Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 12, 1993 TAG: 9308120098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Randy King
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Just ask Ron Philo. When Philo's 17-year-old daughter, Laura, first started to flash rounds in the 70s last year, the family's Florida address and phone number became common knowledge among college coaches.
"Just look at the scoreboard," Ron Philo said Monday during the Scott Robertson Memorial at Roanoke Country Club.
"There's only going to be 10 or 11 out of 40-some girls who break 80 on a regular basis," Philo said. "And as soon as they start doing that on a national level, every coach in America comes to see you.
"It was like we couldn't believe what happened. I mean it was so fast. Until a couple years ago, Laura wasn't even gung-ho on golf. And now she's getting ready to head to one of the top programs and colleges in the country _ Wake Forest _ on a golf scholarship."
The NCAA's gender-equity movement and the general shortage of capable female golfers is opening doors for many young players. While many
low-handicap boys are going without college scholarships, women's coaches have to search hard to find capable female golfers. Complicating matters, women's teams are allowed six scholarships, compared with 4 for men. The scholarship-number inequities exist because of the NCAA's 1991 decision to slash all scholarships by 10 percent. A year later, the NCAA rescinded the cuts on the women's side. "It's much easier for a girl to get a scholarship
than a boy," Philo said. "When you go to national tournaments like this one, there will be 300 boys trying to get in the field compared to about 40 girls. That makes it a much easier ride fr girls when it comes to scholarships."
While a scholarship will help defray the expense of college, parents still have to ante up plenty in advance.
First, there's equipment. A full set of graphite-shafted clubs _ now a must for the serious player _ will cost approximately $1,300.
Then there are travel costs and tournament entry fees. It's not cheap transporting your daughter back and forth across the country to tournaments _ a necessity if parents want their girl to catch a college coach's eye.
"It requires a lot of traveling," Laura Philo said. "You've got to get to tournaments that are going to expose you to most college coaches."
Gordon Faison of Virginia Beach has been taking his 17-year-old daughter, Olivia, to tournaments for six years. They were rewarded recently when Olivia received a scholarship to Radford University.
"You can find a tournament somewhere every week if you look for it," Gordon Faison said. "We've spent a fortune on her to get to this point, trust me. The golf school in Pinehurst (N.C.) we've been sending her to every year costs $1,000 a week. But you've got to make that commitment."
Olivia Faison said her parents' investment in her game intensified the pressure on her to perform on the junior level.
"I felt like I owed them something, and I feel like I still do," she said. "I was ecstatic to get the scholarship. But I think my parents were even more happy. They're the ones who drove me all over the country to get this chance." Lee Shirley, the top Roanoke-area junior, is in hot pursuit of a
scholarship to a top college. Her parents, Jim and Rosa Shirley, have spared no expense this summer, parading across the country to one tournament after another. The rising senior at the North Cross School recently returned from the U.S. Junior Girls Championship in Costa Mesa, Calif.
"I've been home maybe five or six days all summer," Lee Shirley said. "Then, when I come home, it's open the suitcase, throw the clothes in the washer and dryer, throw them back in the suitcase and back in the car to go somewherea else.
"My friends all think I'm so lucky to travel. When I got back from California, they said, `Wow, it must have really been neat in California. What all did you see?' Well, all I saw was the driving range and the golf course."
Shirley, 17, has her fingers crossed that she will land a scholarship to the University of North Carolina.
"For me, there's a lot of pressure to get a scholarship," she said. "That's the main reason I wanted to make the cut [low 64 and match play] at the U.S. Juniors. Eighty percent of that field will probably get a scholarship. When I play, though, I try not to think about it."
Ron Philo, who is a teaching pro at Amelia Island (Fla.) Plantation, said he believes many parents place too much pressure on their daughters to perform at a high level.
"I got some good advice from some college coaches when Laura was in the 10th grade," he said. "They said, `Feed it to her a little bit at a time and let her run with it.' That theory has worked perfectly for us."
by CNB