New popularity growing in high school girls’ golf
Head to a Capital Region golf course after school hours and you’ll see high school girls teeing it up like never before.
The number of girls playing golf is increasing dramatically. In the fall of 2019, 108 girls were on golf teams in Section II. That’s about 60 more players than in the previous year, when girls had to try out to earn a spot on boys’ teams, playing from the white tees.
In 2020, just one week into the season, 142 golfers are playing. Despite the uncertainty of 2020 and some fall sports seasons being interrupted or canceled by positive COVID -19 tests, organizers of girls’ golf in Section II have been able to keep the momentum of the new team sport rolling.
“We’ve got 13 teams with 91 golfers and another 51 are mixed competitors,” said Eileen Troy, Section II girls’ golf coor
dinator. Mixed competitors are girls who play on high school boys’ teams but also can compete against girls on girls’ teams and are eligible to qualify for postseason tourneys against girls.
Section II won’t be holding a qualifier for states this fall, but Troy said she is optimistic girls will compete in a spring qualifier and states next year.
Girls’ golf became a competitive scholastic sport at the high school level in 2019. For the first time, girls could play against girls. Girls’ teams and individuals could vie for league, regional qualifier and state titles.
Golf has seen an increase in popularity this fall thanks in part to other sports being canceled, said Troy High School golf coach Paul Botta, who serves as golf coordinator for Suburban Council schools.
“When volleyball decided not to play, that helped — and no soccer for some schools. Some of the girls are coming out of the woodwork for golf,” said Botta, who has three girls on his boys’ team who can play in Suburban Council matches against girls.
Botta said boys’ and girls’ teams in the Suburban Council are eyeing a possible league championship competition if the season continues to go well without COVID -19 interruptions.
About 60 girls are competing in golf in just the Suburban Council, with many teams seeing large increases. Niskayuna, for example, jumped from one girl last year to 11 this year. Bethlehem, Saratoga and Shaker all have seven girls and Shenendehowa, Columbia and Guilderland each have six.
Private schools also saw a big leap: Holy Names leads the field with 14 girls playing and Saratoga Catholic has eight on its first-girls’ team.
Catholic Central in Troy had seven girls participating, but the school abruptly ended its fall sports seasons in golf and tennis because of COVID -19 cases, according to a source.
The state is working to help make girls’ golf more competitive. With so many new girls coming to the sport,
the state is now allowing coaching throughout matches, rather than having players fend for themselves during competition. That’s important for golfers because of the lack of practices this year when fall sports started late because of COVID -19 concerns.
Albany Academy for Girls, which captured the team title last year and dominated in individual competition,
missed out on a chance to represent Section II at states when COVID -19 forced the end to all sports competition in the spring. Section II is one of only two sections in the state holding golf in the fall and states in June.
“Out of the nine girls that qualified, three were seniors. So unfortunately last year was bittersweet because we were finally able to hold a sectional tournament and a state qualifier, but the state tournament was canceled. Sadly, the seniors didn’t get to go and get that experience. I’m guessing we will be able to have the state tournament in the spring for golf,” Troy said.
“The sooner we get our girls into state championships, the sooner we are going to be successful at the state level,” Troy said after last season. “We have a lot of talent in this area, and experience is key to success at states.”
Albany Academy for Girls’ coach Sara Adamowski said her girls are ready.
“We lost one senior but gained a freshman,” she said. “We definitely have our eye on making it to states — and winning.”