NORTHAMPTON — Amherst Regional golfer Anna Casagrande approached her tee shot on the fifth hole at Northampton Country Club.
The junior hit it into a small river out of bounds and had to take a drop.
Her dad, Jim Casagrande, was standing near the fringe and told her, “Keep your head in it, play your game. you’ll be OK.”
If it sounds like advice from a coach, it is.
He’s just not her coach. He coaches Northampton, which lost to Amherst 180-185 on Thursday.
The Casagrandes live in Pelham, so Anna attends Amherst Regional, but Jim works as the club professional at Northampton Country Club and coaches the Blue Devils’ golf team.
“It’s fun because it’s kind of like this rivalry and we always look forward to it every season,” Anna said.
Anna didn’t grow up obsessively playing golf. She only picked up the game in the summer before her freshman year.
“She says, ‘daddy how about you give me a bunch of lessons and maybe give me a part-time job at the golf course because I want to start playing a bunch of golf?’” Jim said. “I was ecstatic but couldn’t believe she was saying it. I wanted it to be on her own terms.”
Once Anna started to play for the Hurricanes, her first match was against her dad and Northampton.
The Blue Devils prevailed that time and last year during her sophomore season.
This year was the first time Anna’s Amherst team beat her dad’s Blue Devils.
“I just want to win for my team and also to rub it in my dad’s face,” she said.
Golf runs through the fabric of the Casagrande family.
Both Jim and his wife Christine play often. Their dog is named Bubba — Bubba Watson after the professional golfer.
It comes home with them.
“It’s kind of like our lifestyle,” Anna said. “It’s kind of like every day talk.”
Jim may have taught Anna the game and still works with her to improve, but he knows where the coach/dad line stands. He doesn’t talk to her about the match when they are playing against each other.
“That’s her coach, and I don’t want to interfere with it,” Jim said. “I want to say something, but you can’t.”
Amherst coach Todd Cromack has a great relationship with Jim and Anna.
He used to be a member at Northampton Country Club.
“I’m thrilled to have her on the team. It doesn’t affect anything. She’s a player like anybody else,” Cromack said. “Personally I think she’s one of the best women golfers coming up in western Mass. There’s no question about that.”
Sometimes she has an off day, though. Thursday was one of them. She shot a 45 and struggled putting.
After the scores were tallied and she talked with Cromack, Anna walked over to Jim.
“Can you give me a lesson tomorrow?” she asked.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.