Highland Girls Golf Continuously Improving

Girls golf has been an official Utah High School sanctioned sport for eight years.  The sport has grown from only 35 first year participants, to over a thousand this year.  Girls from all over the state are now putting up respectable scores, and overall improvement has been seen each year.  But that is not what the sport is all about.

For Highland, winning has never been the main focus.  Head coach Paul Tate emphasizes a strategy to improve and develop his players. Practice on the driving range, putting greens, and out on the course helps players shave strokes, even if in small steps.  Focusing on the future helps prevent cases of drop off from one year to the next, not to mention growth in the program.

Success in this strategy was shown last year with former senior Lauryn Angell.  Angell was able to improve every year, and finish the 2014 state tournament with a respectable score.  Current senior Alexia Hopkins has followed in steps similar to Angell.

Offseason practice and tournament participation has paid off for Hopkins, who takes after her brother Greg, a four year golfer at Highland who graduated in 2013.

This year’s team also features a new large influx of freshman, ready to give the sport a shot, giving Highland Girl’s golf a great foundation for the future.

Almost everyone who has played golf will tell you how frustrating it can be.  To put all of your focus and effort into a shot, and have it turn out no better than if you hardly tried at all.  But playing with your friends just trying to have fun and get better one step at a time can lead to a much better experience.  That is what Highland is all about.

With that mind, Highland Girls Golf is continuously building for the future.