Freshman Peyton Wright has wanted to inspire other girls with her passion for golf and the game since she was a young girl.
“I’ve always had a passion for the game,” said Peyton Wright.
Growing up, many never associate girls with golfing. It’s always seen as a male sport. Wright is trying to change this by being a role model for other girls to follow by being a part of the BHS girls golf team. As she heads to state golf this week, she is finally seeing her dreams come true.
“For me, having a girls team is about fairness,” Wright said.
It wouldn’t be fair if the girls had to play on the boy’s team. Women deserve their own teams to compete fairly and receive appropriate recognition.
It wasn’t easy to get this team started. Wright wrote a letter to the school board petitioning for the right for Baldwin High School to include a girls golf team. Her petition succeeded and three girls attending Baldwin High School became part of the inaugural team this year.
The team loves Baldwin’s own golf course, and some say it feels like home. “The Baldwin course is really comforting to me because I can drive there quickly and I have been golfing there since I was 5-years-old.” Wright said.
Wright’s biggest goal is to have a home golf meet someday. Sophomore Kristen Manbeck hopes to start a charity event where others will play the sport her and Peyton both love and raise money to support a worthy cause.
We asked the girls tips on how to best win a medal. Manbeck said “It comes down to having the least amount of strokes.” Manbeck also said the key is to not let yourself get down even if you’ve been doing bad. “You have to keep a positive mindset.” One hole might put you back a few strokes, but the next swing could put your back on track to being a front runner for a medal.
So far the girls are doing amazing! Freshmen Peyton Wright and Carson Chambers both shot 3 under par in a JV scramble. Peyton Wright has won 1st place two different times in varsity meets.
It takes hard work though to play golf because so much of it is mental. Chambers said the toughest thing about being on the team is staying positive when you are having a hard day. Wright explains the difficulties of the first year of golf in terms of not having a full team because the sport is in it’s first year and hasn’t gained a lot of traction yet for others to want to join. Competing individually without a full team is challenging and new to lots of girls. Peyton says, “My hope is that others at Baldwin High School will see how successful the girls golf team did this year and will want to join the team and make us that much better and stronger next year.” If you aren’t part of a fall sports team and want to try something new, look at becoming the newest member of the girls golf team.