Ever since Title IX was added to the Education Amendments in 1972, it is fair to say that there has been an tremendous increase in the amount of girls showing interests in participating in sports at the high school level. For a period of time, it was awkward or strange for high school girls to be playing sports, but eventually it became very accepted and it is now difficult to imagine a world in which only boys participated in high school sports. However, there are still a few sports that seem to be male-dominated, one of these being golf. Despite the fact that golf seems to be mainly played by men, junior Caroline DeLoach puts the stereotype to shame.

DeLoach has devoted over half her life to the sport, and every minute of it has paid off. DeLoach began golfing at the age of seven, at International Country Club’s (ICC) junior camps. She made very close friends there, some of which she still continues to play in tournaments with today. DeLoach began to progress as a golfer, and her career took off. She’s continued golfing at International Country Club under the coaching of five different pros, one of which is John Glorioso, who is also the coach of Oakton’s golf team.

DeLoach’s career started to rapidly accelerate as she began high school. Not only did DeLoach golf for ICC, she also began golfing for Oakton. During this time, DeLoach competed in championship matches such as Districts, Regions, and States both her freshman and sophomore years. Now during her junior year, DeLoach has once again competed in Districts and qualified for Regions. This means that DeLoach ranks in the top of the Oakton team, qualifying her for Districts, and based on her performances at Districts, she’s placed in the top 6 advancing her to the Regional level. In past years, while at Regionals DeLoach placed in the top 15, which then furthered her competition to the state championship. Suffice it to say, DeLoach is quite the accomplished golfer.

DeLoach has cherished her experience golfing both for Oakton and outside of school. When asked about how being a female has impacted her golf experience, DeLoach had a lot to say. The ratio of boys to girls on Oakton’s co-ed golf team is 15:2. “We play as a co-ed team and therefore girls need to be able to compete at a high level to be able to make the team and play.  Some high school teams have girls’ teams too.  However, if a girl is a strong golfer she wants to play at the higher level on the co-ed team,” said DeLoach. However, this aspect of being a female golfer does not seem to be a challenge to her. It is rather the lack of females that play golf that seem to have affected DeLoach’s career. “I think it is more difficult for a female golfer generally.  Not as many young females play golf.  Most of my friends play other sports.  So you can easily feel alone, especially because it is an individual sport for the most part.  I struggled with it when I was younger but now have found other young women who golf all of the time like me” said DeLoach.

Nevertheless, DeLoach has found her niche in playing golf and has come out of the experience incredibly successful. DeLoach has big hopes for her golf future both in and outside of school. This year, she hopes for Oakton to send a co-ed team to states, which she believes could have the potential to win. She also hopes to come in the top 3 at States in the individual rankings this year. As for the big future, DeLoach hopes for an opportunity to play golf at the collegiate level, but her main priority for college is a school with a great pre-med program.