Tania Boubel discovered St. Edward’s University no longer had a golf team when she arrived as a freshman international business major in fall of this year. After playing varsity golf in high school for three years, Boubel decided to bring the sport back to the hilltop. 

“I really, really wanted to revive golf at St. Edward’s because I feel like golf is a sport that you can easily connect through,” she said.

St. Edward’s discontinued six sports programs in April 2020 due to the financial strain of the pandemic. Golf was among them. Now, with support from Carlo Spanolli, assistant director of sports and reservations, Boubel is working to reinstate what was once a thriving Division II team. 

Beyond reviving the team, Boubel aims to make golf accessible to students regardless of their experience or financial background.

“Accessibility is a big thing for me,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that this would be something that anyone from any skill set or financial standing could easily enjoy.”

Golf requires significant financial investment. Clubs, tournaments, lessons and course fees make it a costly sport. To address this barrier, Boubel is building an archive of gold clubs for the team.

“I’m trying to build an archive of golf clubs for the team,” Tania said. “So far, I’ve collected my own clubs that I no longer use, clubs I’ve scavenged from thrift stores, and clubs left from the old golf team,” Boubel said.  “I’m looking for more donations to help grow this archive so novice players don’t have to pay just to learn the sport and have fun.” 

Boubel plans to create two different groups within the team, one for those with experience looking to compete in tournaments, and one for beginners just looking to have fun. 

The golf club hosted its first event on Oct. 15, called the “Halloween Hole-in-One.” Students lined up to chip balls into target nets for a chance to win candy, with the event gaining more than 50 participants. 

“Many people said that they had never played golf and just wanted to try,” Boubel said. “They ended up staying for over 20 minutes just because they were having so much fun. People would come and end up staying for the longest time trying to beat their personal high score. That’s exactly what I wanted for the event. For people to lose track of time and just have fun trying something new.” 

Moving forward, Boubel expresses how she will continue to encourage all students to participate in the golf club, regardless of skill level or experience. “I want people to not be scared of having no experience,” Boubel said. “You will be in an environment where people around you are also there to learn the sport and have fun.”