Cecilia and her father.
Written by: Cecilia Baney, Director of Junior Golf
The summer before my freshman year of high school, my dad came home with a set of $14 golf clubs, a dollar per club, that he had bought at a yard sale—the famous Tour Model 2s with the golf bag included. I remember looking at the bag of clubs and my dad, and thinking to myself, “I’m never going to use those.”
More than 20 years later, I sit here, having had a long career in the golf industry. My journey through golf has taken me down several different paths—playing competitively, working at courses, coaching, and now working in golf administration—paths I never considered when I thought about what I wanted to do when I grew up.
The beauty of golf is that you can start at any age, and I got my start when I was 14. While I had been around the game my whole childhood, following my dad around the course, I never really had a desire to play. I remember I would go out to Country View Golf Course in Ontario, Oregon, with my dad and walk around with him while he played in the men’s league. Until one day, I decided to start playing in it with him. As intimidating as it was to play with a bunch of men, it really helped prepare me to play competitive golf as I got older. And at the time, I didn’t realize it wasn’t typical for girls to outdrive and outscore men. I just knew that I could play with them and beat them.
After playing high school golf, I was given the opportunity to play collegiately. I played for two years at Treasure Valley Community College and finished my college career at The College of Idaho. While most juniors dream of playing Division One golf, I am extremely glad that I took the route that I did. I was able to play so many courses and travel with no stress of keeping up with my studies and practicing. I got to enjoy the college golf experience.
After college, I was unsure of what I wanted to do. (Such a silly phrase for someone who had just spent five years getting a college degree.) At the time, I was helping coach The College of Idaho’s golf team, while also holding a position at the newly opened TimberStone Golf Course in Caldwell, Idaho.
What started as a part-time gig, just something to have until I figured things out, quickly turned into an “I could do this for a living” career. I quickly grew a passion for teaching golf, working mostly with juniors, and running tournaments.
I left my job at TimberStone to take on two new challenges in the golf world: becoming a collegiate golf head coach and running the junior golf program at the Idaho Golf Association. I was not only the coach for the women’s team but also for the men’s. While it was a pleasure to coach at my Alma Matar (The College of Idaho) for two years, my heart just wasn’t in it. It was then that I decided to leave coaching to focus all my attention on the IGA and junior golf.
Here I am at the IGA, seven years later, getting to do the two things I have a growing passion for: working with juniors and running tournaments. I have dedicated myself to growing opportunities for junior golfers in Idaho—offering programs such as Youth on Course, Junior Playdays and free community events.
It has been such a fun journey to watch these juniors grow through our programs. My only hope is when they look back on their time with the Idaho Junior Tour, they think of how much fun they had. I am extremely excited for this next year as we introduce some new junior programs that will have a huge impact on golf in Idaho.
I never thought that a set of $14 golf clubs would make such a lasting impact on my life. There are so many opportunities for females in the golf world that are not talked about enough. Girls, don’t be afraid to get started. You never know where this game may lead you. There are so many opportunities that golf can provide for you! All we must do is dare to dream and remember that golf is a woman’s world.