NORTH SEWICKLEY TWP. — Now that school's out, Skyler Fox has big plans for what figures to be a busy and exciting summer.
Fox, who won WPIAL Class 2A golf championships as a freshman and sophomore, can already drive a golf ball as far and straight as most high school golfers in the state. But soon he'll be driving a car for the first time.
On June 14, he celebrates his 16th birthday. So he'll soon be taking the necessary steps to get his driver's license.
Beyond that, it will be all golf for the Riverside prodigy who's the first boy from Beaver County to win back-to-back WPIAL titles since the WPIAL first staged golf championships in 1946.
He'll continue his routine of playing virtually every day, mostly at Olde Stonewall Golf Club and sometimes at Connoquenessing Country Club. He has junior memberships at both courses. Some days, he even plays three rounds. That's 54 holes. It's not uncommon for him to arrive at the course in the morning and play and/or practice at the range until dark.
He also plans on entering qualifiers for such events as the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur and West Penn Junior Championship.
And right now, he's working on a change in his golf swing ... even though he has a plus-2.9 handicap.
"I just want to be more consistent," said Fox, who's now 5-foot-9 and 135 pounds. "I decided to make a change after watching a lot of the (PGA Tour) pros. I'm hoping it will help me with both accuracy and distance."
Fox does admit that he sometimes wonders if he spends too much time on the golf course.
"Probably," he said.
But even at his young age, he realizes that golf will probably be the means to his future. It's almost a given that he's going to land an NCAA Division I scholarship.
NCAA recruiting rules prohibit golf coaches from contacting prospects before their junior season. But starting Sept. 1, coaches who may be interested in Fox can contact him by telephone or electronically (texts, email, social media, etc.).
Right now, it's way too early to tell where Fox may wind up. Ideally, he'd prefer to go out west or maybe even south. Some schools that intrigue him include Oregon, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
"I'd go to Stanford if they would want me," said Fox, an honor student, who, in addition to his commitment to golf, also takes care of business in the classroom.
Fox will begin his junior season at Riverside in mid-August. The first practice date for WPIAL golfers is Aug. 13 and the first play date Aug. 16.
Fox, who can drive a golf ball in the 290-yard range, will try to defend his back-to-back WPIAL 2A titles on Oct. 15 at Tom's Run Golf Course in Blairsville.