It was in early October 2022 at Rolling Meadows Golf Course when the high school golfing community was introduced to Avery Manning – if they hadn’t been already. Just a freshman, the Dexter golfer carded a tournament-best 77 at the SEC Red Division tournament and helped lead the Dreadnaughts to a second-place finish in a very competitive field.
It’s been game on ever since.
Now a junior, Manning has only gotten better – on the greens, on the tee box and on the scorecard. And EVERYONE in the golfing community has heard of her.
“It’s hard to shoot two rounds back-to-back at under par or even par; especially in the State Finals but she did it and I am very proud of her accomplishment,” said Dexter golf coach Greg Palkowski.
Manning’s “accomplishment” came last month at The Meadows Golf Course at Grand Valley State University when she was top medalist and tournament champion of the Division 2 State Finals. She finished first overall as an individual and with a two-day total of 3-under par 141. She followed her round of 3-under-par 69 on Friday with a par 72 on Saturday.
“The State Finals weekend was pretty incredible,” Manning said. “I played some really good golf and was able to maintain everything for two days. I was even more impressed with myself playing with a sprained finger and not letting anything get in my way. Winning felt extremely special from being runner up last year I knew I had to come out better and on top.”
Manning helped lead the Dreadnaughts to a second-place finish at States. Dexter shot a first-round score of 348 and trailed leader Farmington Hills Mercy by 14 strokes at the end of Friday’s first round. Dexter fired a tournament best second-round score of 334 on day two but Mercy had a solid round, following up its 334 with a 343 to finish with 677. Dexter carded a 682 to take second place overall while Lowell finished third with a 688.
Palkowski was proud of how his entire team performed on the sport’s biggest stage. He said Manning brought her A game and was impressive in all areas on the challenging golf course.
“She came out with a pretty clear game plan on both days and knew how she wanted to play each and every hole,” he said. “Her decision making off the tee was key and her approach shots and putting were really good both days. Avery is a dedicated player who plays the game with a ton of confidence, practices extremely hard and has very good course management skills; all keys to be successful.”
Avery, 16, is the daughter of Melissa & Brian Manning. She first teed up the game of golf at a young age.
“My parents put me and my little sister into a lesson with a swing coach out at Eagle Crest golf club,” she says. “We had a lot more talent than we thought and so it was really fun to see how we could build off of that and I’ve never stopped since.”
Manning, a member at Polo Fields Country Club, has a swing coach (Adam White) who “has taught me so many amazing things and skills.”
She has been Dexter’s top golfer ever since stepping on the course with the Dreadnaughts. “I started out playing No. 1 on varsity and every year it was a slowish start at the beginning and progressively got better every day,” Manning said. “We were pretty decent as a team my freshman year but my sophomore year we were a lot stronger and finished seventh in the state and I finished second.”
Manning says she has been practicing “with more purpose and really targeting the weaknesses in my game” this year. And it’s paid off on the course and the scorecard. Staying focused on the mental side of the game also has helped in her overall improvement.
“It’s just something I remind myself I have to do like I have to stay positive or my round will just get even worse but it’s a constant battle,” she says of dealing with the emotional rollercoaster one deals with on the golf course.
This year was a special year for Manning and the Dreadnaughts.
“We were extremely close,” she says. “We are always very bubbly even if one of us had a bad day or round we all always cheer each other up and have each others backs.”
Manning plans on playing golf in college and will no doubt have plenty of offers when the time comes. But she still has one more round next year with Dexter and another state title to chase.
Action Photos by Ryan Maki (Ryan Maki Photography)
