If you are a girl wanting to play golf at Manitowoc Lincoln High School, you had to play with the boys or not at all until this fall.
After years of hard work behind the scenes, Athletic Director Stan Diedrich announced in early 2025 that Manitowoc Lincoln would be fielding a team in the fall.
The Ships have taken their lumps against quality and much more experienced golfers, but that hasn’t stopped them from enjoying each other’s company and playing the game they love. Head Coach Chris Grodek tells seehafernews.com that it’s been a blast coaching these kids.
“It’s not about wins and losses. It’s how you get there and how you come out to the other end. They’ve improved every meet, and they’re great kids.”
Olivia Dickey and Olivia Rabbatz are the two senior captains. Dickey says it’s special to be a part of the very first team at Lincoln High.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the first-ever Lincoln girls’ golf team. It’s exciting as our school has never had one. We are all grateful.”
It can be tough sometimes to be the “new kid on the block”. Rabbatz says their competitors have welcomed them (the Ships) with open arms.
“I’m always happy to be paired with another girl and play the game that I love. We talk a lot about everything and really get to know one another. It’s a lot of fun.”
The Ships can check another first on the list tomorrow (Wednesday) when they tee off in a WIAA Division One Regional meet at Rolling Meadows in Fond Du Lac.
A tough field awaits them in the likes of Plymouth, the tri-op of Sheboygan North/South/Oostburg, and host Fond Du Lac, among others. But (Head Coach) Grodek says, regardless of the results, the foundation for a successful program has been built.
“It’s just the relationships that we build. We’ve spent hours riding to meets together. It’ll take an hour to get to Fond Du Lac, and we’ll have easily spent one thousand hours riding to meets together.” Grodek adds—
“We’ve spent a lot of time together, and I’m blessed and thankful to be their coach.”
The top four teams and top four individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to the sectional on Monday, October 6th, in Beaver Dam.
Click here to see which other teams are hitting the course today.
