Deseret Morning News

UHSAA gives OK to girls golf

High school girls have always had the opportunity to participate in golf, but if they wanted to swing the clubs on a high school team, they had to do so with and against boys. Not anymore.

For the first time in 17 years, the Utah High School Activities Association sanctioned a new sport. With a season that begins in spring 2008, girls golf becomes the first new sport to be sanctioned since softball in 1990.

"It really is time," said Scott Whittaker, executive director of the Utah Section of the PGA. "This is an exciting time for us."

For the last several years, local PGA officials, especially Annie Fisher, have expanded the opportunities for girls and women to learn how to golf. This spring PGA officials expanded a program they'd been running for a couple of years for female prep golfers.

"We ran it as a pilot-type of program to see measure what the interest was," Whittaker said. "There was an overwhelming feeling that it was time for girls to have their own league. We're one of the few states that ran a co-ed program."

He said more than 100 girls participated in the club golf program offered this spring, which convinced UHSAA officials it was time to give girls a league of their own.

"It's kind of significant," said assistant director of the UHSAA Dave Wilkey. "We've kind of been in a no-add mode for a while. But its time had really come. It's something we've been anticipating for a while."

The UHSAA's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to add girls golf in two classifications in their meeting Thursday afternoon. Next spring 4A and 5A will compete in one class, while 1A/2A/3A athletes will compete in another class. The teams will be made up of four golfers with three scoring, but regional playoffs will have to be worked out later.

Even without some of the details yet to be determined, those associated with high school golf are excited.

"It's awesome," said Skyline golfer Jenteal Jackson. "It's always fun to play with the guys, but it's a lot more challenging because a lot more guys play. It'll be fun (to have a separate league)."

Whittaker said there were three main reasons they pushed for a separate girls league.

"First, girls perceive the golf team experience differently than the boys do," he said. "There's just a difference there. There were a lot of girls who weren't participating because it was co-ed."

Jackson said that characterization was accurate, and she anticipates some girls will come out for the sport now that they can form their own teams and compete against each other.

"I think some girls tend to be a little more intimidated by the guys," she said.

Whittaker said that boys golf is currently in the fall, and volleyball - club and high school - and tennis were taking athletes who expressed interest in golf if it were held in the spring.

"Are you going to go battle it out with boys or play girls tennis?" Whittaker said many girls thought. "We were losing out to that perception."

Third, Whittaker said that the girls were often smaller and less experienced than the boys so it was difficult for them to be good enough to make traveling teams.

"Unless they were one of the top 10 girls in the state, they couldn't make those traveling teams," he said. "I don't think there was any outward animosity between the girls and boys, but there were just some inherent inequities in the program. The growth in popularity in women's sports overall and especially in golf made this move necessary."