The sleek gray putter pushes the tired ball along the freshly cut grass. The clubs clink along as players move to their next hole, smiles, ready to face competition. These smiles have been affected lately because Bowie golf team has faced recent struggles, putting their current program in jeopardy.

The golf team is making a new effort in adding members as the numbers have been dwindling in the recent years. The girl’s golf team is the one in the most danger, only having two players in total.

“I think it is important to promote because we don’t have very many girls on the team and we are hoping to get some new people to join next year,” girls golf team member Rebecca Ply said. “There are two girls currently and about 15 boys.”

Although the team have faced some challenges, the team continues to train and do the best they can.

“Last year was my first full season as the spring golf coach and we came in second in district and advanced to regionals,” golf coach Sam Miller said. “At regionals, we came in 14th place out of 32 teams which was a good time and a lot was learned for the young golfers.”

The golf team participates in multiple tournaments over their season and practice multiple times a week.

“We practice three times a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and we practice both at Jimmy Clay and Grey Rock,” Ply said. “The boys compete about seven times per year and the girls compete about five times.”

The team has tried to promote the program in a few different ways.

“I normally just talk to my friends and anyone who is interested in being on the team. We have had two spirit nights at TCBY also,” Ply said.

Most students at Bowie have not heard about the golf team and promoting could make a difference.

“My freshmen year I was kind of interested in golf but I didn’t know they had a team,” junior Drew McDonald said. “Because if I had known, I might have joined.”

However, there have been some challenges in attempts to have more people join the team and more funding can be given to make the program stronger.

“We could improve on things overall as a team, but nothing too big, just maybe some more funding, because there are people who want to join,” Ply said. “But it’s too expensive because we have to buy mostly everything.”

Although the girls can enter tournaments as individual players to compete, it is preferred to have more so there are better chances to be more competitive.

“Golf is an individual sport most of the time but in tournaments they get to play as a team of five keeping the four best scores out of the five players,” Miller said.

This team is important to a lot of players and some even want to continue golf in the future.

“Losing this program would definitely make me upset because golf is a big part of my life and it’s something I want to peruse in college,” Ply said.

Golf is more than just a sport that is said to be played by old men in plaid pants, to many it a sport that has taught them life skills.

“It builds camaraderie and they enjoy practicing and getting better with each other,” Miller said.