With a new coach and the team down to just six players, the Lady Noles Varsity golf team knows that they have a lot to prove this year.

The team practices rigorously in order to build their skills. The varsity team has three hour practices twice a week, with four-hour-long matches twice a week. However, despite their hard work, the golf team struggles from a lack of players.

The low participation poses strategic problems with scores. Team scores are determined using the top five players’ scores, and because there are such few members, everyone’s score affects the team score. This means that if a player has a bad day there is no player whose score can replace theirs. Furthermore, if there are not at least five girls, the entire team has to forfeit the game.

The players have a lot of pressure on them. With most players graduating this year, it is likely that a girls golf team may not exist in the future.

Senior Raegan Pack said, “I only started played golf last year so I’m not the best, but seeing what is left of team has encouraged me to practice even when I’m not at school.”

The varsity team is hoping that by them advancing to districts, it would show students at Seminole that the golf team is worth supporting.

Senior Pareena Sharma said, “It’s a common misconception that golf is not a real sport and that there is no real effort in it. We are in the hot sun for three to four hours almost everyday. It requires a lot of practice and endurance and the sport is not for everyone. You have to be really patient when expecting results.”

The constant practice eventually paid off. On Oct. 11, the team qualified for the district competition. They placed second at the Seminole Athletic Conference Tournament against Lake Mary High School.

Junior Emily Felix qualified for the state level this year. This is the first time a player has qualified for states since the team’s creation.

Felix said, “I’m really happy that I made it to states. Last year I just missed it by a few points and vowed that I would try harder, and it worked!”

The Lady Noles Varsity golf team is hoping to recruit more members in an effort to retain the varsity team next year and possibly create a junior varsity team as well.