Hoping it”s her time

If they only knew.

When Nikki Barham steps into the tee box of a par four or par five hole on a golf course, the club she takes with her is usually a 3 wood.

Not her driver.

The fact that she drives the ball as far as her opponents without using what Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy called “The Big Dog” would be unnerving for the rest of the threesome or foursome during a Greater Spokane League high school girls golf tournament.

But they don’t know.

“They aren’t allowed to ask each other questions,” Central Valley coach Rick Giampietri said. “It would be interesting and probably intimidating if they knew she was hitting the ball as far as they were without ever using her driver, but they’d never know.”

Giampietri said he doesn’t like to practice next to his top golfer when the team hits the driving range.

“Here I am, the football coach, a guy who lifts weights and this young girl is out driving me,” he laughed. “You don’t think there’s anything to timing when it comes to a golf swing, do you?”

Barham’s love of golf grows out of her proximity to the course.

“I grew up across the street from Liberty Lake Golf Course,” she explained. “I was always over there, playing and practicing.”

As a freshman, Barham was the Bears No. 2 varsity golfer and qualified for the state tournament. The past two seasons, Barham has been Central Valley’s No. 1.

“My freshman year, coach kept me No. 2 all season long, even though I regularly scored better than our No. 1,” Barham said. “That kept a lot of pressure off of me and I really appreciated that.

“Last year and so far this year, it’s been different being No. 1, but I enjoy it. I like the fact that I can help the younger golfers on the team and that I can be a leader.”

At state, Barham has improved steadily. As a freshman she missed the first-day cut by a stroke.

“I think that one stroke ate at me more than any other tournament I’ve ever played in,” Barham said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back over that day looking at all the places where I could have picked up that stroke.”

Last year she made the cut by shooting an 89 the first day and followed that with a second-day 86.

“I got Nikki in a little trouble the second day,” Giampietri said. “She got to a point where she had to start taking some chances if she was going to move up. I had her go for a couple holes where she would probably been better off laying up and playing it safe.

“But she did really well and I think she learned a lot.”

Barham has put in thousands of hours practicing her game.

“I have an uncle who lives on Meadow Springs Golf Course, the state tournament course,” Barham said. “After my freshman year, I spent the summer with him and played that course with him quite a bit. That really helped my game and my course management. He even helped me add a few trick shots that I can use to help get myself out of trouble.”

Barham said her mental game has improved this season.

“I’ve learned to not get down on myself if I hit a bad shot,” she said. ” I found that when I did that, it would affect my next shot, too. Now, I just play every shot the best I can. That’s what the game is all about.”

In a season where any of a number of golfers can win at a GSL tournament, Barham is having fun.

“It’s a lot of fun to play in a tournament where so many different golfers have a shot at winning, but at the same time, there’s more pressure on each shot, too.”

Not that there isn’t an opportunity to play some games between shots.

“It’s not like we’re all robots out there,” she laughed. “There’s a chance to talk with the other two or three people in your party. Some of them, if you get them involved in a conversation, it takes away from their game. There are some psychological games that you can play.”

For the Bears, the level of play has moved up this season. For the first time in Giampietri’s tenure as golf coach there is a weekly challenge to see who will play on the varsity.

“We have challenge matches every week to see who will play No. 5 and No. 6,” Barham said. “That’s a great thing for the program and it’s a lot of fun. I get to help encourage those younger golfers.”

For the first time, Barham was not the team’s low scorer. At Hangman Valley, freshman Katie Sorenson carded an 82, two shots ahead of Barham, to give the team two Top 10 finishers.

“We’re really getting better as a team,” the coach said. “We’re coming together at just the right time.”

For Barham, the right time will be in her own backyard: the state tournament will be played at MeadowWood – just down the street from her house.

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Barham grinned. “I’m hoping it’s my time.”