Sisters, swings and success: Andover teens blossom into top junior golfers
The Kansas Junior Girls Amateur came down to two players this summer: sisters who share a last name, a house and a practice green.
When 17-year-old Emerie Schartz edged her younger sister, Avery, in a two-hole playoff, it marked more than her third straight title in the prestigious event, becoming just the third golfer in state history to achieve the feat. It was the newest milestone in a six-year climb from complete beginner to one of the nation’s top junior golfers.
Six years ago, golf wasn’t even on Emerie’s radar. Raised in a baseball-softball family — her dad, Lance, was a professional baseball player, and her mom, Carla, a college softball standout — Emerie spent her early years on the diamond, not in the fairway.
But when Lance started spending more time on the golf course, the girls tagged along, disappearing into the sand bunkers to play. Curiosity soon pulled Emerie to the range. She took her first swings and something clicked.
Since then, her results have piled up: youngest-ever winner of the Kansas Women’s Amateur at 15, quarterfinalist at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, multiple appearances in national amateur events and even a spot on the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team.
“When I found out, it was a complete surprise to me honestly,” Emerie said. “We really hadn’t heard any news about the team, so it was a shock to me. It’s just such a huge honor to be selected.”
What followed that surprise selection has been a whirlwind journey that’s reshaped Emerie’s life and put her on a path few young athletes ever reach.
A new home on the course
As Emerie and Avery’s passion for golf grew, so did the family’s commitment to their daughters’ dreams.
Recognizing the value of proximity to top-tier facilities and daily practice, Lance and Carla made a decisive move in 2021: leaving their home in Derby to settle into a townhouse right on the south course at Crestview Country Club.
“Now we get the best of both worlds,” Lance said. “We have a cute, little house and also afford them the opportunity to grow up on Crestview. And it’s so cool to see how the community has accepted them. The people at Crestview love them.”
The move wasn’t just logistical. It became a lifestyle.
In the summer, it’s not an exaggeration to say the sisters are at Crestview from sun-up to sundown. During school, their routine is to walk straight to Crestview and spend hours honing their swings, chipping around the practice greens or sinking putts as the sun dips.
That sense of camaraderie has come together this summer when the sisters teamed up to advance to bracket play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. And when Emerie played in U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in July, Avery was there to serve as caddy for her older sister.
“People think that we make them go out to the course, but they just love being out there,” Carla said. “Their biggest strength is that they have an automatic teammate in each other. Golf is a lonely sport, so it helps that they’re always there for each other and really push each other.”
Winter months could have posed a challenge, but the Schartz family found a solution just down the road at the Josh Cook Academy inside Terradyne Country Club. The indoor facilities keep the girls swinging and training year-round, turning what could be a downtime into another season of growth.
“A place like that has allowed kids in a not-so-great climate to be able to work on their craft throughout those winter months,” Lance said. “When other kids are maybe putting their clubs away for the winter, these kids can keep working and that’s been a big part of what my kids have done.”
When asked how their daughters went from newcomers to sensations in such a short amount of time, the parents credit good old-fashioned hard work.
“To achieve something like this, I knew they needed to understand the meaning of hard work,” Lance said. “It’s every day. It’s sacrifice. With all of the distractions there are for kids nowadays, it’s pretty neat to see a couple of kids really dig into something and really work at it.”
“There’s no secret,” Carla said. “The girls made a choice and they’ve just worked really hard and put in a lot of time.”
Coaching, data and a plan for improvement
From the beginning, Lance Schartz knew that finding the right coach was crucial to unlocking Emerie and Avery’s potential.
That search brought him to Jeff Smith, a highly regarded swing coach based in Memphis who normally works with professional and college golfers. When Lance first reached out, Smith declined — he doesn’t usually coach juniors.
But after Lance explained they weren’t looking for a coach, just an evaluation, Smith agreed. He told Lance to bring the girls to Memphis on October 1 at 4 p.m. for a swing assessment.
A month and a half later, both girls were there on time. After just five balls from Emerie, Smith turned to Lance and said, “I’m not going to give you an opinion. I want to coach her.”
After watching Emerie hit a few more shots, Smith asked to see her younger sister Avery, who was 11 at the time. Two swings later, Smith was convinced — and he’s been coaching both ever since.
“Jeff has been an instrumental piece in this plan, as far as improvement goes,” Lance said. “Golf is a ball-hitting game and we had to get that ball-hitting piece right. Jeff has been more than a coach. He’s part of our family. We don’t have a big circle, but you’ve got to keep your people close to you in this thing.”
Though Smith lives hours away, technology keeps the coaching close. The sisters use an app called CoachNow to upload videos of their swings, receive personalized feedback and ask questions — allowing Smith to guide their progress almost daily without the need for constant travel.
Alongside expert coaching, Lance brought a data-driven approach to Emerie’s development. Inspired by Marke Broadie’s book Every Shot Counts, he began tracking Emerie’s performance with the Decade app, measuring “strokes gained” from every one of her rounds the past four years to pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement.
“You always hear that you drive for show and you putt for dough,” Lance said. “I prescribe to the thought that the people who win are the best putters of the best ball strikers. It’s not the best putters, it’s the best putters of that group of great ball-hitters.”
With Smith’s guidance and a foundation built on numbers and fundamentals, Emerie has steadily built a game that can compete with the country’s best junior golfers.
“I love how much you have to keep your mind focused and stay centered,” said Emerie, who is committed to play for Texas A&M. “Golf is like putting a puzzle together and I love that process.”
A rising star’s next steps
As impressive as the climb has been, Lance believes they’re still only “halfway up the mountain.”
“If you would have told me five years ago that I was going to have a kid on the U.S. Junior National Team, I would have told you to check your medication,” Lance said. “But I think this is a great example of having a dream and working hard and putting a plan in place to achieve your goals.”
For Emerie, the path forward is clear: more national tournaments, more dedication and the same relentless work ethic that has carried her this far. Before long, she will be competing in the SEC for Texas A&M.
“Without my dad, I would definitely not have all of these opportunities,” Emerie said. “He’s been out there with us every day and he’s just always been there for me. He’s the reason I am where I am today.”
Even as her star rises quickly, Emerie has remained humble, sometimes even amazed at how far she’s come in such a short amount of time.
“It’s definitely surreal sometimes when I think about what is actually happening,” Emerie said. “I never really expected any of this. But I’m just so excited to represent the United States and take advantage of this great opportunity.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
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