Sam Straka and Sepp Straka have played golf together for many years. Now they are ready to play four more years together for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Sam and Sepp, Lowndes High’s standout golfers, have signed letters of intent to play golf for the University of Georgia next year.

Both of them are excited about the chance to play for the Bulldogs.

“It’s awesome. I’m looking forward to signing and getting up there and trying to do good,” Sam said. “It’s always been our favorite school, and they have one of the top golf programs in the nation. Athens is a great city. We’re looking forward to it.”

“It’s definitely a good way to be spending the next four years,” Sepp added.

Both brothers said that they are happy to be going to Georgia together.

“It’s just another four years of good brother time,” Sam said.

Georgia head coach Chris Haack is glad to have the Straka brothers joining his team next year.

“We are excited about having Sam and Sepp join our program,” Haack said in a press release. “They are excellent young prospects. They have a lot of potential, and I think they will have the opportunity to come in and play right away.”

Sam and Sepp are both ranked among the top 72 junior golfers in the United States. They have played in tournaments all over the U.S. and Austria.

Sam won the United States Junior Amateur Qualifier in Kennesaw by four shots, and tied for 17th at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in Grand Rapids, Mich. He has earned five victories on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, including the 2008 Tournament of Champions. He has recorded 10 top-5 finishes on the SJGT tour, and has a low round of 66. Sam is ranked No. 44 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings.

Sepp has won the Austrian junior championship each of the past two years. Sepp has one victory on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, and has 10 top-5 finishes. He finished second at the Donald Ross, a big tournament in North Carolina. His lowest round, which he has accomplished twice, is a 67. He is ranked No. 72 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings.

Both brothers have qualified to play in the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship in December in Miami.

Sam and Sepp are members of the Austrian national golf team. Their father is from Austria and their mother is from Moultrie. They lived in Austria until they were 14, when they moved to Valdosta.

“It was fun (playing for the Austrian national team). It was good practice. We had good opportunities to get better,” Sam said.

The Strakas have helped Lowndes become one of the top high school golf teams in the state. The Vikings have won the Region 1-AAAAA championship each of the past three years. They finished second at the Class AAAAA state tournament in 2008, then took fourth in 2009 and sixth in 2010.

“(Playing for Lowndes) was a lot of fun,” Sepp said.

“One of the greatest experiences (for us) since coming over here is playing for the Viking golf program,” Sam said. “It’s just been really fun … We’re looking forward to this year, because we hope we can finally get the state championship.”

Both brothers would love to play on the PGA Tour one day. But right now, they are focused on having good senior years at Lowndes, then they want to earn playing time at Georgia, and try to help the Bulldogs win another national championship (Georgia won national championships in 1999 and 2005).

Georgia will be losing three All-American golfers after this season, so the Strakas will get a chance to earn playing time right away.

While Sam and Sepp are twins, they are clearly two different people. They are fraternal twins, so they do not look alike. Their personalities are different. They do a lot of things together, but they also spend plenty of time apart. They will room together their freshman year, but say they may or may not room together after that.

“Anybody will tell you that we’re not the typical twins that are exactly alike,” Sam said.

“We’re more like brothers than twins,” Sepp added.

“I’d still consider us best friends,” Sam said.

Both brothers had a lot of college offers, but in the end, they each decided that Georgia was where they wanted to play college golf.

“We’ve been up there about four or five times to visit. (The UGA players) are all awesome guys, and we’re looking forward to playing with them and living with them,” Sam said.

“We love the coaches, too,” Sepp added.

They also said that Georgia’s reputation as a good academic school played a part in their decision to go to UGA. Both of them are good students, could graduate with honors from Lowndes and will be receving the HOPE scholarship.

Sam and Sepp both say they love playing golf.

“Every day, if I don’t get to play, it’s a bad day,” Sepp said.

“I love it. It’s my life. I bleed golf. I couldn’t live without it,” Sam added.