When Coach Kasay Gambrell signed Kate Hanni in November of 2020, she expected the Ashland (Ky) High School standout to have an immediate impact on the Winthrop women's golf team.

But life has a way of throwing the best-laid plans a curveball. And that's what happened to Gambrell and Hanni.

A series of injuries and surgeries have kept the marketing major on the sidelines. But now she's healthy and will make her first collegiate tournament on March 17 at the Bama Beach Bash in Gulf Shores, Ala.

One look at Hanni's credentials shows why the Eagles coach had such high expectations.

Hanni enjoyed a  very successful high school and junior golf career. She was a three-time All-State selection, earning  first-team honors in 2018 and 2019 and Hanni was a member of two Regional Championship teams and three Regional runner-up teams. The four-time all-region selection won four KHSAA Tier 1 tournaments in 2020 and 10 total. In 2020 she was named Region Player of the Year.

On the junior scene, Hanni had five Top 10 finishes in six tournaments 2020. Hanni was a medalist at the 2019 Justin Thomas AJGA Qualifier and also finished 6^th at the Marion Miley College/HS Division.

The problems first started during Kate's senior season at Ashland High School.

"I had been playing really well when all of a sudden I lost feeling in my right hand," Kate recalled during a recent interview. "The first doctor I went to said it was all in my head and all I needed to do was block it out. I tried that and played some more tournaments but I knew something wasn't right."

Kate went and got another opinion which ended in her taking steroids. That didn't help.

"When I went to the State tournament my hand was shaking so bad I couldn't put the tee in the ground," she said. "I finished the tournament but it wasn't pretty at all."

Kate had surgery on the nerve in her right forearm in December 2020 and was told she would be good to go in two weeks. Kate admitted that everyone in her family felt something was off."I felt fine and played my first tournament in May," I played great in my first round but in the second round lost all the feeling in my right arm."

So, what did the Hanni family do? "We found another doctor," Kate said with a smile.

Kate's mother, Kelly Jo found a hand specialist in Louisville who told the family the surgery she had had in December wasn't what she needed. Kate had a second nerve surgery in August of 2021.

"It was right before I came to Winthrop and the recovery time wiped out my freshman season," she said, "I took a medical red shirt."

That second surgery seemed to solve the problem and Kate was anxious to start her collegiate career in the Fall of 2022.

"I was playing that summer and everything with my hand was fine and then my right shoulder started popping in an out," Kate explained. "I had surgery to stabilize my shoulder and clean up my rotator cuff," Kate said.

That recovery time knocked her out of her sophomore year and this past Fall.

"I swung a club for the first time in November," she said.

Since that time, it's been physical therapy two times a week, weekly rehab with the Winthrop training staff, and working on her game.

"I've changed my swing to take some of the pressure off my shoulder," the junior said.

Asked how this journey has affected her, Kate paused and said:

"It's been the hardest thing I've ever been through. Just the anticipation of coming back and then having something else happen has been pretty tough."
 
Gambrell has entered two teams in the Gulf Shores, an A and B squad if you please. Kate will play with the B team.

"I just want to ease her into things," Gambrell said.

Asked what will be going through her mind when she steps on the first tee, Kate said: "I'll be nervous but I'm always nervous on the first tee. This will be an excited kind of nervous. My parents will be there and this will be there, and this will be the first time that my college coach, who has had so much faith and understanding, will see me play."