After a whirlwind of staffing changes and a brand new roster, women’s golf is back and better than ever.
Sophomore sports management major Kendall Farm is one of the top golfers for the Flyers and is hopeful for the coming spring season.
The women’s golf team has five members, two sophomores and three freshmen. Despite the young team, Farm had positive things to say about their fall season performance. She noted that the fall tournaments gave them all a chance to compete at the collegiate level before conference tournaments in the spring. Farm said, “We started to play better towards the end of the season so I am looking forward to seeing what we can do in the spring!”
While the weather is nice in the fall, the team practices outdoors at Prairie Bluff and Cog Hill, local facilities that Farm feels “lucky to have.” She also shared that aside from golf, “[the Flyers] have team workouts twice a week that we all do together.”
Once it’s too cold outside, the team moves indoors to prepare for their main spring season. “During the winter, we practice in our indoor golf center on campus,” Farm said. “It has simulators and a putting green where we can practice chipping and putting. We are able to work on all parts of our game to get ready for the spring. We are continuing team workouts and will practice together as well.”
Keeping up with their skills during the off season will help the team stay in shape and make technical adjustments on their swings. In addition to individual simulator work, the men’s and women’s teams plan to promote friendly competition by practicing under pressure. Farm explained that “[the women’s team] combined with the men’s team and split into four smaller teams and are going to have team competitions all throughout the winter.”
The men’s and women’s golf team hired a new coach in the spring of 2022. The new coach, Greg Baresel, had been the interim coach since spring of 2022 before being offered the opportunity to stay full-time. “Coach Baresel has been a great help for our team over these past two semesters,” Farm said. “He is a PGA Teaching Professional so he is able to assist us with technical problems in our swings and has helped us a lot on the course as well. The team dynamic has changed drastically since he has come to Lewis.”
To bond, Farm explained that the team eats dinner together and plans trip outings, like a trip to the pumpkin patch in October. Focusing on golf, Farm said that,“My favorite part of golfing at Lewis is the team and traveling. We are all very close and do so much together. It’s been an amazing experience to be able to travel and see new places with some of my best friends.”
With the fall season behind them, the Flyers are focusing on the impact they will make as a young team in conference competition. Farm shared that “some goals that we have as a team are to make it to regionals, break 650 for a 36 hole tournament, and break 320 for a 18 hole round.”
The women’s golf team is expected to return in spring 2023.
