Played worldwide, golf serves as a unifying force between countries and people all over the world with a language that is understood by millions, no matter the address, nationality or ethnic background.
For freshman Bobbi Uhl, who hails from Erickson, Manitoba, Canada, the game was found at an early age, as she swung a club for the first time at the age of three and began playing at only six years old.
“My parents did, not as high but they played for fun, and in our family it’s either hockey or golf you play and I went the golf route because my dad didn’t want me to play hockey,” said Uhl.
After acquiring a sheer love and passion for the game, Uhl came into contact with her swing coach and mentor Dave Scinocca before she was even a teenager.
“He’s always pushed me to push myself and he’s seen something in me since I was 12 that I could play (Division I) golf and he saw that when I was 12 and I was like ‘no way that will happen,’ but here I am,” said Uhl.
As a result of time and preparation, results followed as Uhl took home a victory in the 2016 Manitoba Junior Girl’s Provincial Championship. She also represented her home province of Manitoba on multiple occasions including the 2017 Summer Canada Games, placing 12th individually out of a field of 30, and the MJT-International Team Challenge, in which she placed sixth out of 28 competitors.
“It really made me feel honored to represent the whole province and show that we can play too even though we are from the prairies, and it’s really cold there,” said Uhl.
Accomplishments like these lead to fifth-year head coach, and fellow Canadian, Shannon Briggs in pursuit of this emerging talent.
“She’s got some length strengths that you don’t see a lot of the other girls consistently showing early on before they are recruited as freshmen,” said Briggs. “Just trying to recruit some of those top forming young ladies from the get-go, and she jumped off the page.”
According to Briggs, the extra length gives her an advantage on the course, but there are still improvements still to be made to fully refine Uhl’s game.
“The one thing we just have to work on with Bobbi I say is her course management where she maybe hit a hybrid or a wood when other girls are hitting driver just to keep her in a better position because she is so long off the tee,” said Briggs.
Uhl, who currently sits fifth on the team with an 83.09 scoring average and is one of three freshmen on this year’s squad, is looking to fully turn the tide after a draining fall season, which took a toll after the demands of being a Division I athlete were realized.
“I was almost burnt out when I even got here, so, practicing as much as we were having to practice I was like getting really tired, now this semester I feel ready to go,” said Uhl.
Uhl smiles as she chats with her fellow teammates while working on the practice green.
In the team’s first match of the spring season at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic on Feb. 24-26, Uhl struggled but then gradually improved over the next two rounds, culminating in a 2-over performance in Tuesday’s final round.
“I’ve seen that type of game from Bobbi throughout the year and it was excellent to see her piece it all together and execute a score that she’s wanted to get since the fall,” said Briggs. “The timing of it was great, it was our first tournament of the spring, the last round kind of going into the heat of the bulk of the season, it was a huge confidence boost for her.”
Uhl and her fellow Lancer teammates will take to the course again on April 7 at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate in Morganton, N.C.
Bobbi Uhl, who is a freshman, left-handed player, takes a practice swing to get loose before practice.
