When I first started golf at the age of 12 I had no idea about the barriers which girl’s faced, however I was quickly exposed to such barrier as I began to improve quickly. During my first encounters with junior club golf, I was the only girl, which straight-away highlighted the inequality. To begin with it was an issue and I felt vulnerable and a little lonely. However, I soon became more confident and proved a point that I did deserve to be accepted with the boys, as I was a capable girl golfer. My first handicap was 36, which dramatically reduced over my junior years. By the time I was 15 I was playing off a handicap of 12, and playing for the County girls and ladies as well as in English events.

In this day and age I do feel that views towards female golfers are changing and we are now being accepted, compared to how it used to be, however, there is still a long way to go. In a club setting it is evident that the numbers of girl’s playing golf are small, however the initiatives such as ‘This Girl Can’ will prove to be successful by empowering them to believe that they can do it, and give it a go! Many initiatives now such as England Golf’s Women and Girl’s advisory group, which I sit on, provides a great opportunity to share and discuss and provide solutions as to how we can increase numbers and reduce the ‘Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden’ stigma associated with golf.

Since I started playing golf, it has had a huge impact upon my life. Firstly, it is now my career, I am now 21 years of age and a PGA Assistant Professional and have just graduated from the University of Birmingham with a 2:1 in Applied Golf Management Studies. Secondly, I have made my friends, who have become some of my closet friends. I meet up with them away from golf, which is lovely to share golfing stories as well as general stories too.  Golf has been the facilitator of these friendships, which I am thankful of as they have supported my throughout my degree and generally been a huge support network. This is why I urge any females to get into golf, socially, physically and mentally as the benefits and relationships it provides you with are limitless. To any new golfers thinking about taking up the game I would 100% challenge you to try it and I will guarantee you will become hooked, whether it be for the social side, health benefits or the friendships. 


1 Comment