Ella Prigge
Boatwright Reflection
I’ll soon be wrapping up my term as a USGA P.J. Boatwright Jr. Intern with the MSGA and beginning a new journey in Washington D.C. as a Public Affairs AmeriCorps Fellow for the National Park Service. It’s an exciting next step that will allow me to combine my interests in public service, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.
As I make this transition, I’m especially grateful for the skills and experiences I’ve gained during my time as a Boatwright Intern. From supporting tournament operations, to learning about content development for 406GOLF, to strengthening my communication and organizational abilities, each part of this role has prepared me for what comes next.
But more than that, this summer gave me a chance to reconnect with the game that landed me here. Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself reflecting not just on this internship, but on my relationship with the game of golf as a whole.
I started playing as a child with my family and fell in love with the game early on. Through the Southwest Montana Junior Golf Tour, I met so many incredible friends, and golf became a constant in my life. I played four years on the golf team at Butte High School and worked several summers at the Butte Country Club, and it felt like golf had shaped a big part of my identity. I even went through some of the college recruiting process but ultimately decided against playing collegiately.
Even after I stepped away from pursuing collegiate golf, the game didn’t stop weighing on me. For years, golf became a source of anxiety instead of joy. While this probably sounds dramatic, I saw every round as a reflection of who I was, which made it embarrassing, frustrating, and not fun. One moment that sticks with me is from May 2023 in Butte. “Winter rules” were in effect as the course was still thawing and the grass was growing in, and I hadn’t touched a club in months. Still, I refused to take a drop, played terribly, and stormed home after shooting what was probably a good 48 on nine holes. My brother just laughed, telling my parents, “She hasn’t played in forever and is acting like she’s on the PGA Tour.” That exaggeration hit close to home – golf always felt impossibly serious to me – if I wasn’t playing like a 4-handicap instantly, then I was failing.
The farther I drifted from competitive golf, the lighter I felt. But stepping back also meant losing connection with the friends I’d grown up playing with. They were still traveling and competing, while I chose to remove myself.
This summer completely altered this perspective. I re-entered the tournament world, but from the other side, and it took almost nothing for me to fall in love with the game again. Suddenly, golf wasn’t a topped shot or holding back tears walking down a fairway (well, so long as you don’t bring up hole 11 at Buffalo Hill during the State Four-Ball). Golf was watching old friends reconnect at the Mid-Am and introduce each other to their kids. It was learning about the game’s storied history from Ty and Shanda. It was laughing with Dean and Ian while we tried to tape together the Match Play scoreboard. It was casual rounds at beautiful courses and a transfusion or two with Nick, Tim, Katie, and Jess after a long day. It was watching 14-year-old girls – who reminded me so much of my younger self – standing nervously over a tee shot at State Juniors, and feeling for them in a whole new way.
If you told me four years ago that I’d be sitting at the Women’s State Am wishing I could tee it up, I would have laughed. But here I am, and that’s because of this incredible Montana golf community that reminded me to love the game for what it is, not the number on my scorecard. I’m a little embarrassed it took me this long to get here, but I’m so grateful I finally did.