Not easily satisfied

West Islip's Mullin keeps working to improve her game

By KEN RYAN

June 26, 2007

For the second consecutive year, West Islip's Dani Mullin led Suffolk County to the state girls' golf team championship, finishing second overall with a 75 and 78 at Foxfire Golf Club in Baldwinsville, N.Y. That performance followed last year's sixth-place effort, which was again tops among Long Island golfers.

So was the junior pleased with her performance this spring? "Yes and no," Mullin said. "It was sufficient enough I wanted to shoot under par in at least three matches [this season] and that didn't happen; 1-over was the closest I came."

Next season, she said her goal will be five rounds of under-par golf.

Mac Loudon, the West Islip coach, said Mullin has come a long way in the three years he has coached her. "She really developed her game more from a mental standpoint than a physical standpoint because she is a gifted physical player," he said. "She is working diligently on honing her mental skills and playing the course more from a mental aspect."

Loudon said Mullin has a passion for the game that rubs off on teammates, which is why he anointed her team captain this past season. "She really took that baton and ran with it," he said.

Mullin will play in one to two tournaments a week this summer, a routine she has kept for several years. She is approaching her 150th tournament. "I love it," she said. "It's like getting together with your friends -- besides the fact you have five grueling hours of competition a day."

Mullin credits Sayville boys coach Tony Gamboli for helping hone her putting skills. She said that while her short game "has been really incredible lately," she wants to improve the length of her drives. "Last fall I was driving the ball 250, 260 yards and this spring it was down to 230," she said. "I want to get that back up."