Remembering Bonnie McGowan as Lady Flyers Prepare for Spring Season

As the Sandhills Community College women golfers prepare for the spring tournament season, the instruction and encouragement provided by assistant coach Bonnie McGowan in passed years will be missed.

The daughter of the late Warren and Peggy Kirk Bell of the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club had been assisting Head Coach Herb Pike with the women's golf program as a volunteer since the 2015-16 season. She passed away on January 12 at the age of 68.

A member of the ownership and management team at Pine Needles along with her husband Pat McGowan and others, the mother of Michael and Scottie, and former college player at UNC, brought years of playing and teaching experience, and more, to the Lady Flyers.

Sophomores Scotty Foley and Ava Ray return from last year's team that competed at the first NJCAA Division III National Championship held in Chautauqua, NY.  Previously, all three divisions were combined into one tournament.

Foley earned medalist honors and Ray was the runnerup in a small field of golfers. Both were recognized as Division III first team All-Americans.

This year's squad also includes sophomore Trinity Ahing and freshman Cidney Revelle.  Ahing, a transfer from Western Carolina University, earned medalist honors with rounds of 78-71-149 at last September's Flyers Fall Invitational held at Longleaf Golf and Family Club. Revelle is a product of Grace Christian School in Sanford.

Foley, Ahing and Revelle joined Pike on the practice range at Legacy Golf Links last week, preparing for a four-event spring campaign that gets underway with the Pfeiffer Spring Invitational at Ocean Isle Beach on February 27-28. The Lady Flyers host the Flyers Invitational held at Longleaf on April 3-4.  The Division III National Championship will again be held in Chautauqua, NY on June 6-9.

Foley was emotional as she spoke about McGowan as someone who understood the game of golf and was always there when you needed someone to talk to.  Active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for throughout her life, McGowan's spiritual side was also available to the Lady Flyers golfers.

"She always took everyone under her wing, whether it was about life, golf, or her faith," Foley said. "She always had a joy about her and put her faith into everything she did. 

"It's been hard losing her, but we also know that she's up there with her Lord and Savior and know she's watching over us and all our future accomplishments".

The three sophomores all plan to pursue four-year degrees at other schools next fall.

Ahing, a psychology major, has been talking to several colleges about golf, including Catawba College where she has been accepted academically.  A golf instructor in the making, she has assisted the golf professional at her home course in New Bern, teaching youngsters.

Foley, a business major, and graduate of Hickory Ridge High School, also hopes there will be more college golf after Sandhills.

"Eventually I hope to continue on in golf because it's something I love," she said. "I just don't know where that's going to be."

Ray achieved a 4.0 grade-point average for the fall semester in the Civil Engineering Technology program. She plans to continue her education at UNC-Charlotte. She recalled meeting McGowan for the first time at Pine Needles during a recruiting visit to Sandhills accompanied by Pike and her parents.

"It didn't feel like we were strangers," Ray said. "It was as if we had known each other for months. She had so much happiness, so much to give to people."

The addition of Revelle, who made progress during the fall season, gives the team a fourth player and the opportunity to compete as a team at the spring and national tournaments.  Ahing wants to come away with something her teammate Foley already possesses.

"My goal is to come back with a ring," she said, during a break on the practice range. "I want a ring so badly. I told Scotty, 'if you can do it, I can do it'. That would be nice in my trophy case."

According to Pike, the goal for the spring is to get all the players, playing well for the national tournament.  He recalled McGowan attending the 2018 tournament with the team held in Mesa, AZ.

"She did everything, once a week at practice and every tournament she could get to," he said. "She always brought snacks for them. She was a clown for them, dressing up like the Grinch at Christmas. She gave everything she had to it."

During the halftime intermission of a Flyers basketball game last week, recently retired Sandhills President Dr. John R. Dempsey, an ardent golfer, talked about McGowan.

"If you ever went over to Pine Needles and met Bonnie McGowan your day was brighter than it was before you met her," he said. "She was always the kind of person who had a smile, had something optimistic to say, was always encouraging and was funny.

"She was the kind of person people were drawn to and of course she was married to the nicest man on the planet in Pat McGowan so they were quite the pair. She contributed so much to the community the way she treated everybody."

Athletic Director Mike Apple echoed those comments: "Bonnie McGowan was kind, generous, and obviously a pillar of the community, and certainly will be greatly missed."

Foley recalled a tournament at Longleaf in the fall of 2021 when she was met by McGowan coming off the green after a rough front nine.

"I had one of my big blowup holes and wasn't feeling good about going to the back nine," Foley said. "She walked with me to go to the back nine and encouraged me to just stay with it. She just said to play your game. Her being there was just awesome."

Foley hopes the team will keep grinding at it and have more accomplishments this season.

"We're doing it for ourselves, but also for Coach Pike and for our school," she said. "I'm excited to see what happens. We wish she had more time, but we know she's not hurting or in pain anymore. We know she's here. She'll always be watching over us."

C. Bergmann