Local golfer Sarah Lester-Stranick advocating for more girls in the sport

Sarah Lester-Stranick was born to play golf.

While golf may have traditionally been a game most people picked up in adulthood, the incoming junior at Cape fell in love with it at an early age, with a little encouragement from her mom. Just recently, she got to see what a life in golf is like.

“I got to carry the sign for two amazing players,” Lester-Stranick said. “They were both very nice!”

At the LPGA U.S. Women’s Open, held May 30-June 2, at Lancaster Country Club, Lester-Stranick was a standard-bearer for pro golfers Yui Kawamoto and Jodi Ewart Shadoff. The position allowed her to walk side by side with the golfers, holding their scores and letting the fans know who they were observing. 

“I absolutely loved getting to see the behind the scenes of all the players and their attitudes,” Lester-Stranick said. “It’s very important to see how many women there are in golf, and it was awesome to see such an abundant amount, because in Delaware, it’s a little bit lacking.”

It was a thrilling experience Lester-Stranick deserved to enjoy. Her mom, Stephanie Stranick, was a marshal for past KPMG Women’s PGA Championships, and Lester-Stranick volunteered as a standard-bearer for a few of those events. 

That kind of exposure at a younger age led to the need for Lester-Stranick to not only be around the game as much as possible, but also spread her enthusiasm to as many people as possible, especially girls. 

“Hopefully we can get to a point where we have a bunch more girls and we have more girls-specific classes,” Lester-Stranick said.

Beginning with plastic clubs as soon as she could hold them, Lester-Stranick grew up surrounded by female golfers, and she started playing with the real things through the girls’ golf program in Valley Forge, Pa.

“When I moved down here last November, I started off with the girls’ golf class in First Tee and I absolutely loved it,” Lester-Stranick said. “Coach Scott [Allen] asked if I could coach, and I was like, absolutely, because I love all the kids.”

“Sometimes we might be chaotic, but she always tries to calm us down and she tries to get to the point of the lesson,” Campbell Allen said about her coach.

In addition to coaching the girls’ class for First Tee, which specializes in spreading the game to all players, Lester-Stranick recently started the Cape girls’ golf club.

“We started after the golf season began so it was more like toward the end of the year; hopefully next year we can get more kicked off,” Lester-Stranick said.

The five-member group is currently doing a candy fundraiser and held a golf clinic at American Classic, but they are hoping to do more to raise funds and spread their outreach.

“I just noticed a very large deficit of women in golf in Delaware, especially coming from Pennsylvania where there was a large network with girls’ golf at Valley Forge, and there were a bunch of different programs in Pennsylvania,” Lester-Stranick said. “I noticed there weren't as many in Delaware, so I was really hoping to get a few started.”

Lester-Stranick said her favorite thing about golf is the improvements that can be made quickly with just a few adjustments, which is a coach-like quality. Through her club and First Tee, Lester-Stranick is hoping to reach middle school and high school girls interested in the game, but not on the Cape team.

“You've got to be proud of Sarah,” said First Tee coach Scott Allen. “She has that confidence and that ability to be able to advocate for herself and speak out.”

At First Tee, she works with younger golfers and remembers what it was like when she was being taught the game. 

“I just love seeing all the kids and how excited they get when they hit a shot that goes 100 yards,” Lester-Stranick said. “I remember when I was hitting my driver 100 yards, and I get so happy for them seeing the progression through it all.”

Possessing a genuine love of the game, Lester-Stranick is hoping her work as a coach, and advocacy for women and girls in golf grows the game.

“Just passing it along to the next generation and hopefully lifting them up even more,” Lester-Stranick said. “Golf should be for everyone.”

Lester-Stranick is still undecided on a career in golf, but said she would like to play in college and believes she is learning a sport where the course often doubles as a boardroom. She recalls her mom telling her she would often not be invited by co-workers during such rounds. 

“That's why she wanted me to get into golf – to help break that cycle,” Lester-Stranick said. “I'm very happy to do so.”

Any girls interested in Lester-Stranick’s golf coaching can find more information about First Tee classes at firstteedelaware.org.

For more information about the Cape Girl Golf Club, contact Sadie Andros at sadie.andros@cape.k12.de.us.