As a seventh grader, Miranda Greene already was thinking about her golf future. She was looking for a girls team, which Bellbrook High School didn’t have.

Bellbrook boys coach Ben Trick offered a simple solution – join the boys team.

“I had heard stories about how good of a golfer she was,” Trick said. “One time I was working a basketball game and met her. I talked to her mom and told them what I thought the advantages would be of her playing on the boys team versus going to another school to play on a girls team. They apparently liked what I told them.”

Greene has played the regular season on Bellbrook’s boys team for two years. In the girls sectional last week the sophomore shot 74, tied for second overall and advanced to the district at Middletown’s Weatherwax Golf Course on Thursday.

Greene credits much of her advancement to golfing with the guys. They hit longer, and from the white tees, as opposed to women’s tees.

“It’s actually very beneficial,” Greene said. “The yardage is longer. At first, I didn’t think I could keep up, but I can with a lot of them. When I go over to girls tees now it is much easier – I think it’s a big reason why I became a better golfer.”

That has forced Greene to focus harder on her short game, not that she can’t keep up with the pack.

“There are some boys out there who can hit shots 270 yards or 280,” Trick said. “Her drive is probably around 230 or 240. With most of the boys, she is right there with them. She is not quite there with the long ones, but she is out there with them.

“I really see it as an advantage for her because it makes her stronger mentally. It’s added some distance to her game.”

There were also social aspects to consider.

“Last year, as a freshman, I thought (opponents) would think I would stink,” Greene said. “This year I knew a lot of them. It was awkward because they didn’t want to be beat by a girl.”

Last year Greene was second team All-Southwestern Buckeye League. She had the eighth-lowest average out of all the boys.

She wants to play golf in college, preferably in warmer weather. She has been invited to the school run by Hank Haney, the former coach of Tiger Woods. She regularly golfs with her grandfather, who she called her biggest golfing influence and her primary coach.

She may eventually compete on a girls team at Bellbrook, which leaves her with mixed emotions.

“We had three girls try out this year,” Greene said. “I think if you have four you need to provide a team. There are a lot of girls golfing in seventh and eighth grade, which means we may have a girls team by my senior year. I don’t know if I will look forward to that because I like playing golf with the boys.”