#WomenInSports: Female Golfers at SGCC

BY EMILY KAUFFMAN | DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, by the age of fourteen, girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys. Why? Typically it’s due to a lack of access, quality experiences, and positive role models. At SGCC, we’re thrilled to have an abundance of female athletes from as young as three-years-old up to Senior Champions, including many teenage and young adult athletes. We talked to several active female golfers to find out more about their experience both in the Club arena and on a broader competitive stage.

Legacy member Alexandra Austin was named the 2022 VSGA Women’s Golfer of the Year. Alex took up golf with her mother,

Michelle, shortly after their family joined SGCC in the summer of 2000.

Outside of being a bonding activity with her mother, Alex’s involvement in the sport also laid the groundwork for lifelong friendships: “I know the junior program here has grown a lot, but the junior program then was fun as well. I had Brandon [Luxenburg], Jonathan [Patch], and Johnny [Garstka], and we all just played a bunch of interclub matches together which made it fun.”

If you’re noticing that Alex only listed boys as her golf buddies, that’s because she was the only girl in the junior golf program. While it would have been nice to have other girls to bond with and share the experience, looking back, Alex finds the silver lining: “I think [being the only girl] helped my game? Because they didn’t let me play from the forward tees, I always had to basically “man up” and play like them.”

While there may have been a benefit to being the only girl in her group, luckily, Alex’s experience is not one shared by young girls today. SGCC’s current junior golf program includes a multitude of female athletes, a trend which is not relegated to our club alone, but instead reflects shifting demographics in the game at large.

“Opportunities have grown,” former SGCC General Manager and current Vice President of the VSGA Brian Maloney notes, “Young women golfers are highly sought after when they become proficient. We’re seeing growth in how many players are out there. We’re seeing a higher level of proficiency.” That translates into even more opportunities for a broader spectrum of ability: “The VSGA’s women’s tournament programs grew by 30% in 2022. We have women’s championships, but we also have women-only events for non-championship players.”

When asked what advice she would give to girls just getting started in golf, Alex says ““I would tell them to definitely keep with it, don’t get discouraged if you have to play with boys or get put against boys and they make comments to you. At the end of the day it’s you versus the golf course and it’s whoever gets it in the hole in the least amount of strokes. They should keep at it even if they don’t want to play collegiately or go further because it’s great networking and it’ll help them in their careers going forward.”

The Women’s Sports Foundation notes the importance of positive role models, and Brian Maloney was certainly that for Alex. “Memories I always have are going into Brian’s office and just getting him to come out and play nine holes with me,” Alex recalls. “I would ask him, “Do you have some free time?” And he’d be like “No” but then I’d say “You wanna go play nine?” So he was a big help with that.”

Pride fills Brian’s voice as he recounts the victories and successes of the many female athletes at SGCC he’s known over the years including Alex Austin, Sidney Walker, Jackie McClelland, Diane Garstka, Melanie Walker, Grace Saunders, and Raquel Walker: “I certainly didn’t have any impact on their game. I’m a supporter, but I don’t do anything but lend my support; I’m not a teacher. They are all different in what they did to get there, but in all cases there is dedication to get better. Some found the road a little easier, for others it was a little harder, but one of the things you see in golf not only in all golf but certainly with these players is how their confidence develops over time. That’s a huge deal when you’re going head-to-head in competitions with other players who are good.”

Brian is close with the Austin family and still hits the course with Alex every so often, as long as it is above fifty degrees and sunny. The two shared a special moment this past January when Brian had the opportunity to present Alex with her trophy at the VSGA’s Annual Meeting.

While it wasn’t Alex’s first time being named golfer of the year, this one meant a lot. “It was a great honor considering I hadn’t really played competitive golf for a couple years because of COVID and when I got my amateur status back I had to wait out a year,” Alex says. The 2022 award came after a radical shift in her mindset: “So, not really having competitive golf under my belt for a few years, [in 2022] I went out and decided I was just going to play for fun, I told myself I’m not playing for money anymore, I’m just going out and enjoying the game. I think that’s what helped. If I hit a bad shot I’d give myself a few seconds to get mad then just get right back into it.”

