A SPECIAL REPORT: GIRLS’ GOLF

Fore

Perhaps lost amid the pomp of high school football, dozens of Valley girls have become pioneers of the fairway. This fall, the Southern Section has sanctioned golf as a girls’ sport.

* TEE TIME: Louisville, a Woodland Hills private school, has fielded an unofficial team for five years, competing mostly with boys’ junior varsity squads.

* OUT OF BOUNDS: Julie Park, above, reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. junior girls championships, but her school, Granada Hills High, is a City Section member and has no girls’ team. She plays for the boys’ team: “I go out and beat them and that’s kind of fun.”

* GOLF LESSONS: With many girls competing for the first time, coaches must attend to the basics, teaching players how to replace divots and mark their balls. Louisville Assistant Coach Marcia Layman said: “Some of my girls were carrying their bags all the way to the green instead of leaving them by the next tee. On hot days, they need to conserve energy.”