Katy Thompson

Review staff writer

The Wildcats women’s golf team finished second at the Linfield Invitational where they were once again defeated by George Fox University.

Although George Fox defeated Linfield for the third time in a row, the ’Cats came out with a new strategy for the next time they go up against against the Bruins on Oct. 5.

“We could potentially beat them if we cut off at least 10-20 strokes,” freshman Sophie Corr said.

It is evident that one way the ’Cats could shave off those superfluous strokes would be to improve their chipping and putting skills, in essence, polishing up their short game.

“George Fox is a formidable competitor because their short game is very clean,” Corr said. “They eliminate a lot more strokes compared to us. I think they practice more on that than we do, but we are getting there.”

Linfield has spent the bulk of the season fine-tuning each others’ swing. Head coach Karly Cramer emphasized the importance of having a powerful and developed swing right out of the tee box.

The team agreed it is difficult to come back from the summer and be expected to have perfect form.

“I felt that the golf season was like, ‘BOOM,’” Corr said. “I just got put in it. The first few weeks I just spent reviewing my swing.”

Cramer has been helping Corr develop her high school swing into a “college” swing, one that is more advanced and articulated than Corr’s previous swing.

“It sucked that it took half of the season just to do that, but we know that we need to switch up our priorities and work on our short game if we want to be seen as a serious threat in the Northwest Conference,” Corr said.

The ’Cats relatively undeveloped short game should be seen as evidence that Cramer has worked wonders with the athletes in her program, freshman Lydia Smith said.

Cramer’s coaching style may have taken some players awhile to get used to, but a majority of the freshmen say she is better than their high school coaches. One reason is that she comes off as more relaxed than most coaches.

“She is probably one of the most easy going people I have met in my life,” Corr said. “She has so much knowledge of the game. She can play and teach it. That is a rarity to find in a coach.”

Cramer motivates her players to go to practice, Smith said, even when they have trouble with the course.

“She is the one who encourages us to find the time to practice and to do so with a purpose,” Smith said.

Cramer is trying to persuade the women to never give in to their fears and self-doubts.

“There are a lot of times I feel like I want to give up, because golf is such a mental game.” Smith said. “But then again I always go back to it.”