WHACK! Was that the sound of a golf ball being struck? And not just any golf ball too, that was the sound of a golf ball being struck by the Green Hope Women’s Golf Team, marking a conference championship win and one dominant season led by six golfers and one coach of the year.
Green Hope Runs the Greens
The Women’s Golf team started their season on August 18th at Hillandale, competing in an 8A QC7 match, where the team faces off against the entire conference to see which team will shoot lower. The Falcons started out the season with a second-place finish out of the seven teams, showcasing promise from the very start and shooting 119, considered very low.
Two matches later on the second of September, the team put up its first win of the season, in another conference faceoff at Eagle Ridge. The team shot 124 and narrowly beat Green Level’s 127, putting up an amazing fight. The successful performance couldn’t stop there though. On Sept. 8, the athletes traveled to Macgregor Downs, shooting 121 and achieving back-to-back wins.
As the season trudged on the team put up consistent top 3s. The team shot 121 while hosting at Prestonwood on the 15th and finished in second place. At Falls Village on the 24th, the Falcons shot a season low of 117, taking first place with Green Level trailing close behind.
Finally, on Oct. 8, Green Hope hosted the entire conference in the conference championship in Lillington. Women’s Golf walked away with an impressive win, shooting lower than the entire conference to take home the championship and win Coach Denton Coach of the Year. Three players, Marlo Arndts, Hollie Lewis and Sophia Cortes each achieved all-conference player awards for their impressive seasons.
Our Quad City Seven Coach of the Year
With the season comes the Quad City Seven Women’s Golf Coach of the Year Award, awarded to the best coach in the conference. This year, our Coach Denton brought in the award for the victory and coaching. Denton stated, “Part of the process in winning Coach of the Year was in remaining positive and lifting up the entire conference.” When interviewed, Denton put much emphasis on remaining positive and good sportsmanship. Just as important as the victories were the positive spirits.
To him, that was what he looked for in his players and hoped to convey with his coaching. One coaching philosophy Denton told players was to “Remember your teammates carry team responsibility.” As golf is an individual sport, it’s very important to unite the players and make it feel like a team. Denton stated one way to do this was to “Build relationships off the game and outside of school, being friends before teammates.”
For the physical aspect of the game, what Denton looked for in his players was “Good posture: having that better stance meant having a good mindset.” Denton emphasized positivity greatly because it would lead to the athletes having a better stance on the green and performing better.
Women’s golf obviously has a very small roster with only six golfers; some may view this as a challenge, but not Coach Denton. The smaller roster allowed him to form deeper personal relationships and be more intentional in his coaching. Getting to know the players more personally is part of Denton’s two-year process for the team. This season, he hoped to “Make top three in state,” and get the team more attention by advocating for the conference. Denton supported the other teams in the Quad City 7 and uplifted more athletes than just Green Hope’s to gain more support and attention to the conference as a whole. Next season, the team hopes to build even stronger to win the state championship as part of Coach Denton’s process.
What’s Next For Green Hope Women’s Golf?
With the dominant season, coach of the year, and impressive all-conference awards, it’s safe to say that Green Hope Women’s Golf has all the means to control the greens for the Quad City Seven Conference.
Keep a lookout for how the team will place in state rankings, as next season they hope to take the number one spot.
