Copyright © 2005 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

SHS boys golf team members, from left, Dale Winney, Neal Pankilla, Kris Mouse, David Stopp and Derek Foreman with their new golf attire and equipment at the Cherokee Trails Golf Course.

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA – The Sequoyah High School golf teams are now playing with some of the best golf equipment available thanks to Cherokee Nation Enterprises (CNE).

Cherokee Nation Enterprises provided the boys and girls golf teams with new irons, putters, drivers, golf balls and uniforms for the new golf season. The boys’ team received Titleist clubs, golf bags and balls. The girls are playing with S Cobra drivers, irons and putters, Pinnacle golf balls and Titleist golf bags. The teams are also allowed to play on the nine-hole Cherokee Trails Golf Course, which is located near the school and operated by CNE, free of charge.

"I give Gina Olaya (CNE corporate communications and government relations director) all the credit for pushing this through and getting us several things to have a successful program," said Dale Miller, SHS boys’ golf coach. "The old equipment was decent, but no other school is outfitted better than we are now. Our kids don’t have to take a backseat to anyone when it comes to equipment."

Miller said four of his golfers are new to the sport of golf.

"In years past, coaches did not take on new players," Miller said, "But now beginning golfers are encouraged to stay on the team and learn the game."

The coach said he tells his golfers earning a college golf scholarship is "easier on the body" than trying to earn a scholarship playing contact sports like football.

"Golf is getting bigger all the time, and we are getting more kids involved," Miller said. "We have a few golfers who have the potential to be pretty good golfers." According to Miller, one of those with potential is Michael Soap. He is only a freshman, but Soap is one of the few members of the golf team with previous golf experience.

Soap said he appreciates the new equipment because the new golf clubs are "good" and allow him "to hit the ball really straight."

SHS girls are learning how to play golf under the guidance of head coach Bill Nobles. Nobles said he also has seen interest for golf increase among female students. He said last year he had only two golfers, but this year he has six playing and learning the game, though at times he has to accommodate their other spring sports interests.

"This time of year the kids play softball, so it’s hard to pull them away from a game they have played all their life," Nobles said. "Basically, for five of the kids it’s the first time they have played competitive golf. The new equipment has certainly helped with the beginners. I’d like to send kudos and a big thank you to CNE for the equipment. They’ve done everything we asked them to do. We have a great facility to practice on and new equipment. We got some top-of-the-line stuff. We are very happy with the equipment."

The Cherokee Nation operates Sequoyah High School. The school is regionally and state accredited for grades 9-12 and hosts Indian students from Oklahoma as well as other states.

Cherokee Nation Enterprises is the retail, gaming, entertainment and hospitality segment of the Cherokee Nation. CNE gives 25 percent of its net profits to the Cherokee Nation in the form of a dividend. That money is used to help fund tribal health, education, community services and housing programs.

CNE operates casinos in Catoosa, Roland, West Siloam Springs, Fort Gibson and Tahlequah, as well as two Cherokee Outpost convenience stores, seven Cherokee retail tobacco shops, a gift shop and golf courses in Catoosa and Tahlequah. The company also owns and operates Will Rogers Downs, a 236-acre horse racetrack just east of Claremore. The company employs approximately 2,760 people throughout northeastern Oklahoma.

Sequoyah High School "Home of the Indians!" P.O. Box 520, Tahlequah, OK 74465             Sequoyah High School Alumni P.O. Box 187, Park Hill, OK 74451-0187 Sequoyah High School, an Indian boarding school, originated in 1871, when the Cherokee National Council passed an act setting up an orphan asylum to take care of many orphans that came out of the Civil War. Sequoyah High School's approximate 300 enrollment represents 42 tribes and 14 different states. Students are eligible to attend if they are members of federally recognized Indian tribes or one-fourth blood descendants of such members.