Developing golfers of all ages and abilities is a core part of the culture at Springfield. Director of Golf Josh Tremblay, PGA was the recipient of the 2023 PGA Player Development Award and one of the first professionals to bring the PGA Jr. League to the Middle Atlantic Section. He introduced the Operation 36 model at SGCC several years ago which offers targeted instruction to beginners of all ages as well as serving as a good refresher for experienced golfers.

When asked about the impact of opportunities at the Club on the development of female golfers, Josh says “Our Club Championship-Championship Flight is set up for the best sixteen golfers at Springfield, regardless of age or gender…Tee it up from the Gold Tees, and let’s see who wins! Ultimately, the individual player has to have that drive within them, but I think our environment has helped solidify their games.”

Two crucial elements for keeping girls engaged with sports are a supportive environment and quality experiences both of which can be found at Springfield… just ask Emily and Naomi Holbrook. The sisters, ages twelve and eleven respectively, have been involved in sports at SGCC for several years. They play in PGA Jr. League, are participants in our junior tennis Academy program, play on the Junior Interclub Tennis Team in the summer, and swim for the Sea Lions.

Regardless of which sport they’re participating in, both Emily and Naomi say it is their coaches and belonging to a team made up of friends-turnedfamily that they like best. “The coaches are really nice and help me with where I need improvement,” Naomi says. Emily agrees, adding, “I like that the coaches help us understand how to get better and make sure we work hard.”

Emily and Naomi put in the work outside of team practices by playing golf and tennis with their parents as well as their friends from the Club. The girls like being active and think that playing multiple sports helps their performance across the board: “Playing so many sports gives me more strength and courage,” Naomi says. While neither sister has dreams of becoming a professional athlete, they both hope to continue playing sports for fun as they get older.

Part of the supportive environment fostered at SGCC comes from the fact that it’s not all about athletes playing at the competitive level; it’s about the people who put in the work day-afterday and are dedicated to getting better. A member of the WGA-9 and advocate for private lessons with the Pro Staff, Christine Gray has the distinction of being the WGA-9’s 2022 Champion and Most Improved Golfer.

Director of Instruction Robert Simpson, PGA joined the team in April of 2022, and has been giving lessons to Christine ever since. “Working with Mrs. Gray this year was a treat! She was motivated to achieve her self-set goals. During some lessons she thought I was crazy and we would (happily) bicker back and forth, then she’d hit a great shot and say, ‘Okay, you were right.’ So, we both learned how to work with each other. I had to work to find the right way to communicate with her while she had to learn to trust and believe in the process.”

Christine attributes her gains this year to the work she put in with Robert and on her own time. She suggests hitting the course before your lesson as a way to get the most out of it: “I would try to play nine immediately before my lesson. That way, things were fresh in my mind about what I thought I needed help with.”

As a player who was introduced to golf as an adult, finding camaraderie has been a huge part of Christine’s enjoyment of the sport. “Joining the WGA-9 was a HUGE help,” she says. “Golf is a really intimidating sport, so being part of a group makes it easier. There are regular times to play and you learn so much when you actually go out and play as opposed to just the driving range. The WGA-9 started a Big-Little program my first year and my Big was Stephanie Weinstein. She was so patient and made me feel comfortable on the course.”

Christine also likes the challenge and the fact that her golf game is something she can continuously improve upon. “As a beginner you have to be patient and accept the fact that you’re going to have some great rounds and some really awful ones,” she says, but consistency is key. Taking regular lessons and putting in the time in the practice areas goes a long way: “Practicing is not necessarily the most exciting thing, but it works.”

Getting in more practice is a challenge for Alex Austin as well and a goal she’s set for herself for 2023: “I’ll go out and play nine holes three-to-four times a week after work, then eighteen holes on the weekend, but now I want to dedicate two days a week after work to just practicing because I need to amp my short game up…which I hate doing but it’s very much needed.”

Besides the acceptance she found with the WGA-9, Christine Gray says the best part is the friendships: “I’ve met ladies through golf I probably wouldn’t have otherwise and am grateful for that. Plus, there are fun tournaments and social events.”

The social aspect is something that Brian Maloney has noticed sets women’s golf apart from the men: “They all know each other, it’s a smaller community, but it really is that a community. There are a lot of competitive forces, but they tend to root for each other which is a different atmosphere than the men’s side. You see encouragement amongst the women even when they are competing against each other. It’s one of the reasons why I enjoy officiating their events; I like to see how supportive they are. It’s good to see them flourish.” 