Golf players pursue a sport that is authentic in many ways. The girls golf team in particular had only seven participants this year. Having few players raises the question as to why it has less popularity. Several reasons suggest why the sport stands out among others.

As opposed to other sports, the “try-out” process of getting on the golf team isn’t what the majority would expect.

“Basically we go and play either 9 or 18 holes, she usually splits us up into 2 groups and we go play…and she bases it off of who had the best score,” Lindsey Ellett, varsity golf player, 11, said.

The score that each participant receives is what determines their team placement. The higher score that is achieved dictates the player to be placed on a higher level team.

“[Lindsey and I] were the only ones on varsity this year. It’s more [dependent on] scores [and] if you have a good mentality for it,” Gianna Cowsert, varsity golf player, 10, said.

Golf as a sport stands out, and many of the golf players are introduced to this sport from their relatives.

“My dad was the one that got me into it because he played golf…He’s always told me that there’s a bunch of [golf] scholarships,” Cowsert said.

Lindsey Ellett, varsity golf player, 11, had a similar situation in what swayed her toward playing golf.

“I have played golf with my dad and my sister. It was just kind of a way for us to all play together and a way for me and my dad to bond while also being with my mom and my sister,” Ellett said.

Many participants who do pursue this sport are in for a large amount of time investment.

“Tournaments take so much time. If you’re on varsity, you have one all day tournament…You are missing a lot of school for tournaments, but practices don’t take terribly long,” Cowsert said.

This year is only Cowsert’s second year of being on the golf team. She started playing golf when she was seven; however, for several years of her life she swayed away from golf.

“When I was little I [said] ‘I don’t want to play golf’. I played it but it wasn’t my favorite sport so I stopped for a long time,” Cowsert said.

It wasn’t until Cowsert entered high school that she made the decision to join the golf team. She knew she had prior experience in golf and took advantage of that.

The golf team is small, it’s an individual sport but the players still bond.

“I like the girls, there’s definitely only a few of them but it’s fun because we have a small team. When we go to tournaments we’re able to have fun and make the most of it while there’s only a few of us…I don’t plan to play it in college, but I do want to continue playing it after high school for fun,” Ellett said.