Golf: Not Just for Guys

It was an unusual 70℉ as I walked to the first tee box at Dorset Field Club on October 7th. I was accompanied by my coach, Lary Wentzel. My hands were shaking as I put on my glove. It was my first year on Woodstock’s Varsity golf team and my first year competing in Vermont Girls Golf States.

I saw other girls coming through on the 9th hole with their teammates. Teammates, what a strange word to me. In golf, you have to have at least two girls to make a team and Woodstock does not have two girls. It has me: the one and only girl.

Many people do not know how hard it is to be the only one: how hard it is to feel so different from everyone else. However, in golf team I did not feel different.

When I went to my first practice, I felt like I needed to prove myself. I worried about this for days before but soon after practice started, I knew I had nothing to prove. Yes, most of the people on the team were much better than me but there were also people who were learning like I was.

One thing that really put me at ease was that all of the guys were very welcoming and supportive. Some of them gave me advice from time to time and they were very patient. No one complained when they had to wait for me to tee off because I use different tees from them. I felt included in all of their conversations. I really like how none of them treated me different from any of the other guys. When I was on the course, I was one of the guys and that was how I wanted to be treated.

Although I am the only one this year, I was not the first.

Emily Dean was on the team for four years but graduated last year. However, I did have the chance to play with her a few times during practice this season and we talked about being the only girl on the team. She said that while the guys are great and fun to play with, sometimes you just need a break from them. I could not have agreed with her more.

In addition to being new to the golf team I was also new to Woodstock. I only knew a handful of people at WUHS, but being on the team helped me meet a lot more people. I quickly became friends with the guys on the team and they were (and still are even though the season is over) friendly to me in school.

A few weeks into the season, I realized that I had become sort of famous at the Woodstock Country Club. It seemed like everyone there knew who I was because I am “the girl of the golf team". More people knew me there than I knew. Days before I went to States, everyone was wishing me luck and telling me to have fun in Dorset.

I took their advice and had a ton of fun. While I didn’t play very well, I got to play with other girls on a course I had never played before. After States, my coach told me that I did not have to come to practice anymore because I did not have anymore tournaments that year. I went anyway because I felt at home on the course. I continued to play with the guys for the rest of the season and had a great time.

One of the highlights of our season was winning the Southern Vermont Championship. The guys played very well and broke Hartford’s five-year win streak and we all enjoyed pizza and a beautiful sunset after the tournament. Unfortunately, their win did not carry over into Vermont Boys Golf States but we grew as a team and are all looking forward to the courses opening again so we can get back out and play next year.

I encourage others to give golf a try. I would love to be part of a girls’ team next year.