photo by Wagner Portrait Studios

Lining up her putt, senior Kacie Bergh prepares a shot during a varsity match.

As the only senior on the team, varsity golf player Kacie Bergh utilized her four years of experience to ignite a love for the sport among her teammates. She started playing her freshman year when she was encouraged by her dad to try out.

“I knew I wanted to play golf, even though I never had before. I’m really grateful I tried it because I ended up loving it. I love connecting with all the people,” Bergh said

Compared to the four juniors on the team last year, according to Bergh, being the only senior was an adjustment.

“At first being the only senior was a little weird because every other year I’ve played, I have had people in my grade with me,”  Bergh said. “But once we started to get into the matches I was the only senior and it seemed natural.”

Bergh’s enthusiasm for the sport and ability to delegate responsibility among returning players led to the team bonding quickly. 

“I’m just naturally outgoing so that helped. Most of the time I didn’t have to be a leader because everyone else on the team can lead themselves and everyone was good at playing,” Bergh said.

One of the most memorable aspects of Bergh’s high school golf experience has been interacting with players from West and other schools. 

“I have made some great connections with girls on our team, other teams and their coaches,” Bergh said. “This season I played a lot with Joyce Suh and in the beginning we didn’t talk a lot, but as the season went on we got a lot closer.”

Although the social aspect of the sport is important to Bergh, the technicalities of the game are crucial as well. As a result, during tournaments, Bergh focused on thinking through every step of the process, especially in the drives.

“Half the time my drives would curve right, and if I remembered to fix that, I would forget to curl my hand over or my wrist would hinge,” Bergh said.

Because the consistency of her swing was often unpredictable, Bergh wants to continue to hone her skills during the postseason.

“It was all extremes. If it was bad, it was really bad. My game would vary from hole to hole. By the end of it, I really needed a break, so I haven’t really started any type of post season practice,” Bergh said.

Despite the team being few in number, Bergh encourages others to join golf because of the tight-knit community. 

“Some people think it’s a weird sport but it’s actually really fun,” Bergh said. “Even if you know no one playing golf, the teams are all super close to each other and we all have become friends. No one is left out because it is such a tight bond.”