Aspen girls golf team shows promise

ASPEN After years of struggling to field a team, it seems Aspen girls golf is on the right track.The high school has nine girls out this spring – a substantial improvement from last season when Ashley Fish was the only player to represent the Skiers in varsity competition.Now a senior, Fish led the Skiers quartet of varsity golfers to a fourth-place finish among seven teams at Tuesday’s tournament at Cedaredge.While the team’s three first-year varsity players – sophomore Shelby Butler, and freshmen Nicole Twohig and Lyndsey Jackson – are young and unseasoned, head coach Mary Woulfe and assistant Margie Landis exude optimism about the group’s potential.”The new girls are a great addition to our team,” Landis said. “All three are mellow, do not get rattled even when they have a bad shot or hole. Our girls were models of composure and positive attitude.”Fish certainly is excited to have some teammates. A talented player who hopes to start a golf team next fall when she is attending the Colorado School of Mines, the Skiers captain has taken it upon herself to show her peers the ropes at the varsity level.”Ashley sets a great example of sportsmanship and choosing a good attitude when faced with adversity,” Landis said. Woulfe didn’t want to report scores from Tuesday’s tournament because her players have had limited practice time thus far this season. The team started practicing indoors at the Aspen Golf Club in February, but the course isn’t expected to open until Monday – and that looks like a long bet considering the recent weather.”Some of them would be upset if I reported the scores because they have brothers who might give them a hard time,” Woulfe said jokingly. “Really, the most important thing is that we’ve got this many girls out for the team and that they’re excited about playing golf.”While Aspen has had problems filling a roster, the school has had no shortage of talented girls golfers in recent years, among them Kristin Walla, Ali Crum and Liz Floyd.Walla finished second at the state tournament two years ago at Cotton Ranch – her fourth straight top 10 finish in 4A – and is currently playing at the University of Texas. The other players out this spring who make up the junior varsity team are Liz Baty, Cheesie Stokes, Kiki Peisach, Hilary Wolfer and Kelsee Corwin.”We are thrilled to have a team and look forward to a strong future, since many of the players are freshmen and sophomores,” Woulfe said. “It was a thrill for me to hear that we posted a team score [at Cedaredge]. Not only just a score, but one that was earned with perseverance by young athletes choosing to work through the kinks of not having hit golf balls outside yet this year.”The Skiers next play Monday at Glenwood Springs before traveling to Silt on Tuesday. Aspen’s home tournament is set for April 17 at the Aspen Golf Course.Nate Peterson’s e-mail address is npeterson@aspentimes.com