Here’s a warning to any sexist, egotistical, “ruler of the course” males still out there: Beware: the girls are coming. And I don’t mean that they’re coming to a golf course near you, to play badly and slowly, and drive you off your game. I mean they’re coming, and they’re bringing weapons! Big weapons, like 280-yard drives (and longer), and short games that will have you stammering in your backswing. Egos will have to be checked at the front door of the clubhouse, because it’s going to hurt when you see just how much game they’ve got, and nary a big bone to stand on.
A case in point: The Women’s Amateur at Pumpkin Ridge this year was won by 14-year-old Kimberly Kim, all 5-foot-5 and 115 pounds of her, ponytail, braces and all. “Kim Squared”, as her friends call her, was one of 16 girls between the ages of 14 and 16 to make it to the match play section of the amateur. That was a full one-fourth of the field.
Whether it’s the influence of Tiger Woods extending to the girls’ game, or perhaps Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Annika Sorenstam and the rest of the LPGA and the professional and definitely classy game they represent, golf has become “cool” to girls across the country now. It could be that it is seen as a great way to make a living, so parents are getting them started younger and younger. Those with big dreams and big pocketbooks are using every means available to help their young protégés too, with swing coaches, all the best equipment, and the funds to travel the country in some big name junior tournaments.
Whatever the reason, the numbers are up for girl’s golf. On the national level, girl’s golf has grown by leaps and bounds. The first year of the U.S. Girls’ Junior in 1949, there were 33 entrants. In 1950 there were only 18 entrants. Fast forward to 1995, in which the tournament attracted 267 girls, but then more than doubled to 618 players the next year!
Even though the future of Women’s golf looks to be set, there is also a disturbing trend going on with these talented young ladies. The lure of endorsements, and being able to play golf full time without the distraction of school, is causing quite a number of young women to forego college and head straight to the pros, Wie and Pressel, for example. Even though I can’t really blame them, since the opportunity is just too great to pass up, I feel as though they’re missing out on a really important stage in their life. Going away to college is a part of growing up, and playing for a team creates a nucleus of friends and supporters to make the transition from dependent to independent a lot easier and a lot more fun.
Playing in amateur events can be very costly, with hotel, flight and entry fee expenses, so I can see why going pro would be very appealing. Maybe the U.S. should do what the Europeans are doing: form national teams of juniors, and let their federation cover the costs. That’s what 26-year-old Katharina Schallenberg, who finished as runner-up in the Women’s Amateur, does. She is in no hurry to turn pro because the German Federation covers all the costs of her events.
Worse than missing college though, would be missing high school. Lindy Duncan, a 15-year-old in the field at the Amateur, made it to the semis before losing 1-down to the eventual winner. She attributes the improvement in her game to a change in schools; she quit regular high school in Plantation, Fla., to enroll in an Internet high school — the University of Miami High School.
She thinks it’s the best thing she could have done, because now she can practice two hours of golf in the morning, followed by four hours of school, and then more golf. She didn’t feel she was able to be as good as she wanted to be with going to regular school. She is very happy with her decision and its effects on her game too. She was quoted at the Women’s Amateur as saying, “You, I love every minute of it, and I will never forget this. I have so many great memories.” Maybe it’s a good thing, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want my children to grow up quite so fast, but she’s somebody else’s daughter, and she’s got a great chance as a professional golfer as a career choice. Not very many people can say that.
One of these days, the trend in girls’ golf is going to catch up to Terre Haute, although there are some local players who get the picture. The Northview girls’ golf team, led by junior Mary Beth Tribble, is undefeated so far this season in dual matches. Rachael Pruett of Linton High School has had a great summer with her golf and is continuing some stellar play into the high school season. She made it to the semifinal round of the Girl’s State Junior Championship, and was part of the Indiana team that swept the Indiana vs. Kentucky Junior Championships.
I’m looking forward to following and supporting the new ISU Women’s Golf team. Maybe they’ll help girls to realize how cool golf can be!
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Quote of the day: “I’d like the thank the 18th hole for letting my ball go in.” Kimberly Kim, in her victory speech at the Women’s Amateur Championship!
Jennifer Myers can be reached by email at jfmyers@xsthe.net.
On & Off the Course
On and Off the Course: Watch out for girls golf youth movement
- On & Off the Course
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
• Gary R. Wright
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Donna Lynn Strahla Bown
Donna Lynn Strahla Bown passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2013, with her children by her side.
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‘The Match’ pitting amateurs vs. pros recalled 62 years later
Quote of the Day: “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” — Ben Hogan.
Bubba Watson has had a busy fall. Not only did he play all the way to the final round of the FedEx Championships, and in the Ryder Cup, he also played in an event commemorating a very famous match played at Cypress Point in 1956, pitting two of the greatest golf pros at the time against two of the best amateurs.
Come to think of it, all four were some of the best golfers of all time. This year’s event was celebrating The First Tee’s exceeding $100 million in pledges to reach 10 million new young people. It wasn’t televised and kept very quiet; only 225 people were in the gallery.
One of the people in the gallery was Mark Frost, the author of a book titled “The Match,” which is about that match played 62 years ago that was re-enacted in modern terms last week. The pros in 1956 were Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and the amateurs were Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. It was supposed to have been a private affair, built around a wager by two millionaires, George Coleman and Eddie Lowery. -
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf from the wrong side of the brain
Imagine this scenario: a woman, small in stature (possibly freckled), walks into a hospital emergency room and says, “I have an emergency, I need a doctor quickly!” The admitting nurse, ever trying to be helpful, asks what the emergency is.
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Farmers looking at widely varying yields
Combines will roll through fields this weekend, bringing in the harvest from a summer with nearly no rain.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf debut in London would have been nice
As the Olympics get underway in London this weekend, I was thinking it’s too bad that the Olympic committee decided too late to add golf as one of the sports for this event; instead it will be added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Getting to Hoosier country’s best golfing venue part of the fun
If you are looking for Indiana’s premier golfing destination, then you should look no further than French Lick.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Indiana's Pete Dye courses worth the drive
You’ve probably heard of the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail throughout Alabama, but you might not be aware that Indiana has its own “Pete Dye Golf Trail” comprised of seven courses.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fathers typically a big influence on golfing sons
Some events fall naturally into place around holidays. The Fourth of July always falls somewhere during Wimbledon, giving all of the Yanks in attendance something to be boisterous about, to the chagrin of their hosts; The Masters often, but not always, ends on Easter Sunday, which is fitting since golfers find it such a reverent occasion.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Memorial just one of many visions of Jack Nicklaus
When Jack Nicklaus was a young man, the golfer he most admired was Bob Jones.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
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AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
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First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
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Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
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Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How List Happened
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
