Lily Bargamian (second from right) and teammates celebrate their win at Regionals, a precursor to an impressive third-place finish at states.
BY BRIAN RZEPPA
After finishing seventh in the Division 3 State Championship Tournament as a sophomore, Grosse Ile High School junior Lily Bargamian had high expectations heading into the 2021 season.
Entering this year determined to improve upon her score of 77 (seven strokes behind the individual champion), Bargamian’s hard work paid off with a third-place finish in this year’s incarnation of the tournament. Her score, which included a 74 in the final round, was just one shot shy of the runner-up.
Bargamian’s ascent within the sport comes as no surprise to many, as it is something she was drawn to at a young age. As soon as she was able to walk, picking up a golf club didn’t follow far behind.
“I began playing golf at a very young age,” Bargamian said. “From the time I could walk my parents had a club in my hand. My dad is an avid golfer and wanted to get me involved in golf because it is a lifetime sport and something we could do together.”
She was exposed to the sport early and was ready to compete right when she entered high school, but her progression in the game, Bargamian notes, is due in no small part to her coach at Grosse Ile, Charlie Butler.
“Coach Butler is a very important piece to the puzzle that is the golf program here at Grosse Ile, he always has a rigid tournament schedule and these past few years with COVID it has been a little more challenging. This allows me to test my skills against the best girls in the state. Mr. Butler stands up for us and is a rules genius, which is very beneficial and I appreciate him for that.”
While Bargamian has certainly been positively impacted by the influence of Butler, Grosse Ile’s coach noted that a lot of Bargamian’s success comes from her internal factors such as intelligence and confidence.
“What has made Lily so successful in our program is that she is so smart and that leads to dedication. Lily has been playing golf for a long time and knows her swing better than anyone. With that knowledge she can correct problems in her swing while competing. It also gives her the confidence to know that she can overcome a bad shot, or hole, or nine. After going bogey double bogey to begin a round at our Regional site, Calderone Farms, Lily corrected a swing problem and blistered the remaining 16 holes at 8 under par,” Butler said.
“Lily is so dedicated to her game that after an unsatisfying round at a tournament she went to the range to correct the problem while she was still at the event site. She didn’t wait until she got home. Lily is so important to our program that she is only one of three sophomore captains I have had in 13 years of coaching boys and girls golf.”
Coming off of her performance last season, Bargamian was happy to make it back to States this year and believes the traditional two-round tournament setup made it a better experience than the COVID-reduced one-round tournament last year. Along with her individual success, Bargamian was very pleased with how her teammates performed this season.
“Going to states this year was better than last year. With a one-day tournament due to COVID it was not fair as people can perform better or worse from their normal. We knew the team was going to be competitive this year so that was fun to experience together even though we were a few shots short. I knew that I had improved a lot since last year so I was excited to go out and try and win it all,” Bargamian said.
Bargamian’s individual success has been apparent, but Butler noted the impact that she has had on her teammates throughout her three years at Grosse Ile.
“Lily is a big influence on her teammates,” the coach said. “She is a model of composure on the course and a fun-loving teenager off. She is just as ready to challenge a rules official making a wrong ruling as she is to comfort a teammate who just four-putted to miss a personal best score. When we practice at the range I will often enlist Lily to be another set of eyes to help the team. She is going to go practice after our practice anyway so I don’t mind taking away from her bucket of balls to help someone in need of coaching.”
“She organizes the players in practice to make sure she and the other captains play with the younger players to help them understand course management. When I have to make decisions for the team I often seek Lily’s opinion because I respect her judgment and her understanding of her teammates.”
Bargamian currently plans on continuing her career after graduating from Grosse Ile, but has not yet decided on her destination. Though she still has one more year at the high school level, Butler is confident that the sky is the limit for his young captain.
“Lily can do whatever she wants with her game,” he said. “She will certainly play in college. Where though depends on the academics of the school and the state of its golf program. She seems to balance these two issues evenly. Golf is important but not more important than an education. Her education is important but not to the extent it might end her competitive career. Lily is only a junior this year and come this time next year she will have to finalize some decisions, however she will have a plethora of options.”
“I personally think that she has what it takes to play in programs like Stanford and Arizona. She might decide that the Ivy League will be good for her and then she would definitely play for her school. I believe through time she will be good enough and have the mindset to take a shot at playing professionally. But that’s something we’ll look at after next season.”
As she looks toward the future, Bargamian has her sights set on a few goals for next year’s season.
“Next season I would like to have a scoring average under par, and win the state title individually and with the team. I think those are very achievable goals.”
With one more year to continue dazzling golf fans close to home, Bargamian is very appreciative of the community she has grown up in and believes that it has immeasurably impacted her life and her experience in the sport.
“Growing up on Grosse Ile has been a blessing. We have three golf courses in such a small area so there is always a place to go to practice and get better. Golf is my life so having those resources at my fingertips has been key to my success.”