This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Because she is one of the best golfers at Lone Peak High - male or female - sophomore Selu Fotu gets to play whenever the Knights have a varsity match or compete in a varsity tournament.
She's thankful for the opportunity, and likes to test her ability against boys, whom she says treat her well and make her work harder to improve.
But something about the situation bothers Fotu.
A few other girls at the Class 4-A school in northern Utah County made the team, but weren't quite good enough to play in tournaments or make a significant impact. A couple other girls at Lone Peak love the game, too, but didn't even bother to try out last fall because they knew they could not beat out 45-50 boys for one of the 12 or so coveted spots, Fotu said.
"It's kind of sad," she said. "Some girls I know are scared away by the whole boy thing."
Golf is the only sport governed by the Utah High School Activities Association in which boys and girls compete against each other (girls play from the more forward tees), and Utah is one of only a handful of states that has such a set-up. Even Idaho has separate golf for girls.
The Utah Section PGA, various golf professionals and even some of the state's prep golf coaches say there is a solution: Give girls a league of their own.
But the UHSAA says it is not that easy. They are not convinced that enough girls in Utah play golf to make it a viable sport. State officials point to their "50 percent rule" as the major roadblock. It says before the association may hold a separate competition, 50 percent of the schools in a classification (5-A, 4-A, etc.) must have participated in that activity in the preceding year.
"We would love to have it," said UHSAA assistant director Dave Wilkey. "Just show us the numbers."
Golf always has been a co-ed sport in Utah, but it never was really an issue until the early 1990s, when girls such as Alta's Skyli Yamada and Bingham's Kami Whitehead started to make an impact. In 1993, the UHSAA began allowing girls to play from the forward tees, hoping the move would even the playing field and draw more girls to the sport.
If a recent series of girls-only golf tournaments conducted by the Utah Section PGA with the blessing of the UHSAA are any indication, the numbers are not there yet. But they are growing, said Annie Fisher, the program's coordinator.
Fisher said 37 girls signed up this spring to play on Tuesdays and Thursdays for four weeks, and 25-32 showed up for each event. The program has grown in each of its three years, she said.
But some argue that if only 37 girls from Utah's 46 largest high schools (4-A and 5-A) along the Wasatch Front are interested in paying $35 to play in seven 9-hole tournaments and one season-ending 18-hole event, get a clinic from PGA professionals, get trophies and receive free driving range balls, then something is wrong.
"We have not seen enough evidence that the interest is out there," Wilkey said, noting that the UHSAA has taken the rare step in "trying to grow something" in its partnership with the PGA.
Fisher countered that more girls would participate if they didn't have to travel so far.
"Give us 10 people each in Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties to run tournaments there, and you would see the numbers," she said. "We just need more leadership."
Her philosophy: If you build it, they will come.
Skyline junior Sarah Bicker, the daughter of a golf pro and a member of the Eagles' team, said some girls are "intimidated" by boys and don't bother trying out, a sentiment echoed by West junior Daley Owens.
More girls would play, they said, if they knew from the beginning they wouldn't have to compete against boys.
"I've grown up with brothers, so I am pretty used to it," Bicker said. "Some girls get freaked out by it."
Tooele sophomore Sadie Palmer agrees, saying that if there was a girls-only team at Tooele, more girls would play. However, the first girl to ever make Tooele's team says she would still like the opportunity to compete against boys.
"Making the school team - open to anybody - makes you feel better about yourself," she said. "The trouble is, that's a lot harder than people think, because there are so many more boys that play golf. Everywhere you look on the course, boys, boys, boys."
Bingham golf coach Brad Bevan, president of the Utah Golf Coaches Association, said his group would like to see girls get their own region and state tournaments. But coaches are somewhat skeptical, he said, because not a lot of schools could come up with the minimum of six girls to field a team, even at schools as large as Bingham.
"We would have trouble fielding a team, yes," he said.
Last year, Bingham had three girls on its team. This year, it had none.
"Golf has become specialized, just like every other sport," Bevan said. "Boys' scores have gone down. It takes a lot of dedication to make these [large-school] teams nowadays, whether you are a boy or a girl."
Bevan said perhaps the state should consider combining schools to create, say, a Region 2 girls golf team, or a Davis County girls golf team, and let them compete under the UHSAA umbrella in that fashion, with one overall state tournament for girls. That's roughly what diving has now.
Kelly Woodland, head professional at The Barn G.C. in North Ogden, said the Ogden area is exploding with girls who want to play high school golf.
"Michelle Wie is doing for women's golf what Tiger did for men's golf," he said. "I've asked pros up here if there are enough girls, and they all say yes. It's time to get something done about this.
"Idaho has girls high school golf and we don't? That's just embarrassing."
--
Reporter Jay Drew can be reached at drew@sltrib.com. To write a letter about the Utes or any sports topic, send an e-mail to sportseditor@sltrib.com.
A level playing field?
In Utah, high school golf is a co-ed sport, meaning boys and girls compete against one another. Girls get to play from tees closer to the holes, but few have been able to make their schools' teams, which are dominated by boys. The Utah Section PGA and golf professionals are working toward getting the UHSAA to give girls a league of their own, but roadblocks remain because the state's prep sports officials don't believe enough girls are interested in the sport to make it viable.