The Varsity Women’s Golf team at Yorba Linda High School is one of the most under-recognized but higher performing sports at our school. Although they do not have cheerleaders or the stable cheering them on along the way, they have achieved some great successes this year. The girls put in hard work and are dedicated to their sport, and they have the tank top tan lines to prove it. Not only do they practice four nights a week, but the players are also required to train on their own time in the burning sun.

Under the leadership of coach Riggs, this season the team won 22 out of their 24 matches, only losing a total of two. The players entered into their league finals with a confidence from the success of that their performance in league play brought them. League finals were held on Oct. 16 and 17. The Mustangs were required to miss school to participate in the finals and it was worth it; four out of the six girls moved on to the second day of league finals to continue to compete. Olivia Yerkes (10), a sophomore at Yorba Linda High School, even qualified for CIF finals and competed Oct. 22. Although golf is considered more of an individual sport than a team sport, Ashley Ko (12) comments that “the girls are always there to support, encourage, and celebrate each other’s successes.” Ko likes this aspect of her team because it makes “such an individual sport not seem as isolating.”

A prominent aspect of golf is the mental game. Ko shares that “you are all alone out there on the green so you are accountable for not letting the nerves take over and affect your performance.” Focus and confidence are necessary to perform well. Golf is a unique sport because of the great attention to detail it takes. The players must constantly fine-tune swings and consider all of the outside factors that can affect the trajectory of the ball before each swing. Every swing is done with a specific purpose and one wrong drive, chip, or putt can greatly injure the outcome of the match.

Ko recollects that golf has become a major part of her life as she has played since she was a freshman. She reveals that “[she] will miss the friends and bonds that [she] has made over the past four years of playing in high school.”

Great job Mustangs in a successful season and good luck to Olivia Yerkes in CIF!