Ishii’s Drives Are Short but Sweet

On a recent overnight trip to a playoff tournament, a couple of Westlake High golfers approached Coach Dave Costley with a concern about Linda Ishii, the team’s No. 5 golfer and its only girl.

They were not worried about any aspect of Ishii’s game.

No, they had a more pressing concern.

“They asked me why Linda gets her own hotel room,” Costley said. “It took me back because they didn’t even think about her being a girl.”

Ishii, The Times’ golfer of the year, consistently scored better than most of the boys she played against.

“I always kid around and call her an honorary boy,” Costley said. “But to the team she isn’t a girl or a boy, she’s a golfer.”

And a very fine one at that.

Ishii, bound for USC on a golf scholarship, had a stroke average of 77.1 and played a major role in the Warriors’ 23-1 record and their Southern California Golf Assn. team title.

Along the way, Ishii was low medalist with a one-under-par 71 in a competition against Newbury Park and Calabasas, and she was the first girl in the 21-year history of Marmonte League golf to earn all-league honors.

Ishii capped her season by shooting a one-over-par 73 to place second in the Southern California Golf Assn. girls’ championship tournament.

Ishii says she learned a lot about golf playing against boys. And that’s not all.

“I get to hear all of the good things that only guys talk about,” she said.

Only occasionally was she treated any differently.

“They would hit a bad shot and [swear] then they would look at me and apologize,” she said.

Nicknamed “Shorty” by other North Ranch Country Club members, Ishii makes up for her relatively modest power with exceptional precision. She did not hit a ball out of bounds all season.

“I have to play straight,” Ishii said. “That’s how I make up for being short.”