By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Sami Hobson had lived in Hastings, Neb., since she was in the second grade. Her father, Tony Hobson, was the women's basketball coach at Hastings College for seven seasons, and had won several national championships.

In the summer, though, Tony Hobson took the open women's basketball position at Fort Hays State University and moved his family to Hays.

"I wasn't very happy about it, honestly," Sami recalled Wednesday. "I have had seven or eight years of friends and just moving here in the middle of high school and not knowing anyone, I was a little scared about it."

The first students Sami met were her Hays High School girls' golf teammates when practice began shortly before school started. Hobson quickly adjusted to a new set of friends, new coach, new team, new school and new city.

"I didn't think it would be as easy as it was," Hobson said. "I made a lot of friends this season.

"I like my coach and I like my teammates so that definitely helps a lot. We get along great."

Hobson hasn't had any problems with the move -- nor has she had any difficulty on the golf course. Hobson, who made the Nebraska state golf tournament as a freshman in 2007, has emerged as the Indians' top golfer on one of the youngest teams in the 20-year Indian coach Mark Watts era.

"It was a nice surprise to have her because I knew we were starting at ground zero with varsity experience," Watts said. "She has meant a lot. She fit in real quick and has made friends with a lot of the girls. The girls embraced her, too."

Hobson, a sophomore, and senior Chelsea Linenberger pace a squad that is 60-percent freshmen and lost its top six players from a Western Athletic Conference-winning team in 2007.

"The biggest thing about her is that she knows a lot about the game of golf, about rules and those types of things," Watts said. "Basically, she is the only one that has had any varsity experience."

Hobson averaged a team-best 97.733 shots in the team's first four tournaments and was the only Hays High golfer who averaged under 104. She has medaled in four events, including three top-10s, on courses she has never played before.

"I think they are easier here," Hobson said of the courses. "They are more open, the greens are bigger, there is not near as much water. In Nebraska, they have creeks and lakes running through everywhere."

Her third place at the season-opening Hays High Invitational at Smoky Hill Country Club, called her best performance this fall, is the highest finish by a Indian in any tournament.

"No one knew what to expect as far as varsity experience, varsity golf. She has been able to help the girls out as far as what to expect in tournaments," Watts said. "She is only a sophomore, too and that helps."

Hobson, like her family's move, has also adopted to golf in only a few years. She also plays basketball in the winter. Hobson's family lived by a golf course in Hastings. Her father played often and enjoyed a single digit handicap.

Sami started to play in the seventh grade but didn't get serious about it until the summer before her freshman year.

"I just had this feeling one day, I wanted to go out for the golf team," Hobson said.

"It was the summer before (high school) and I was thinking, well I should probably get started."

Hobson worked on her game at the course and had assistance from her dad. She also played with her younger brother, Cash.

"He has helped me a lot," Sami said of father. "It is like constructive criticism. He knows what kind of person I am and how I play and that helps me out, too."

Tony Hobson would point out little things in her daughter's game, just like he does with his collegiate basketball players.

"She says, 'Dad you are never satisfied," Tony said. "The parent is proud, but the coach always looks at ways to improve. We talked about hitting a certain club, playing a certain shot."

Late in her freshman year, though, Sami became more serious about the game.

At the district tournament, her team reached state by one stroke because another squad had a girl disqualified.

Hobson realized she needed to play better. At the state tournament, Hobson improved - and delivered, in the eyes of her dad, displayed the best attribute of her game in one of the seminal moments of her career.

"I kind of started thinking about it that I should probably step it up more and then we went to state and I did a lot better there and it was a lot of fun," she said.

"I was thinking that I wanted to try harder, because I wanted to have that feeling again. I wanted to say that I went to state all four years of high school."

At the state tournament, Hobson shot a 107 on the first day and placed 45th out of 70 golfers. After the round, she went back to the course and practiced with her dad.

The next day, she shot 93, the 24th best Day 2 score at the tourney. She finished 35th overall.

The 14-shot improvement was the second-best differential of any golfer than finished in the top 51 at state, according to results on the Nebraska High School Activities Assocation Web site.

"She doesn't give up," Hobson said. "She keeps fighting."

Sami has brought that the same mentality to Hays High. Her dad first found out about the move in May and told Sami in June. Her early August, the family packed up and went south to Hays. The first people she met was the golfers, a team that helped her get acclimated.

"I was glad that I had a team that I could talk to," she said. "I didn't have any time to meet anyone before school started. That was kind of my starting point."

Hobson has displayed a strong short game, but said "I don't really like my swing now."

She and Watts will refine several mechanical issues, especially in the lower body, before next year, and could, in Watts' eyes, make her a college golfer in a few years.

Right now, though, Hobson has emerged as a knowledgeable and engaging leader who Watts has labeled her "outgoing." She has also finished sixth at Dodge City, ninth at Liberal and 13th at Garden City.

"If I ask a question, she is one of the first ones to answer. Sometimes, I want someone else to answer the question," Watts said with a smile.

"But she always knows the answer. I think it has been a good fit for her."