When the Fountain Inn Fury girls golf team launched three years ago, the players were so young they had to rely on parents to drive them to practices and tournaments.

They still aren’t old enough to drive themselves, but that hasn’t slowed them down. The Fury captured their second straight Greenville County Girls High School Championship, winning the team title by 12 shots over Eastside with a score of 347.

Blue Ridge standout Katelyn Cox claimed medalist honors with a 2-over-par 74, while Southside Christian’s Katelyn Cubbison finished one shot back. St. Joseph’s Julia Conroy and Fountain Inn freshman Spencer Harvey tied for third.

Eastside (359), Wade Hampton (371), Southside Christian (373), and Mauldin (380) rounded out the top five teams.

Climbing the Charts

The rise of the Fury program has been steady — the kind of quick climb that, in the old days of rock-and-roll, would have earned a “bullet” next to its name on the Top 40 charts.

Coach David Horton, who spent most of his career coaching baseball before starting the girls golf team, has watched the group grow up together — and win together.

“Our oldest player is just a junior,” Horton said. “She didn’t play today because she was sick, but everybody else stepped up. We’ve had great parents supporting us from the beginning, getting the kids to practice and tournaments when they were too young to drive. Now we’re at a point where we can’t sneak up on anybody anymore — people know who Fountain Inn is.”

Building for More

Harvey, the team’s top player, added her own highlight this summer by winning the Willow Creek Ladies Club Championship, earning a parking spot at the club — even though she’s still too young to drive.

Horton said the team’s next step is to use a challenging schedule as a “measuring stick.”

“We made it tough on purpose,” he said. “We want the girls to see where they stand and what it will take to win at the highest level. We’ve got a chance to make the playoffs and compete for a state title — but we know we have to keep working.”

The reason for his confidence is simple: after years of coaching team sports, Horton recognizes the “special feeling” that comes from watching a group come together.

“They practice together and hang out together — they truly enjoy each other’s company, and that’s what makes for a really good team,” Horton said. “Some of the girls who didn’t have a lot of golf ability when we started have worked so hard that there’s competition now on the team. Our roster of players who can play at this level is up to seven. It’s the kind of competition that encourages everyone to keep working so the team can get better.”

In the first coaches poll of the season, the Fury were ranked fourth in Class 4A, just behind perennial powers Hilton Head and South Aiken, with May River and Daniel close behind. Fountain Inn may still be young — but they’re traveling in fast company these days.

Blue Ridge standout Katelyn Cox claimed medalist honors with a 2-over-par 74.

The course set up of the Preserve at Verda tested alll the players shot making ability and Cox didn’t let  an errant shot or two ruin her winning round.

“Some of the pins were really hard to reach, but I was ableto keep a good attitude about my game,” she said, “If I didn’t hit a good shot I was determined to hit the next shot better and it worked for me today,” she said.