photo by: Aftyn Willis/Baldwin High School

Baldwin High freshman Peyton Wright lines up a shot during a 2023 season. Wright was a founding member of the Bulldogs' girls' golf program and finished fifth individually at the 4A state championship last month, October 16-17, 2023, in Salina, Kansas.

Just a few years ago, it might’ve been a lofty prediction that high school girls golf would carve out its own spot in the area’s fall sports scene. However, if you’ve paid any attention to the latest campaign from Baldwin or Eudora High, those programs are likely here to stay.

Eudora senior Joellen Vogt and Baldwin freshman Peyton Wright finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at the 4A state championship last month in Salina.

This season, Baldwin became the fourth area school, joining Eudora, Lawrence Free State and Lawrence High, to offer competitive golf to female students in the fall. The groundwork was laid by Wright, who rejected plenty of coercion from Vogt, her best friend, to join the Cardinals’ team.

The idea of having to drive 20 minutes to Eudora just to play her favorite sport – or wait until the spring to join the boys’ team – just didn’t sit well with Wright.

“One of the main things was playing with the boys and playing from different tees,” Wright said. “I think it’s important to play from the women’s tees because girls can’t hit the ball as far as guys can… It’s just a different experience for girls to compete at state if they’re given that opportunity.”

Instead, Wright sought out Hannah Clark, a former golfer at Baker University, from Baldwin Middle School to become Baldwin High’s first girls golf head coach.

On the back of community support from the likes of the University of Kansas and Dick’s Sporting Goods, Wright helped Baldwin raise $10,000 through a golf tournament fundraiser over the summer before sending her hard work in the form of a two-page essay to the school board.

Wright’s proposal was approved, and she was soon the lone representative for Baldwin at the Sante Fe Trail Invitational, the first tournament of the season. The first-year Bulldog cleaned house, shooting 36 through nine holes to finish first individually in her program’s first competition.

“I think some people saw that and realized golf was starting to have some success,” Wright said. “Being a part of that was pretty cool.”

Vogt, who’d met Wright through the First Tee youth golf program at Twin Oaks six years ago, helped kick-start Eudora’s girls golf team three years ago with the help of a few friends and current head coach Susan DeVoe.

“We just kinda clicked,” Vogt said. “We were the only two girls in the entire program at the time, but there’s a lot more now which is nice to see… We became friends and ran with it.”

The pair went head-to-head at state this year, with Vogt (157) edging out Wright (158) by a single stroke through two 18-hole rounds. Vogt ended her senior season averaging 84.7 with a single-season low of 75; In her first year, Wright averaged 82 with a single-season low of 78.

Earlier in the season, Baldwin (154 with three golfers) and Eudora (188 for its top four) both competed in the Frontier League tourney, with Eudora taking the title. Vogt hopes that the level of competition will remain throughout the rest of Wright’s career.

“It’s fun to compete against your friends and have that rivalry,” Vogt said. “I was begging (Wright) to come to Eudora so we could play together, but when I found out Baldwin was starting a team I got really excited for more friendly competition.”

The Frontier League now features six member schools offering girls’ golf: Baldwin, Eudora, Tonganoxie, Bonner Springs, Ottawa and Spring Hill.

Cases like Baldwin and Eudora aren’t an anomaly, either. They represent a 14% increase in girls in the U.S. ages 6 or older picking up the sport since 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation.

For Baldwin City, students like Wright are creating an opportunity that didn’t exist not too long ago. This summer, Wright and teammates Carson Chambers and Kristin Manbeck will participate in an area camp targeting middle school students interested in giving golf a try.

By 2030, Wright imagines the Baldwin team as larger than life.

“Golf kind of started off as a guy’s sport,” Wright said. “I think it’s really important, especially in a small town, to be able to promote female athletes.”

Find more information about Baldwin girls’ golf on the team’s official Facebook page.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Eudora was the winner of the Frontier League tournament.