PVHS Girls Golf program successful in latest season fundraiser
It was a gorgeous sunny morning at Mountain Falls Golf Club to raise money in support of the Pahrump Valley High School Girls Golf team’s upcoming fall season last Saturday.
Organized by newly appointed PVHS girls golf head coach Sierra McKillips and assistant coach Danielle Alterio, the early-rising 16 participants checked in before 7:45 a.m. and gave their best over 9 holes.
According to McKillips, the event generated roughly $1,800 to help support the costs of the season startup and future team bonding events.
“I’m super excited about what the season bears. I’m a little nervous, only because I also work for the school district as a school social worker, so the beginning of the school year is really busy and exciting,” McKillips said.
In a 9-hole two-player scramble format, participants were given the option to buy a five-foot string for five dollars that allowed them to be able to improve their lie by picking up the ball and moving it in any direction no further from the string.
Golfers were also awarded the option of purchasing a mulligan for three dollars that allowed them to replace a shot without penalty.
Elliot Owens, the Golf Pro at Mountain Falls Golf Club, was a huge help in managing tee times and getting the carts ready to go for the event.
Despite not seeing as many participants as the Glow Golf event did earlier this month, the Girls Golf program still benefited greatly from the support it received last Saturday.
McKillips has been working tirelessly this summer to help recruit new athletes to the program and is looking to expand the team’s numbers through the next coming years.
The following organizations contributed in sponsoring the event: Ryan Muccio, Samantha Altiero of The Ridge Realty Group, Semel Risk Consultants LLC, Tutors Across America, Lisa Hafen-Hamrick, the Law Office of Robin M. Holseth, Molly Clark, Classic Realty Group, HS Concrete, the Fitzgibbons family, Security 1st Title, NyE Communities Coalition, and L & J Pool Service.
“I wanted to raise enough for our team to do an opening team-builder event at either Top Golf or Pop Stroke,” McKillips said. “I also wanted to be able to raise enough money to take the team to Disneyland, or somewhere of their choice.”
It’s all about community
Growing up in the Pahrump community playing golf, McKillips, a PVHS graduate, said the current position she sits in is nearly a dream come true.
McKillips highly credits her former PVHS teacher, Jennifer Hagstrom, who now serves as the school’s GEAR Up coordinator and counselor, for mentoring her through her internship and serving as a role model.
“She is an amazing athlete herself and an amazing coach. She knows exactly what she’s doing. And then Kendra McCauley, who is our athletic secretary, has been a huge help as well,” McKillips said. “I’ve been texting her all summer and the both of them have been super helpful.”
As McKillips reflected back on her full-circle journey as a former PVHS athlete to now serving as a head coach for the program, she expressed feeling grateful for the support that she has received since she has stepped up as the PVHS girls golf coach.
“I kind of always thought I would be able to come back and give back to my community. I never really left,” McKillips said. “My goal has always been to be the girls golf coach, so when this position opened and the timing was right for me, I just jumped at it. I’m super excited and thankful for getting to work with people who have been there kind of through it all.”
When asked about the potential difficulties of finding enough equipment for the season’s start next month, McKillips said the community has had her back.
“We’ve had some great support and collaboration with the previous girls golf coach and the Pahrump Valley Junior Golf Association,” McKillips said. “We have tons of golf clubs in storage and my middle school team even has tons of golf clubs and storage from community members just calling and donating.”
The girls golf program has plans to begin the season’s practices started as early as next week.
“Danielle and I will be attending the regulation clinic this coming week, and then we should hopefully be able to meet with some of the other golf coaches of the Southern Nevada region and get a good idea of when scheduling is as far as tournaments go,” McKillips said. “From there we would like to do some preseason training, or at least just a little bit of practice starting next week at Mountain Falls Golf Club.”
The Mountain Falls Golf Club is located at 5001 Clubhouse Dr.
Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.
