As the hierarchy of Garfield sports goes, girls golf has traditionally landed near the bottom of the pile. For one, golf is hardly a spectator sport, as wandering around a muddy course while dodging stray shots is far from anyone’s definition of fun and excitement.

Also, as the vast majority of Bulldogs are concerned, the sport itself is seriously lacking in both speed of play and contact, so is not worth paying attention to.

Senior Kate Hegarty has a problem with that. As an important member of the golf team, Kate can only play her best, have fun, and hope that Garfield’s population takes note.

Because winning matches and besting the competition isn’t a top priority, Kate is sure to keep a laid-back attitude towards golf without worrying about who ends up with the lowest score.

Athough it seems to be a bizarre strategy for a star player to abandon the pursuit of a winning record, it seems to be working, as this year’s golf team is significantly larger than it ever has been in the past.

Within the spectrum of sports widely available to high school students, it seems odd to choose one so underappreciated as golf.

After playing select soccer and swimming competitively for a selective swim team, Kate settled on golf for its relative obscurity.

“I’ve definitely experienced my share of traditional sports,” said Hegarty. “I got into golf because I wanted to something that was different.”

Also, Kate has stuck with golf because of its soothing nature and the calming effect it has on her.

Really, is there anything better for stress relief than hitting small objects as hard and far as possible, over and over again?

“I love golf because it’s somewhat therapeutic,” said Hegarty. “There’s sort of a feeling you get when you nail a shot that you can’t get from anything else. At first, I would practice for hours just to be able to hit that one shot, and it would be worth it. Now that I’m a lot better, I can hit that shot again and again, but it still feels just as awesome.”

This dedication to perfecting her craft has led Kate to qualify for districts three years in a row.

Surprisingly, instead of following a highly competitive bid at districts her freshman year with two more years of successful tournament play, Hegarty has chosen not to participate in the past two district competitions.

“I play golf because I love it,” said Hegarty. “I love the game separate from the pressure. I have the most fun (as well as shoot a lot better) when I’m just playing with friends at practice, rather than in strict competition.”

In an age where most high school athletes are “in it to win it,” Kate Hegarty has managed to balance success in competition and fun on the course without worrying at all about the final outcome.