Turns out, all Kimberly Huff had to do was ask.
When Huff started teaching at Greer Middle School three years ago, an idea hit her.
Huff — a former standout golfer turned coach at Chapman High School — wanted to bring the sport to her newfound home.
At the time, Greer High School didn’t have a girls golf team. Huff set out to change that.
“I emailed the athletic director at the time, Greg Miller, and told him I’d be really interested in starting up a girls golf program at Greer,” said Huff. “He told me he’d love for me to come in and talk to him more about it, so I came to his office and gave him this huge spiel about how much I love the sport and what I wanted to do at Greer.
“He said, ‘Sounds perfect, you’re hired.’ I was kind of shocked. I had no idea it was going to be so easy.”
That’s about where the simplicity stopped. Pitching her idea and being hired to start a brand-new athletic program was easy for Huff.
But when it was time for her to hit the course with her first-ever team that following year? “Easy” is far from the first word that comes to Huff’s mind.
“You’re pretty much teaching a whole group of girls, mainly middle schoolers at first, how to golf,” said Huff. “I wouldn’t say it’s for the faint of heart.”
Huff recalled the first year in her program’s existence, when the Lady Jackets didn’t win a single match.
“That was humbling, to say the very least,” Huff said, laughing.
Thankfully for Huff, she had a partner to share the weight. Gracey Roberts, the most experienced member of her first-ever team, was right by her side to coach up some of the less-seasoned players on the team.
Roberts — then just an eighth-grader — had always sought the opportunity to play golf at the high-school level. When she heard Huff was starting a team, she was ecstatic.
“My dad has always told me I should look at doing something extracurricular that I can take with me to college,” said Roberts. “I thought golf would be perfect, because I already had experience with that. I was so, so excited when I heard they were starting a team for [Greer] high school.”
“Gracie was someone who came in already having a bit of a foundation with golf, so she was able to help out some of the less-experienced girls,” said Huff. “That first year, it was me and Gracey against the world, out there helping the younger players.”
Now? Each one of those less-experienced players has grown tremendously in skill and experience, forming a talented Lady Jackets golf team.
In the program’s third year of existence, Greer finished with seven wins on the season and earned a third-place finish in a stacked 4-A Region 2. The Lady Jackets won just won match the two combined seasons prior.
Greer also qualified for the Upper State Championship for the first time in program history this season.
“The pressure is even greater for us now, because we know that the standard is higher,” said Huff. “We want to be right there with some of the best teams in our region and our class.”
As for Roberts? She’s blossomed into a star on the course. At the 4-A Region 2 championship, Roberts shot a 78 to place tied for third overall, earning an all-region selection.
Roberts also became the first player in program history to qualify for the state championships in Hilton Head Island.
On Monday and Tuesday, that’s where Roberts and Huff be.
It’s a bit of a full-circle moment for them.
As Roberts becomes the first in Greer history to compete for an individual state title, once again, it’s her and her longtime coach against the world.
“It’s been such a good journey,” said Roberts. “Not just for me, but for all of us. I remember how humbling it was for all of us the first year, but we made it through, and it was so much fun. But our standards are raised now.
“Everyone on the team wants it now, and everyone wants to keep getting better.”
For more coverage of Greer-area sports, follow @GreerNewsSports on X.
