Seven Players Represent Woodland Park’s Inaugural Team
Trevor Phipps
As the weather slowly starts to warm up, golf fever in the high country is sizzling with many anxiously awaiting the opening of the championship-level Shining Mountain course in Woodland Park later this spring.
Luckily, though, seven high school women linksters have already gotten an early start in gearing up for the golf season, even if they can’t play in the high country yet. They are part of a national booming trend across the region and nation, which has seen massive growth of the sport occurring among young girls, teens and business women.
The Woodland Park High School girls’ golf team started its inaugural season this spring, and they already have a handful of tournaments under their belts. Out of the seven golfers on the high school’s historic first team, four of them had never stepped foot onto a golf course before this spring sports season.
For over a decade, the Woodland Park High School has sported quite a successful boys’ golf program with some competing extremely well at the state level in recent years. Back when former Coach Brian Gustafson was in charge of the boys’ golf team, he dreamed of adding a girls’ golf program, but he knew that task wouldn’t be easy.
When it comes to Colorado high school sports, the boys get the better golf season when they compete during the fall sports season. The boys have all summer to practice their swings before competing at tournaments in mid-August and usually get the benefit of drier autumn weather.
The Colorado high school girls golfing season, however, runs during the spring sports season. Since the local golf course (Shining Mountain) doesn’t open up for golfers until late April or early May, the high school lacked a facility where the girls could practice before having to officially tee off in early March.
But over the last few years, a group of local linkster proponents teamed up to launch massive fundraising efforts to support the high school golf program. After raising funds from golf tournaments and other events, parents and friends of the WPHS golfers were able to come up with enough money to purchase a golf simulator (an ideal device for indoor play and one that recently was transformed into a major indoor facility and league, started by Tiger Woods).
The simulator soon found a home inside the high school, located above the building’s main gym. Now, the Lady Panther linksters can practice their golf swings starting in December or January to get ready to compete in March.
Lady Golfers Showing Much Promise
For the team’s first year, the Lady Panthers are led by head coach Reese Gutierrez, who is the head skipper of the boys’ golf team. Gutierrez has several years of experience coaching various sports, and he is quite a player himself.
The coach said that for many of the girls, this sprint onto the links team marked their first time learning how to hold a club the right way and competing in the sport. Moreover, he is impressed at the progress he has noticed in a short time period.
The WP girls have fared decently against other teams with more experienced golfers, and Gutierrez hopes they can keep getting better. The head coach has recruited other coaches as well, along with a certified golf pro who has started helping the Lady Panthers improve their golf swings.
“Some of the strengths that I am seeing are that they are motivated and wanting to learn,” Coach Gutierrez said. “They are excited. The coachability is great. You suggest something and they try it. They are motivated and they listen. Every day I tell them: If we can get one percent better every day, we will get to where we want to be ultimately. And some of them are getting more than one percent better every day.”
Learning the Basics of Golf and Networking
The coach said that he thinks it is important for all young people to learn the basics of golf. And since there is a lack of female golfers across the board, Coach Gutierrez hopes the first year of the WP girls’ golf team will help the program grow to more than 10 players next year. Plus, he sees the program playing a key role in the future careers and growth of many lady participants.
“In today’s world where more women are taking on business roles, there is a lot of networking and business relationship building that takes place while golfing,” Gutierrez said. ”If you are maybe a real estate agent and want to reward your clients or something, you can take them out on the golf course. It’s good for social interactions. And there is a lot of golf etiquette and self-regulation that goes on at the golf course.”
Gutierrez said that golfing can teach younger people several important life lessons. And he’s especially happy to be doing his part in getting more females interested in the sport.
“Everybody wants to see more women out on the golf course,” Gutierrez said. “It’s such a fun game. Nothing beats asking your wife and daughter (who is on the high school golf team) to go golfing this weekend, and both of them saying ‘yes.’”
Gutierrez said that at the end of the spring sports season (this May), they plan on holding a fundraiser golf tournament to help support the new girls’ golf team. Stay tuned to MountainJackpot.com for more information on when the tournament will take place.
