Fayette High School senior Laney Thieme signed a letter of intent on Friday afternoon to play golf at Columbia College next fall.

Thieme was a member of the first Fayette girls’ golf team this fall at the behest of head coach Holly Rhode and quickly developed a knack for the game.

“I’d never touched a club before,” she said.

Coach Rhode asked if Thieme would like to join the new team. She borrowed a set of clubs and gave it a try.

“It was bad at first. And then I kept practicing,” she said.

Like everyone who picks up a club, starting out can be a little rough. Thieme turned in an unsavory early score of 169, but after changing her grip, she quickly pared that down to a respectable 101. Then she earned a medal with an 11th-place finish at the district meet, good enough to be named All-District, and advanced to the state meet in Sedalia, where she came in 80th in all of Class 1.

“I have loved golf ever since,” she said.

Thieme said she chose Columbia College after a quick response from coach Barry Doty. She already liked the school because of its closeness to home before considering playing golf there. And only a few hours after she reached out to the coach, she had a reply.

From there, she made up her mind quickly.

“I saw their golf program and all of their achievements, and I was like, ‘yep, that’s where I want to go.’

Doty has been coach of the women’s team since 2022, and before that had a Hall of Fame career coaching at Westminster. He said he was excited to land Thieme for his team next fall.

“She’s got a great deal of passion for the game. That’s the most important thing and the fact that she’s a great student,” he said. “She’s only been playing for a year, so her upside potential is fantastic. We’re excited to have her at Columbia College and get her in our program and watch her evolve and develop.”

Under Coach Doty, the Lady Cougars went undefeated in their most recent fall season.

Coach Rhode said she is excited to watch one of her golfers go on to play at the college level after just one season. 

“Laney gives 110% of everything she does. Whenever we found out we had a new golf team starting, I tried to recruit anybody I could. A lot of people didn’t have any experience, so I just knew that I had to pick someone who was going to give 110%. So, I asked her in class, and here we go.”

Once she arrives on campus next fall, Thieme said she intends to major in biology with an emphasis on language with the hopes of one day becoming a speech therapist.