STOCKTON — It’s a little bit before 8 a.m. Monday, and Stephanie Hammell is casually watching the best female high school golfers in the Sac-Joaquin Section warm up for the Masters Tournament. She arrived at the golf course about an hour ago, took a few practice swings, and is now saving all of her strokes for the next five hours.
This will be Hammell’s last round in a Turlock High uniform.
There are a little more than 100 golfers at The Reserve at Spanos Park, and Hammell is the only representation for the Bulldogs. She got up at 5 a.m., just like most of the golfers here, realizing immediately the prestige of playing in such a setting.
Hammell’s parents aren’t watching today, which is a good thing.
She says she doesn’t allow her dad to show up for her matches because he’s a bit of a curse. “I save a couple strokes” without him around, she muses. And she’ll need every bit of luck today. The day before, she played a round with her father so she has appreciation for what’s ahead.

For November, the day is perfect. The Reserve can be windy and hectic, just as it did during the boys’ Masters Tournament in the spring.
Today, it’s different. It’s warm and sunny and perfect, something many of the participating golfers agree to. Hammell is in shorts, a golf shirt that has the word “captain” embroidered on it and a Turlock High golf cap. She walks quickly to the second hole of the course, where she will take her first swing.
She meets her playing partners, Tori Tamua of Elk Grove High and Mia Dougherty of Pioneer High in Woodland. A coin is flipped to decide who goes first, second and third. Hammell is first.
She surveys the green fairway, takes out her club and puts it between her shoulders, swaying her hips back and forth.
She knows this is it.

Hammell and her playing partners are focused on their task. They want to do well, but they begin to loosen up.
It happens at hole No. 8, where they wait their turn while the group ahead of them is working on finishing putts. This is a short hole, only spanning about 200 yards from the tee. To kill time, they begin to talk about boys, a harmless thing to do.
Every group has a coach who’s considered the group’s supervisor. The coach is there to explain rules. And the coach keeps track of the strokes, so the girls know where they stand at all times. For this group, it’s East Union coach Ron Gutierrez, a man with a big voice and bigger personality. He hears what the girls are talking about and chimes in. He does it in a lighthearted way, of course.
“Are you talking about boys? You should be thinking about golf? Boys stink!” he jokes.
All the girls respond with a chuckle. It’s one of those fun moments during one of Hammell’s most stressful days.

She’s not doing so well. It takes a toll on her on the 12th hole, which stretches out for about 400 yards.
“I set myself up for a decent drive,” she would say later. “And I didn’t think I’d get to the hole, so I tried to lay up. But I ended up in a sort of a sand. Instead of having grass there, there was sand there. But it wasn’t the sand trap. So I took it easy like it was out of the sand trap, and I ended up in the sand trap. And then I got struck in a sprinkler hole instead of a hole.”
She laughs a little.
“That was rough,” she added.

The day is over, and her final score is a 103. She’s not happy with herself, saying that “I could have done better.”
“I just couldn’t get the ball to the hole today at all,” she says. “I mean, nothing.”
But she understands that this is just a part of golf. She knows that there’s more golf to play. Well, at least she hopes so.
After playing for four seasons with the Bulldogs that included four consecutive Central California Conference titles, she’s thinking about playing golf at the college level. This weekend, she’ll play for the Cal State San Marcos coach, hoping her bad rounds are behind her. Hammell says she’ll practice some more before the trip.
Turlock coach Mary Krupka isn’t worried about her team captain after Monday’s performance. It’ll only make her stronger, the coach said.
“I know that when she plays sometime this week, it’ll be lights out,” Krupka said.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.