As a transfer student, Janie Jackson knew she had a lot to deal with. Most transfer students worry about making friends and their classes, but Jackson had one more thing to think about – playing golf for the Crimson Tide.

Originally from Huntsville, Ala., Jackson went to The University of Arizona on a golf scholarship. Although she doesn’t regret leaving Alabama, the sophomore said coming back home was the best decision she ever made.

“I’ve never really gone away from home or the South really, so when I was getting recruited I decided to take a chance and try something new,” Jackson said. “The opportunity kind of presented itself and so I went to Arizona. It was a great year – I don’t regret it at all. I had a lot of fun, but it was just too far away from home.”

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Jackson was initially offered a scholarship to Alabama, but when it came time to decide, Alabama only had one available spot, which went to then-freshman Emma Talley.

Not thinking she would get a chance to play golf at the University again, Jackson transferred anyway. Jackson said if a spot opened up on the team, she wanted to play.

“Well [Alabama coach] Mic [Potter] was just really honest,” Jackson said. “He’s always been an honest person but he told me originally when I decided to transfer there was no scholarship available. I told him there’s really no where else I’d rather be, so even though there’s no scholarship right now I would commit [because] I want to play for Alabama.”

Fortunately, Jackson was able to be on scholarship.

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“After I committed, they actually had a girl who was one the team transfer[red] somewhere else,” Jackson said. “And then they had the money for me. Everything worked out so well and I’m so blessed to come back. It couldn’t have gone any better.”

During her time at Arizona, Jackson had a scoring average of 74.56. Jackson played 34 rounds at Arizona. She and her team also finished eighth in the NCAA Championship.

Compared to Arizona, Alabama has a different system, which Jackson said has benefited her in many ways. The two schools practice and compete differently so Jackson has been adjusting to that this year.

“They’re actually really different,” Jackson said. “I like the way practice is set up here. At Arizona, I think we played a bit more, here we’re doing more drills in certain areas that we need to get better. I really like that because I think that helps me a lot in certain areas of the game where I struggled before. Coach Potter has really helped break that down for me and helped me focus on where I need to get better so it helps me a lot.”

Jackson will play next at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate this weekend.

(See also “Women’s golf team takes 7th place in NCAA Championship“)