Golden Valley’s Amanda Hobbs is the first of her kind

Being the first to accomplish something for a program is a pretty special thing to have on your resume. For Amanda Hobbs, class of 2012, she has just that item.

The first female golfer to advance to the CIF individual playoffs twice as well as being the team captain for the first girls’ playoff appearance are a couple of pretty special accomplishments for the Biola college sophomore. A former two-sport athlete, Hobbs gave up club soccer for golf her freshman year of high school. For some people giving up one sport for another is a difficult decision.

“After playing soccer for 11 years I got burnt out I then asked my dad and brother if I could join them for a golf practice just to try the sport out and have fun with the family. I ended up enjoying the sport and found interest in all aspects of golf,” Hobbs said 

Trying something new can create setbacks and become frustrating for anyone, but not Hobbs and her new competitive nature. She admitted that at times she found frustration and challenges being a new golfer in the high school.

When asked about the struggle, she said “I continue to push and invest time into practice golf and working on my game.”

That work and determination paid off with those two CIF individual playoff appearances and the team playoff appearance as she put Golden Valley golf on the map.

“Making individuals was huge for me my junior year because I knew that only one golfer had every qualified in school history,” she said.

By making individuals, Hobbs was able to bring some positive notice to Golden Valley’s golf program which had been down on its luck the last few years. At the end of individuals, Amanda ended up shooting a 79 which she said she was proud of after only two years of golf experience. The cut off for moving onto the second round was 78, but Hobbs and the program making positive strides.

During her senior year, the Grizzlies continued their upward march toward the top of the league by winning their first ever league match at El Cariso golf course.

“It was so awesome to see the girls enjoying and seeing all the hard work pay off and to know that Amanda was the leader of that team made me think her quitting soccer was worthwhile.” said Coach Tony Moskal.

Coach Moskal also remembers the day she told him she was quitting soccer for golf.

“I told her that I didn’t want her to quit soccer because she was focusing only on one sport that burns her out, I wanted to make sure that this was her decision and she convinced me that it was.”

Obviously that decision paid off for Hobbs and the program as they began to reach new heights.

Hobbs’ success her junior year was nothing compared to her senior year when she was able to return to individuals, making her the first athlete in Golden Valley’s history to make it to individuals back to back. Hobbs ended up outdoing her past self by shooting a 78. Once again the joy of making playoffs quickly brought her back down to reality as she missed out on making the second round by one stroke. It was an unfortunate situation, because on one hole she got her ball stuck in a tree and had to take a two-stroke penalty which ended up being the difference in moving on or going home. She was also able to lead her entire team to the playoffs making it the first golf team to make CIF in the school’s history.

“The greatest achievement was being able to share the experience with my teammates and seeing the excitement and joy it brought all of us getting to play on the CIF team together,” Hobbs said.

Coach Moskal looks back on those two years as the beginning of what was to be something special.

“What Amanda meant to our program can’t be measured. She helped us get on the right track, she was the reason other girls started playing golf at Golden Valley and she was a great role model for younger girls in the program,” Moskal said

Hobbs achieved her high school goal of getting a golf scholarship, and is now playing golf at the college level. The sophomore is a leader for the Biola women’s team and the success she achieved in high school will be remembered by younger golfers and her fellow students.

—Tyler Schumann