Tom Stanfa has taken the reins as the school’s new women’s golf coach and—with the season nearing its end—said his players have improved in both their form and competitiveness.
“The team has made a lot of progress this year in both the team aspect of the game and as individual golfers,” Stanfa said. “Our team scores have consistently gone down each match, and the girls’ averages have started to decrease as the year has progressed.”
The players’ improvement has allowed the Lady Tigers to slowly climb their way up the DAC-VII conference standings, moving from last place to fourth. Sophomore Emerson Barnes is currently ranked 7th in the conference and hopes to qualify for the regional tournament.
Stanfa remarked that his experience as a golfer was part of what pushed him to begin coaching, but that he also noticed errors within the players’ swings while compiling photos for the school’s yearbook, which Stanfa supervises.
“I felt that I could help correct some of those errors and help them do better,” he said.
The golf team practices in multiple locations throughout the Triangle: some days, the girls use the driving range at Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, while, on other days, they venture out to Chatham County to practice at Twin Lakes Golf Course. When they do practice at the school, it is not an ideal situation.
“We use a pitching wedge and nine iron and foam golf balls. We’ll hit the targets to try and get them used to swinging. We have to hit off hitting mats, so we don’t leave divots all over the campus,” Stanfa said.
Stanfa was one of three candidates for the coaching position and said he was selected because the athletic department preferred to hire a coach who worked at the school.
Stanfa’s classroom experience undergirds his coaching: he believes that learning how to relate to teenagers and meet them where they are is extremely important.
“Any time you’re trying to force anyone to do anything, you get negative responses,” he said.
And though Stanfa’s first season at the helm of the golf team is nearly over, Stanfa believes the Lady Tigers will continue to improve and stay competitive.
“We have a promising future,” Stanfa said. “Most of our girls are sophomores.”
