What’s New on the Girls’ Golf Team

There have been many changes this season for the Milford Girl’s Golf team. Hugh Felt, the Lakeland men’s golf coach, is now coaching for the girls as of this season, after Coach Sander has stepped down due to personal reasons.

Returning player Camden McNeil, one of the team’s juniors explains, “It is a challenge with the new coaching style, because one key part of golf is consistency.”

On top of the change in coaching, there has also been a spike in numbers. This year has brought the largest turnout of new players in the history of the team. There were more than twenty girls that came to tryouts in august, and Coach Felt did not make any cuts. Although this is good news for the girl’s golf program at Milford, it also provides a few challenges.

Coach Felt explained that he has noticed cliques within the large team, and he would like to see the team become more unified through bonding activities. Anna Manning, one of the seniors, also stated that she would like to see more unity.

Reilly Butler, a senior, explains that although this season is going great, the increased amount of players and the change in coaching has posed a great challenge.

The new players have created a new sense of competition on the team, because for many of the returning players this is the first season they have had to compete for spots in tournament and match play.

Julia Stevenson isn’t letting the changes affect her season as a senior however. As a returning player and the team’s number one golfer, she says: “I just focus on being a motivator for the rest of the team and coming out everyday to have a good time and get better.” Julia is looking to pursue golf after high school and hopes to play in college.

Although this season has it’s complications, it is still going well over all. “This season is going pretty well, and although it has been a big adjustment it has made my first experience coaching girls really good,” Felt said.

Felt explained that the girls were more social than the boys he is accustomed to coaching, and there is still a greater sense of competition on the boys team.

This aside, he is happy with the season, as the girls have improved their scores every tournament. On Wednesday the team placed third in the Oakland County Championship tournament, with a team score of 351, their lowest and best all year.

The team is looking to keep these improvements going through their upcoming tournaments, including the Lady Mav tournament hosted at Prestwick Village this Monday, the Association Tournament the following Wednesday at Pontiac Country Club, and Regionals on Oct. 8th at Hartland Glen.