North Girls’ Golf Goes to Districts, Sectionals

by Lauren Sparks, Editor in Chief and Gabrielle Redfield, Assistant Editor in Chief

With golf clubs in hand and districts in mind, members of the Parkway North Girl’s Golf team practiced hard after school at courses, such as GolfPort, to improve their skills before matches. This practice paid off as they sent two girls to state sectionals.
Junior Lindsay Bals and senior Erin Armstrong both made it all the way to districts and state sectionals.
“I was so proud of Lindsay and Erin for making it to state sectionals. They made it through district and sectionals, it was a good experience for all” said math teacher and coach Jennifer Mueller.
Senior Katie Karraker has played on the team for two years and has golfed since she was 11. “I love that it’s not as competitive, and it’s more low key than other sports. It’s also a very social sport, which I love,” said Karraker. “I love getting to know girls from other schools.”
The team typically practices at GolfPort in Maryland Heights after school. “Practices for golf are a lot of fun,” said Karraker. “It’s an opportunity for me to work on aspects of my game that aren’t as strong as others, and it’s also a chance for me to bond with my teammates.”
Team members work together to practice and win matches. Also, each team member has a different way of preparing for a game.
“On the way to a match, if I’m driving, I listen to music in my car. I always try to set goals for myself. For example, ‘I really want to make sure my short game is better today,’ or ‘I want to par at least one hole today.’ Talking to my coach is also a really great way for me to prep for a match because she can calm me down and keep me positive throughout the match. She’s been really helpful for me throughout my time on the team,” said Karraker.
The typical practice at GolfPort consists of hitting balls with their irons and drivers at the driving range, chipping at the chipping course, and practice at the putting green. This way, they can practice different elements of a course without having to play the whole 9-hole course. Sometimes, the team practices at the Crystal Springs Quarry to play a few holes and practice hitting balls at the driving and chiipping ranges there.
This is Mueller’s second year of coaching girls golf and “I just love the zen feeling you feel when you are on the golf course and [you can see] the beautiful sky and the greenery all around and there is no technology to distract you. It is just you playing against yourself to try to beat your previous scores,” she said.
Some of the members on the team are new to golf. Some of the other members of the girls golf team include junior Himaja Yerragunta, and seniors Emily Schaff and Melanie Brucker. Both Yerragunta and Schaff have been on the team for two years, and this year is Brucker’s first year on the team.
“It was a really different experience for me,” said Brucker. “I came in to it thinking I would be good right off the bat because I played field hockey, but it was not like that at all. There is definitely a learning curve, but the coaches were really great. My advice to new players is to be patient.”
Due to a lack of players, the field hockey team was cut at the end of the summer. Many girls who played on the field hockey team, such as Brucker, chose to play either tennis or golf instead of not doing a sport at all. During her first year playing, Brucker learned “golf is so much harder than it looks, but it just takes some time to get in to the swing of things.”
Overall, the team is small but close knit, “We have a really fun group of girls. We’re not as serious; most of us are out for a good time. We always are there for each other,” said Karraker.