Nov. 17, 2013
By Jerome Boettcher | Commodore Nation
Senior golfer Charlie Ewing is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient who graduates next winter with a degree in cultures and corporations and helped lead the Commodores to a school-record three team tournament titles last year. When he is not on the links, the Dallas native is on the prowl hunting white-tailed deer in South Texas, black bear in Canada or Cape buffalo, greater kudu and Oryx on a safari in Africa.
Commodore Nation: What is it about hunting you enjoy the most?
Charlie Ewing: For some reason I’ve never really gotten into the high-tech rifles. Obviously, I shoot a bow and arrow that is pretty high-tech. But I just like that it is a pretty simple weapon. I like getting out there. It is so simple out there. There is nothing going on. It takes you back to instinct and how to be out there and interact with the animals and see if you can outsmart one. Most of the time they’re going to outsmart you because you’re out in their element. It’s just a really cool challenge.
Nation: Highlight of the African safari in the summer of 2012 with your family?
Ewing: I shot a cape buffalo, which was 1,600 or 1,700 pounds, and that was one of the most intense, high adrenaline hunts I’ve ever done in my life. They are notorious for being extremely aggressive animals. I was standing in a pretty wide open area, and it was 60 yards from me looking at me. I didn’t know if it was going to turn around the other way or turn and run at us. So it was a real high adrenaline hunt. That was one of the most memorable hunting experiences of my life.
Nation: You prefer bow hunting?
Ewing: Absolutely. The thing about bow and arrow as opposed to a rifle, I feel like with a rifle, when the animal is there, all you have to do is get within 200-300 yards. It is a good way (hunting) to introduce to younger people. But I kind of feel the hunt is over once you see an animal. With a bow and arrow you’ve got to get them within 20-30 yards. Once they’re there, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is over. You still have to execute all the certain steps to make sure they have no idea you are there.
Nation: And this will mark the 78th straight year your family has hunted white-tail deer in South Texas. How many generations does that span?
Ewing: Great-grandfather on my dad’s side was the first one. Grandfather on my dad’s side is the one who really pushed for this to be a real good family tradition. My dad has done a great job of keeping it going and carrying on with it. I feel like my brother and I have absorbed the family tradition. I don’t see it slowing down. South Texas is a really special place to our family because 78 consecutive years. We don’t really have to hunt if we go down there to have a good time. It is just a special place for us to go.
Nation: You see any similarities between hunting and golfing?
Ewing: If you’re doing a spot and stalk where you spot an animal a long distance away and you make upwards of an hour and a half stalk to get close to this animal I think that can be comparable to golf. Golf you have to keep your focus even before your first tee shot all the way to where your ball touches the cup on the last hole. Any mistake along the way, it may cost you one shot, but that one shot can be the difference between the team winning and losing the tournament. On the hunting side, animals are so smart — you are out in their element. They’re more comfortable out there than you are. Any mistake can ruin the whole thing.
Nation: Most memorable moment of your Vanderbilt golf career?
Ewing: My first two years we struggled. We never had won a tournament then finally last year at the Mason Rudolph Invitational we pulled through, and we won our first tournament while I had been on the team. That was just a really cool moment. It was our home tournament. From a personal view, I was fortunate enough to be in the final group of the day. I walk up on the 18th green, and I can see the team waiting. I finish out, and they told me we had won. That was just a really special moment.
