For senior Elle Higgins, the grass is always greener when she’s on the fairway. It has treated her well at Valor Christian High School and now provides a unique opportunity to shine in college. Last month, she narrowed down her options, and chose the University of Montana as her new home. 

Now, she reflects on her past and looks to her future at once. It’s a mixed bag of emotions when beginning a new chapter, but she’s more excited about the challenge than anything.

“I’m really excited to take it to the next level because I want to take golf as far as I can, even after college,” Higgins said. “I want to try to go on (pro) tour, if I can. So I’m excited to get more competition and more experience out there. I love Valor, and the golf program has been amazing. It’s sad to leave them.”

It’s easy to understand not wanting to let go of Valor Christian golf. For one, the Highlands Ranch-based program continues to see consistent success. It won back-to-back 5A Jeffco League Championships in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, four Eagles were named first-team, all-conference golfers, including Higgins. Valor Christian enjoyed the largest margin of victory ever with 179 strokes in a shortened 2022 season.

Now, Higgins is sad to leave teammates, especially her sister, Brenna, (a current sophomore and all-conference golfer in her own right). The duo enjoyed two years of memory-making and record-breaking golf on the green, but now that Higgins is graduating, she is looking to Brenna to lead the team. No one is more prepared or capable, she said, though a sibling rivalry burns deep.

“Obviously, playing with my sister on the same team is a blessing because we’re both pretty good. So, we drive each other’s competitive nature,” she said. “We also like to go against each other (through individual competitions).” 

But who’s the better golfer? 

“Well…,” Higgins said, laughing. “If you ask me that, I would say me. If you ask her that, she would say her. But I say that I’m handing [the torch] off to her.” 

Growing up, the sisters would golf with their father, but Higgins said she never envisioned golf taking her so far. In fact, she said she never even took the sport seriously until her sophomore year. She was a soccer player, track runner, and mogul skier until she tore her ACL and had to rethink her options. Now she’s a Division I golfer, ready to win for the Grizzlies in Montana.

“It was pretty much everything I wanted: a school not too big, but also not small. It had a lot of the same things I grew up doing,” Higgins said. “It’s close to skiing and other outdoor stuff, and everyone there had a really chill attitude, which is how I am. I loved the team. It was my favorite one out of all the [colleges] I talked to before. I just loved everything about it. I’m still speechless, really. I just never thought it would come to this point, but I’m glad it has.” 

According to the NCAA, only about 2.8% of women playing high school golf go on to play at the Division I level. 

Higgins is going to miss Valor’s coaches and guidance during tournaments, the practices with teammates, and lifting trophies. But she anticipates success at the next level with room for improvement, like focusing on her bunker play. Head Coach Justen Byler said Higgins is the epitome of a Valor Christian student athlete, especially considering injuries and COVID-19 derailed her first two seasons. 

“Elle is one of those rare athletes that combines a true competitive spirit with the ability to grow in terms of her leadership,” Byler said. “And it’s a testimony to her determination, her grit, her competitive spirit, but also her humility to be able to understand what it was going to take to get back to the type of level that would allow her to play at the college level.” 

She did it the hard way, battling adversity and making the necessary sacrifices, he said. Now, it’s paid off. 

With Jeffco League Tournaments coming up on May 3, 9, and 11, Higgins has another month or so to stamp more to her legacy at Valor. But the future's calling, and Higgins is eager to answer the bell and continue to do what she’s done since she committed to golf: win. 

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