Mindset is everything for Flora Bolster, the All-Area Girls Golfer of the Year

Jun. 22—ROCHESTER — Flora Bolster had the right mindset heading into this season.

Work hard on her golf game. Test herself against the best competition in the area. Don’t worry about what the scorecard says.

The only flaws in Bolster’s plan? Her scorecard was difficult to ignore. And she became the best competition in the area.

“It’s gone really well,” Bolster told the Post Bulletin in mid-May, prior to the Section 1, Class 3A meet. “I wasn’t really expecting a lot out of this season. I just wanted to go in and have fun. But I improved my average by a lot, which has been really fun, and all of the harder meets have gone well.”

That’s an understatement.

Bolster placed fourth in the Section 1 meet on May 26 and 28 at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls, then the Mayo High School senior finished her standout varsity career with her second straight trip to the Class 3A girls golf state meet on June 9-10.

She placed 44th at Bunker Hills Golf Club, in Coon Rapids, in her final meet as a Spartan.

The lone senior in Mayo’s varsity lineup, Bolster shot in the 70s in eight of her 16 rounds and finished the season with an 80.07 average per 18 holes.

She’s up there among Mayo’s all-time best, both on the course and as a leader.

For all those reasons and more, Flora Bolster is also the 2026 Post Bulletin All-Area Girls Golfer of the Year. She’s the first Rochester golfer to earn that award in its five years of existence.

“I’ve only coached her for the last two (years), but she’s a really good leader,” Mayo head coach Karen Kolbet said in advance of the Section 1 meet. “She does a lot with the group in terms of team bonding. She really tries to get not only the varsity girls, but our JV girls and even some of the under-varsity girls engaged in different activities.

“She wants to keep everybody involved when there aren’t as many meets for (the sub-varsity teams).”

On the course, Bolster’s focus and competitive drive came through. So did her poise.

“She’s really level-headed, so calm on the course,” Kolbet said. “I think that really helps with her consistency when it comes to her game. She doesn’t get flustered very easily, so even if she has a bad shot, she can turn around and pick up and put the next one six inches from the hole. So, she has a really good ability to recover.”

Bolster, also a standout cross country runner for Mayo in the fall, wrapped up her high school golf career on June 10, then flew to Scotland, where she competed for Team USA — as did Rochester Century senior-to-be Boston Collins — in the Scotland Junior Golf Invitational , from June 15-21.

In the fall, Bolster — a four-time All-Big Nine Conference golfer — will head to the University of Wisconsin. She won’t compete in varsity sports there, but hopes to join the school’s club golf team, among other activities.

No matter if it’s on a team or as an individual, golf will likely always be a part of Bolster’s life in some way. And her mindset will likely always keep her toward the top of the leaderboard.

“I pretty much always have the attitude of, I let myself celebrate good shots and good holes, but just not getting too upset over bad stuff, because it’s going to happen,” Bolster said. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is just not to worry about the outcome. Adding up scores during a round isn’t really going to do you any favors. Don’t get too far ahead.”