As Carl Space has "matured" in recent years he has accepted that a professional golf career is hard to achieve and maybe not the route he wants to go with his life.

That helped lead the former Frederick Douglass High School golfer to transfer from Eastern Kentucky University after two seasons to Centre College for his junior year.

"Centre can give me a great college education with great connections and still let me play and enjoy the sport I love," said Space. "Centre just has a great, small college feel. There was nothing wrong with Eastern Kentucky but ask anyone and there is a big difference between Division I and Division III golf. I am glad I can enjoy the game of golf more now.

"Being here helps free me up. At the end of the day if I do not play well I am still living for God and getting a good degree. At Eastern there was some added pressure being Division I."

He was recruited out of high school by Centre coach Ben Fuqua who joined the Colonels in 2023 after eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.

"He was actually one of my first calls when coaches were allowed to call my recruiting class and then the staff changed at Kentucky. I enjoyed the Eastern coaches but I was excited he was at Centre. He's a great coach and I have never heard one bad thing about him," Space said.

Fuqua had help recruiting him from junior volleyball player Riley Snowden of Nicholasville. The two have been dating for over 2 1/2 years.

"Obviously Riley was a big part of me coming here," the golfer said. "I love watching her play and it was very hard for me to do that when I was at Eastern Kentucky with our different schedules. We would find time to see each other but I didn't get to watch her play often.

"Now I live not five minutes from where they play. I have seen a practice. I am really happy I am here and get to watch her and her teammates play."

Space has not abandoned his dream of being a professional golfer and has talked to Fuqua, a former Kentucky state high school champion who tried professional golf.

"Maybe if I have two years of great golf here at Centre I would pursue a pro career and he has the background to help me a lot with that. Golf is so mental. One day one thing is clicking and the next day it is not," Space, the first Frederick Douglass male to sign a Division I golf scholarship, said. "I am still practicing and putting in the effort as if I want to go pro."

Space played in numerous tournaments last summer while also practicing all he could while also working at Idle Hour Country Club.

"I would work, practice, work out and then repeat. I loved the grind," he said.

Space is not underestimating Division III competition. He knows there are plenty of good players, including his teammates, and that because he is a Division I transfer does not mean he will dominate tournaments.

"You still have got to play good golf to compete and win," Space said. "I do go into every tournament thinking I can win. That won't change. But there is great competition even in (our team) qualifying. We have had some low scores."

He likes how Fuqua helps him figure out ways to score better. Space is learning how to turn a 70 into a 67 by paying attention to little details Fuqua shares.

"He is very good in that aspect of coaching," Space said. "I know he could go low when he was playing. He is so good with the mental game. He tells us that instead of thinking about the score at the end of the round to take one shot at a time and have full confidence in that shot. It sounds simple but it works."

Space, an economic/finance major, is looking forward to eventually being able to study abroad at Centre.

"In high school I was sure I never wanted to study abroad because I didn't want to take time off from golf," he said. "Now studying abroad fascinates me. I really want to go abroad where you can learn and see the world at the same time. Now I see what a special opportunity that is for anyone."