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"Putt"ing in the work

Riley Choi '28

Oct 18, 2024

This year, the girls golf program is running concurrently with the boys during the fall season.  The girls' official competition season occurs during the spring. The decision to offer extended training for girls during the off-season is strategic. 

Head coach Doug Smith explained, "If you don't get practice in, you can feasibly go six months without touching a golf club. That is very hard to do, and we want the girls to be in a position where they can succeed." 

This year, Kelsey Li ’26 and Jiwon Chung ’28 are the only members of the girls team practicing during the fall. Li, the only returning player, noted, “The fall program can be hard at times without the rest of my teammates, but that also gives me the ability to completely focus on my game." 

The girls have a sporadic training schedule without competitions. “On weekdays, I arrive at 4:10 and play golf until 5:40,” said Chung. “I practice for about an hour and a half. I don’t practice on weekends, though.” 

Li usually starts off putting and practicing her overall short game, then moves on to irons and drives to refine her skills. She added that she tries to play a few holes throughout the weekend. “Training now is much more relaxed for me as it isn’t my season yet. I don't have mandatory Saturday practice like in the spring but I still strive to work hard during practice.” 

Asked about their goals, Chung, a newcomer to both the team and the sport, said, “I’ve played golf before in Korea, but I didn’t really play it often before coming to this school. I’m hoping to improve my overall skills of swing and improve my posture in order to get a high distance and far distance while hitting the golf ball.” 

Li stated, “My official goal for the spring is to hit a consistent 43 to 45. This score will help us a lot score wise. I’m about three to five strokes off right now, so I’m working hard to get there before spring. I hope to not drag down my teammates and let down the coach!”

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