Addison Watanabe ’24 competes in match against Nazereth at Flag Creek on Sept. 14 (Klos/LION).

Girls golf returned with only six new members this season. All new members who tried out ended up joining, with there being no cuts. For senior, co-captain, and previous state attendee Addison Watanabe ‘24, a smaller team of only seventeen girls, is different from past years which included two days of cuts with over 30 girls trying out. Nevertheless, the outlook for the season remains hopeful, Watanabe said. 

“The program has still held together for the last two years where we have just met the cut,” she said. “But we are also trying to promote and recruit more through social media, especially with our instagram posts.” 

Regardless of the smaller numbers, the team has a record of 9-4, as of Sept 21, in the West Suburban Silver Conference with wins over Addison Trail, Oak Park, and Glenbard West. The team also placed second in a 22 team invite at Plainfield North early in the year. Varsity coach Jeff Johnson has a positive outlook on the smaller team, and believes it will aid them this season. 

“All the players like to get more playing time, so that is a strong positive to having the number we have,” he said. “This is similar to other seasons in the respect that we need to practice and keep a positive mindset.”

However, challenges still remain present for the team since they have grueling matches to come. The West Suburban Conference that LT competes in includes Hinsdale Central, the defending state champions. The team is working on preparing their skills for this strong competition, Johnson said. 

“Our strengths are a group of players who are mentally strong and can bounce back after a tough hole or round,” he said. “We need to continue to get better at putting and try to get our putts under 18 per nine holes.”

Over the course of the season, and from each individual match, the team aims to improve together. Their goal is to make it far in state as a team, co-captain Keira Kessler ‘24 said. The team is constantly doing bonding activities in order for them to build their spirit and connection. 

“We had pasta parties to help the team bond,” Kessler said. “We even did a scavenger hunt at the last pasta party.” 

In addition to just participating in golf, many of the girls are active in other ways to aid the local golf community outside of the school. Watanabe alongside a few of her teammates make up the junior board of The United States Adaptive Golf association, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing inclusion to the disabled through the game of golf. 

“I got some of my teammates to join,” Watanabe said. “From there we organized a fundraiser at top golf and raised about $18,000.”

This event took place last spring, but since then Watanabe and the fellow junior board members have continued to volunteer alongside the organization and are in contact with the president to plan future fundraisers. 

“It is a good way to give back to the golf community,” Kessler said. “It also allows us to see how people work their way through adversity in a golf atmosphere.” 

Girls golf will compete in their regional tournament on Sept. 28, followed by sectionals on Oct. 2.  Their state series will take place on Oct. 6 and 7.