ever hit a drive more than 400 yards in competition.)
On the Hill, she majored in China and Asia-Pacific studies in Arts & Sciences and was a heptathlete on the Big Red women's track and field team, developing the athleticism and strength that would later allow her to generate power in her swing.
Read the full story on the Cornellians website.
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