Emily sets a new mark for girls’ golf
Emily said: “My dad’s been a member at Preston golf club since I was born and one day after school when I was about six, we went to the Clubhouse and I became fascinated by all the pictures, trophies and placards that lined the walls.
“The golf club, through the various junior development programmes supported me throughout the early years in my golf career, and from about 13 onwards it’s been a mixture between lessons with the various professionals, involvement with the junior section and also being taken under the wings of a number of female members, especially Linda Dorning who set aside her own time on Sunday mornings come rain or shine to play 9 holes.
“Last year I was lucky enough to win the Adam Scott Trophy, the junior section’s most prestigious competition and also the club’s mixed open in festival week with my dad.
“For me personally a highlight was definitely breaking 100 gross as well as out-driving my dad a couple of times!
“I was really surprised to be asked to be Junior Captain this year, it’s a huge honour especially since I’m the first girl to hold this post in the club’s history.
“I was hoping that through my appointment it might encourage more girls to join or at least to try golf as there’s definitely a certain stereotype and stigma around the sport that perhaps isn’t too appealing for girls my age.
“I also knew that I definitely wanted to do something different to mark my year as Junior Captain and I came up with the idea of hosting a Charity Day with a difference.
“What I wanted to achieve through my charity day was to bring all the sections of the golf club together- juniors, ladies, seniors and gents, as I realised that this was something that didn’t necessarily happen both locally and nationally.
“I wrote to 39 clubs nationwide, with 12 clubs kindly supporting the charity which helped raise £2,000 towards the overall total, a special mention to those clubs- Royal Liverpool, Hillside, Southport & Ainsdale, Woodhall Spa, Formby Ladies, Windermere, Clitheroe, Morecambe, Heysham, Bolton, Bolton Old Links and Silverdale, for their generosity and to the members of Preston Golf Club for their support.
“The day was a great success with 12 teams taking part in support of my chosen charity, Teenage Cancer Trust. We raised a total of £4,755 from a mixture of entry fees, raffle tickets and the auction of various golf course vouchers.
“The feedback from everyone that took part was really positive and I hope it will be a successful event for years to come! I was also delighted to receive a letter of congratulation from Adam Scott congratulating me on the success of the charity day
“I hope that I will continue golfing in the future, whether that’s at University or later in life and that I will get my handicap down to 20 before I reach 20!
“It’s a shame that there aren’t more girls playing the game, I would whole-heartedly encourage any girl out there to take up the game.
“At Preston we’ve been really successful holding a Youth Club every Friday night, it’s a chance for all the Juniors and anyone coming through the academy to get together for a couple of hours, eat pizza and be taught by the pros- I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who’s interested in growing a junior section.”
The 17-year old is studying A Levels in Geography, History and Biology at Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School, where she is the deputy head girl, and she has applied to study Geography at University.
