Athlete Spotlight: Brian Carter

Daniel Seawell has worked with Brian Carter for two years.

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The head golf pro at Sage Valley said he has seen his student mature and develop a better understanding of his swing.

Seawell soon will have to turn Carter loose. The Lakeside senior signed a letter of intent last week to play golf for the University of Georgia.

Seawell wants his lessons to stick next year when Carter is on the road at tournaments.

"I want him to be able to help himself and know exactly what it is with his swing that goes wrong," Seawell said. "I want him to be able to help himself when I'm not there."

Carter hasn't experienced many swing problems during his high school career. As a freshman, he led the Panthers to the 2006 GHSA Class AAAA state title and finished as the individual runner-up. The next year, he won the individual state title and Lakeside won the team title for the second year in a row.

The Panthers fell short of the state tournament last spring after a tough day at the Region 3-AAAA tournament. Carter will be back on the course in the spring for a final shot with the Panthers.

He and his teammates said they feel they have something to prove.

"We got a positive outlook this year," Carter said. "We were kind of depressed after regions last year. We want to make a statement."

Carter said colleges began to look at him seriously after his second-place finish at state as a freshman. But he wasn't sure of Georgia's interest until this past January.

The Bulldogs, who are annually among the top golf teams in the country, take a low-key approach to recruiting. Georgia coaches don't bombard recruits with e-mails and letters. Instead, they scout tournaments and disguise interest until an offer is made.

Carter thought Georgia might be interested, but he wasn't sure until he went for an official visit in January and was greeted by the entire team upon his arrival.

Carter accepted an offer that day.

The decision put to rest his plans to attend Alabama with friend and former Augusta Prep golfer Lee Knox. Carter had taken an early visit to Alabama, but he ruled out taking another after verbally committing to the Bulldogs.

"He wanted to go to Alabama to experience different stuff," Carter said. "When I told him I was going to Georgia, he was happy for me."

Seawell's brother, Jay, is the golf coach at Alabama and was the golf coach at Augusta State until 2002. But Daniel Seawell said he didn't try to influence Carter's decision.

"I stayed neutral on that," Seawell said. "I think they'll tell you the same thing. I wanted him to go where he was most comfortable."

Seawell said he would continue to work with Carter until he leaves for Athens next fall.

Before then, Carter will have a busy schedule that includes trying to win Lakeside's third state title in four years and a slew of amateur events during the summer.

Carter qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur the past two years. He was the low medalist in qualifying this year. He has passed the age limit for the tournament, but he said he will try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur in the summer.

"This summer's going to be big for me," Carter said. "I'm just going to have to work my butt off until then."