RIVERTON, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – Annie Fisher works for the Utah Section PGA. But back in the day, she played high school golf, when there were no girls golf teams.
“It was fun,” Fisher said. “I played with the boys. It was very different, I had fun, but definitely a different environment.”
Fisher went on to play college golf at Weber State, on an all-women’s team, andnd that sparked an idea.
“It was totally different feel to play with the girls,” she said. “It was fun to have some friends and laugh and giggle, but it was a different conversation on the golf course. When I was done playing at Weber State, I thought why aren’t there more girls playing high school golf? This is awesome. “
So Fisher took the idea to the Utah High School Activities Association, and got a little push back. They wanted proof the sport of girls golf would grow.
“We started a pilot program that had 25 girls the first year, 35 the next year,” Fisher said.
“It was like who can we recruit? said Devin Dehlin, the Utah Section PGA Executive Director. “Anybody that’s played junior golf, would you like to play a little high school golf? So it was hard for a while.”
“The first actual sanctioned tournament, we thought we’d have 100 girls,” said Fisher. “Turns out we had to have two split tournaments because we had a couple of hundred girls. If you build it, they will come, and they did.”
Girls high school golf in Utah is now a big-time sport. Lone Peak, Skyline, Pine View and Morgan all just won state championships this past week. Those who were there at the humble beginnings are amazed to see what the sport has become.
“Now it mirrors the boys,” Dehlin said. “We probably have 1,000-plus girls that play every spring. We have two-day events, so they’ve got their show, just like the boys.”
For a long time, girls golf scholarships to college were going unclaimed, but hat is not the case anymore.
“We just want to see those girls have opportunities,” Dehlin said. “If they can play at the next level, for them to be able to go on and play some golf at the next level past high school, it’s what we’re all looking for.”
But now that the game has grown so much, there are new problems to deal with.
“Golf has been so busy the last few years,” Dehlin said. “The population is growing, and we’re seeing more and more high schools, but not more and more golf courses. So finding a place for them all to play is a little bit of a challenge. But its something we’re trying to look forward, anticipate, and try to make sure that we can sustain this for the long term.”
