‘More good things to come’ for women’s golf in South Carolina
Clarissa Childs took the reins of the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association more than six years ago, and the organization’s profile has zoomed upward like stocks in a bull market on Wall Street.
“We need to keep the trend going,” said Childs, the WSCGA’s executive director who termed 2023 “a good year with more good things to come.”
Two off-the-course achievements emphasize the progress. First, the association opened its first standalone office. Second, its tax status changed to 501(c)(3).
“Big deals for us,” said Childs, a former All-SEC player at South Carolina who spent seven years on the LPGA Tour. “It’s the first time in 75 years the association has had an independent office, and the change in the tax structure opens the door for us to pursue more opportunities for grants.”
On the course? Yes, that’s moving along nicely, too.
Case in point: The WSCGA stages an annual winter trip to the St. Augustine, Florida area. This year, Childs said, “we sold out the first day.”
In addition, the number of women with USGA handicap indexes climbed into the 14,000 range with more than 3,000 active in at least some tournament competition.
And player of the year Sophia Burnett and senior player of the year Pam Prescott led the parade of individual achievements. Burnett, a USC player from Hilton Head, won her second State Women’s Amateur and finished second in the South Carolina Women’s Open. Prescott, from Easley, played in both the U.S. Women’s Senior Open and U.S. Senior Amateur and won the Carolinas Women’s Senior Amateur.
Then, there’s Anna Morgan (Spartanburg/Furman), who won the North and South Women’s Amateur and played in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and Isabella Rawl (Lexington/Clemson), who played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur and reached the North and South semifinals. Ella Stalvey (Elgin) won the South Carolina Women’s Open.
“Those are just some of the top performances; Catherine Shealy had a great year,” Childs said. “But the strength of the organization is the increasing number of ladies playing the game. We want more ladies on the course and we have multiple formats” for one-day events.
The one-day events allow players to test some of the state’s finest courses. The next one in mid-February will be at True Blue in Pawleys Island. Also on the schedule is Camden Country Club, a Donald Ross design, and are some of the Cliffs courses in the Upstate.
“We take surveys to gauge what the ladies prefer, and we generally have two formats, individual stroke play and two-player best ball in our one-day events,” Childs said. “We’ll put players or teams in flights according to handicaps so they will be with players with similar skills.”
The Women’s State Amateur will be played at DeBordieu Club, the Women’s Senior Amateur at Holly Tree, the Match-Play at the Links at Stoney Point, the Junior Girls at Arcadian Shores and the State Women’s Open at Cobblestone Park.
“Those are the tournaments that receive the most attention,” Childs said. “But no matter what a player’s handicap is or how long she has played golf, we have something for everyone. We want to get women involved in the game and keep them involved. We just want to keep growing.”
Chip shots. Clemson sophomore Sydney Roberts (Chesnee) won the CGA’s Carolinas Young Amateur title at Pinewild CC in Pinehurst, North Carolina. ... Ella Kate Barnett (Galivants Ferry) and Garrett Gillespie (Williamston) earned top player honors for their performances in the South Carolina Junior Golf Association’s Players Series. The champions will be awarded exemptions into the SCJGA’s 2024 major tournaments.
