ARLINGTON — One day, Austin Faux decided to be good at golf.

Faux was struggling as a student his freshman year at Arlington. His grades weren’t stellar, and he didn’t have much direction or interests.

Then came golf.

More than a sport, Faux said he used golf as a platform for bettering himself as a person.

“I think it helps me get through tough times,” said Faux about the sport.

He set goals for himself, and eventually wanted to get good enough to play for Skagit Valley College. And if he wanted to play college golf, he’d have to up his game and his grades.

“I just never felt the necessity of school work,” he said. “I realized grades do matter.”

He began playing golf May of his freshman year where he played some tournaments, eventually playing for Arlington.

Now a senior, Faux has improved steadily. “His golf game has come a long way,” coach Kevin Coghill said. “His game improves and attitude gets better as well.”

Faux was in a bit of a slump until finally getting back to where he should be in his final year at Arlington.

“I think it was a lot of nerves going into my final season,” he said, adding he was nervous thinking about SVC. “I didn’t know I was going to be playing well enough to go there.”

His nerves affected his putting game earlier in the season.

But Faux curbed his slump after reaching out to his new swing coach, Craig Welty, who is a PGA professional at Skagit Golf and Country Club. He used to caddy for professional golfer Ben Crane.

“I knew he was a really good golfer, I just had no idea how good he was,” Faux said.

Since then, Faux has improved his putting, heeding advice from Welty to calm his nerves.

“He told me every putt is the same no matter what,” Faux said.

His hard work paid off, as he co-medaled with Stanwood’s Kole Johnson in the 3A divisional golf tournament May 10 at Kayak Point Golf Course over 18 holes, while qualifying for districts.

As a result, he is the Arlington Times-Marysville Globe Athlete of the Week.

“Me and Kole have played a lot together this year,” Faux said. “It was cool to see a friend come up on top with me.”

Faux is confident he’ll go down to the wire with Kole again in districts.

And he’s coming into his own at just the right time as districts are approaching. He feels “solid” after recently practicing at the Snohomish Golf Course where the tournament will be held May 16-17 at 8 a.m.

“Monday, we played a practice there, and I played my best round there yet,” he said.

Faux didn’t make the cut for state last year.

“I’m sure that’ll be a goal of his — to make the cut and place [in state],” Coghill said.

Coghill thinks Faux can make the cut “if he plays in his normal ability.”

While at SVC, Faux wants to study statistical math and pursue a career with that while transferring to a university. But he also plans to keep playing golf as long he can and see where it takes him.

And if golf isn’t his destiny, he’ll happily fall back on his college degree, he said.