Golfers tend to be liberal with their use of the word romance. Maybe we are describing the purity of the Open Championship or the stillness of an early morning tee time where each putt draws a line through the dew or an old-school player with a “reverse C” motion who still likes to shape the ball both ways.
But, every once in a while, we use it for something a little bit more on the nose.
Christian Sease and Ashley Sloup met seven years ago while playing for their respective men’s and women’s golf teams at Winthrop University, a small public school in Rock Hill, South Carolina, that is located a short drive due south of Charlotte, North Carolina. They like to say they met on the golf course, but that’s only partially true. In the madness of freshman year, Sloup accidentally introduced herself to Sease, in his junior year, on three separate occasions without realizing the two had already met, which was foreshadowing for the putting contest that kick-started their relationship.
Sloup challenged Sease and won, although it’s unclear whether Sease gave an earnest effort.
“I accused him of trying to flirt with me by letting me win, because I don’t think I won any of our contests for a long time after that,” Sloup said before adding a playful jab. “Now I’m a really great putter and he can’t beat me.”
In a couples tournament, the two would definitely do some damage. They may not be at the level of Maverick McNealy and Danielle Kang, but Sease and Sloup have bona fides in the amateur game.
Sease grew up playing at the classic Seth Raynor-designed Country Club of Charleston (S.C.) in a family where both his father, Tim, and older cousin, Jordan, both played college golf at Winthrop, while his mother and twin brother played recreationally. However, it wasn’t until watching the Azalea Invitational during his freshman year of high school when Sease really became invested in the game.
He won the Carolinas Amateur in 2016 two months after Sloup had won the Carolinas Women’s Amateur – they were the first couple to do that in the same year – and he gave pro golf a go despite struggling to fully mature into the player he hoped he could become after being a walk-on at Winthrop. His pursuit led him to mini-tours and every Q-School you could name, but a case of the putting yips and the expense of pro golf caught up to him by the time he reached 26 years old. His exceptional length off the tee hadn’t left him, but he had worn down emotionally and was regressing as a player.
“I’m sure everyone has dreams of being on the PGA Tour and that being your trajectory, but God had a different plan in mind … I’m having a lot more fun now, not having to stress about my next paycheck.”
Christian Sease
He needed about six months away from the game with hardly touching a club before getting his competitive fire back. Sease, who now lives in Greenville, South Carolina, was reinstated in February as the chance to win the U.S. Mid-Am and secure a Masters and U.S. Open invite helped motivate him. The pressure of the pro game melted away in his return as he made a convincing run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Am at Sankaty Head two weeks ago. He may have advanced further if not for a terrific display of sportsmanship when he asked eventual champion Stewart Hagestad if he had moved his ball mark back on the 15th hole of their match. Had he not said anything, Sease would have automatically won the hole and trimmed his deficit to 1 down with three holes remaining.
Instead, immediately after exiting an exhausting windswept tournament where he had played more than 140 holes, Sease raced back to his home state and won the South Carolina Mid-Amateur by shooting a 64 in the final round. His cousin, Jordan, had won the same title back in 2019.
“I was down and depressed after the pro career didn’t go my way,” Sease said. “I’m sure everyone has dreams of being on the PGA Tour and that being your trajectory, but God had a different plan in mind … I’m having a lot more fun now, not having to stress about my next paycheck.”
Sease, now 27, got his master’s degree in business at Winthrop and now works for an insurance marketing company. The U.S. Mid-Am burned through a lot of his vacation days, but he still works hard to play competitively as much as he can.
Meanwhile, Sloup has ventured a different path. After growing up in Southport, North Carolina, south of Wilmington along the coast, she authored an outstanding collegiate career, winning four times for the Eagles and earning All-Big South honors on three occasions. But she opted against the pro route because she wanted to get into college coaching.
After serving as an assistant coach at Northwood University in Michigan, Sloup went to coach the women’s squad at Furman University where she helped guide Natalie Srinvasan to the Annika Award and the Juli Inkster Award, both for being the top player in college golf.
Now Sloup, 25, is an assistant for the men’s team at Campbell University, a Big South Conference powerhouse led by John Crooks, who is the second-winningest coach in women’s college golf after 32 years at the helm for both the Camels’ men’s and women’s teams. It is a rarity for a woman, especially of Sloup’s age, to be an assistant for a Division I men’s golf team – she’s the first at Campbell and would be the first for most men’s teams – but she’s fully embraced the opportunity to learn from Crooks and be a part of a successful program.
Shortly after joining the Camels last spring, Sloup’s squad won the Big South title. Pontus Nyholm of Sweden won three events in his final collegiate semester at Campbell and reached No. 46 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before turning pro earlier this year, adding another player to Sloup’s coaching résumé.
“I was obviously nervous when I came because it’s one thing to be a young coach but to be a young female coach on the men’s side, it’s hard,” Sloup said. “You have to gain their trust and you have to gain their respect. Thankfully the guys are just so respectful, so kind, work so hard and have been nothing but welcoming. I’ve always felt like I’m meant to be here.”
Her coaching career hasn’t precluded her from competing on her own. She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, which was played concurrently with the U.S. Mid-Amateur, and reached match play at Berkeley Hall Golf Club while Sease reached match play in Nantucket.
Sease has often caddied for Sloup, which wasn’t possible this time, but they both kept each other updated as their weeks progressed.
“It’s fun having a girlfriend that competes at such a high level,” Sease said. “We have some very intense matches back at home.”
“Our lives have literally revolved around golf our whole lives. And golf is not a normal sport. When you’re at a tournament, you can be out there for seven hours. So it’s special that both of us know what it takes and what each person is going through."
Ashley Sloup
Does he give her any strokes?
“No, uh-uh,” Sease said. “She makes me putt everything out, too. I think it's definitely helped both of us just being able to play and kind of push each other a little bit in that way.”
One of the coolest parts of their relationship is that Sease and Sloup have consistently sacrificed for one another as they each chased golf dreams. They have often been apart while Sease chased mini-tours or Sloup made multiple stops as a coach.
Golf is an inherently nomadic game and many of the game’s brightest stars decide to date or marry non-golfers who offer a diversion from the perfectionist mentality. Even significant others who caddie are often in the role for emotional support instead of golf advice.
But being in a relationship with another golfer comes with something beyond a diversion. It comes with understanding and empathy.
“Our lives have literally revolved around golf our whole lives,” Sloup said. “And golf is not a normal sport. When you’re at a tournament, you can be out there for seven hours. So it’s special that both of us know what it takes and what each person is going through.
“He knows my game better than I’ve known it. I played the North & South (Amateur) three times when I was in college, and one of the times he was caddying for me and I had 11 one-putts. I wouldn’t even read the greens. He would ask me what I was seeing and I said, ‘I don’t know, why don’t you just tell me where to hit,’ and then he’d tell me and I’d make it.
“How special is that to not only have the love of your life but for him to be your best friend in golf?”
Golf and relationships have that in common. They are both journeys dictated by perspective and appreciation.
For Sease and Sloup, both are life-changing endeavors.
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