The Carpenters’ father began teaching his 10-year-old twin boys to play golf at the Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark., and they haven’t stopped since.
Alex and Adam led Arkansas Baptist golf to four state championships in high school. Alex also took home the individual state championship his junior and senior years. Adam was a part of multiple all-Scholastic and all-American golf teams.
When they started looking at colleges, the twins visited ACU and were impressed by Mike Campbell, the golf coach. They played a junior golf tournament in Abilene and liked the feel of a Christian school in a small town. Advice from a couple of golf pros didn’t hurt either.
“We talked to Ernie Els and Jeev Milka Singh,” Alex said. “They both said that ACU was a great place to get a Christian education while competing at a high level in golf. With Jeev playing here and Coach Campbell being Chad Campbell’s brother, we thought this was the right place for us.”
It wasn’t all about the prestige, though.
“We prayed about it a lot, and ACU was really where God was calling us,” Adam said.
Although they were stars in high school, they didn’t expect their success to carry over to college.
In his first college tournament, Adam took home the first place trophy, and his brother won the second tournament.
“This has been a dream come true,” Alex said. “I have had so much fun playing in the tournaments. All of the hard work over the years has really paid off.”
The twins said they like the role they play on the team.
“I love being the underdog freshman on the team,” Adam said. “No one expects anything too highly out of you.”
Both men want to go pro in the sport. Adam’s favorite professional golfer is Zach Johnson, while Alex’s is Sean O’Hair. As for the immediate future, they are looking forward to a national championship.
“We have a really good chemistry on the team right now, and we have great upperclassmen,” Alex said. “There is a good chance we can win the championship in the next two years.”
ACU is ranked 2nd nationally in freshmen impact rating, or how much the freshmen impact the team, according to www.golfstat.com. The team is ranked 17th overall.
