Written by Will Hopkins
For the “headband golfer,” it wasn’t always about golf until his head got in the way. Maccabi USA Open golfer Jared Civin was all about soccer growing up, but that changed when he was 14. During a travel match in Boca Raton, Florida, his goalkeeper punched him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious and giving him a concussion. What followed for Jared was a high level of nervousness about the possibility of more concussions along with questions about his athletic future. The answer was a change in sport: golf.
Civin, now a senior at the University of Florida, started to primarily focus on golf during his freshman year of high school. It was his main solace during this tough time. He had previously played recreationally, but once he started to really hone in on golf, Civin took a strong liking to it. “I fell more in love with golf than I think I was ever in love with soccer,” he said.
This love led to Jared playing just about every day after school. He’d even play on a course without flagsticks. Civin got better pretty quickly but was, and still is, always looking to improve. “The great thing about the game of golf is the constant chase of perfection, even though you can never attain it,” he said. “You’re always almost there.”
Competing in golf changed his life, but Civin wants to change others’ lives, too. While most people wear hats on the course, Civin wears a headband every time he plays. He hopes his new fashion style can help grow the game. “If you can play golf in a headband, anyone can play golf,” says Civin.
Civin started wearing the headband during the COVID-19 pandemic when he grew his hair out. His mom suggested that he put on a headband while they were playing tennis once, and it was then that he decided he’d wear it on the course as well. Civin says that it helps to make things a little more lighthearted, adding, “I think people take things very seriously in golf. I think it’s hard to take yourself too seriously when you play golf in a headband. It kind of lightens you up. So even when I’m having a bad round, it kind of reminds me to just try to enjoy it, try to have fun with it.”
Bad rounds do come, even for somebody as talented as Civin, who currently sports a 0.3 handicap. He tried to qualify for the 21st Maccabiah three years ago but faltered down the stretch during qualifying and missed out on the team by a few shots. Still, he didn’t give up on his dreams of representing the United States in Israel and tried out again in July of 2024. Civin believes that his persona out on the course as the headband golfer, which represents who he is off of the course as well, helped to secure him a spot on the team when the Games start this July.
Going to Israel two summers ago for birthright changed Civin’s life, as it brought him closer to his Judaism and even brought him onto the lone golf course in Israel – Caesarea Golf Club. Now, a couple of summers later, he gets to return to the Holy Land and to that very same course, as a member of the United States Open Golf team, bringing with him a special accessory. Civin will have a special headband with him to showcase three important parts of his identity – the United States, Israel and his personal brand as the headband golfer.
Will Hopkins is a journalism and statistics major at the University of Georgia. Follow Will on his website: https://willhopkinsjournalism.wordpress.com/ and connect with Will on LinkedIn.