Golf has a long and storied history in Highlands.
From Bobby Jones standing on the site of the current Highlands Country Club and surveying the land, to frequent area guest and former part-time resident Keith Mitchell winning the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic, the game of golf has been a big part of the fabric of Highlands.
Last week four local golfers did something that has never been done before. The Lady Highlanders golf team won the Smoky Mountain 1-A Conference Championship.
While Highlands School has won its fair share of conference titles in a wide array of sports, adding golf to the banners hanging from the gym ceiling is a big accomplishment.
For the past four years, Anna Stiehler has been the lone wolf on the links as a solo competitor in girls’ golf. She has qualified for the NCHSAA 1-A State Tournament each season, but has never had teammates to celebrate with.
Head coach Brian Stiehler, Anna’s dad, has been with her every step of the way, but he has never had a team to help hone their games.
No one is happier to have company on the first tee each week than the Stiehlers, and for the first time they won’t be taking the family car to the NCHSAA 1-A/2-A Regional tournament in Morganton on Monday.
Golf has always occupied a unique space in the sports landscape where an individual game can be played as a team. In fact, some of golf’s most memorable moments have come in team events, such as the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup and the President’s Cup.
While the media coverage certainly won’t be quite as ravenous, or the galleries as raucous, when the Lady Highlanders put their first peg in the ground at Mimosa Hills on Monday, that doesn’t mean the four hours spent on the course will be soon forgotten.
Let’s all wish Highlands girls golf team, Anna Stiehler, Brooke Fogarty, Annamaria Silverthorn and Kaki Dyleski good luck as they continue to break new ground for Highlands golf.