From a young age I was involved in several sports including golf, basketball, tennis and athletics. This later led me to join Buninyong Golf Club at the age of 10 where I played off a handicap of 42 and this began my development in golf and was able to get my handicap down to 3. During my time at the club I represented Buninyong in junior pennant and the women’s division one pennant team. I was fortunate to win a B Grade Championship but couldn’t quite get my hands on the Women’s Club Championship.
Golf wasn’t everything for me growing up and it wasn’t until I finished high school when I started to take it more seriously.
At the end of 2005 I applied for the Professional Golf Association traineeship program and was later accepted into the PGA. I commenced my traineeship at the Portarlington Golf Club but quickly moved back home to Ballarat due to my mother’s illness and started at Midlands Golf Club under Michael Cooke. In 2006 I joined the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour, I then played in the pro-am series with my first professional event at the Wagga Wagga Golf Club. I graduated from the PGA traineeship program at the end of 2008 and became a fully qualified AA PGA Professional. At the end of 2008 whilst playing in the ALPG pro-am series I had my first professional win at Castle Hill Country Club. It was an 18-hole event where I shot 4 under par. This win set me up for my debut appearance in the 2009 Ladies Australian Open held at the Metropolitan Golf Club, and the 2009 Ladies Australian Masters held at Royal Pines.
I remained as a professional at Midlands Golf Club in 2009 whilst preparing for the Duramed Futures Tour School in Florida, America later in the year.
However due to unforeseen circumstances, tour school wasn’t successful for me in 2009. These circumstances led me to decide to return to Australia earlier, where I later participated in the 2009-2010 ALPG tour. After only competing in three events in 2011, I made the difficult decision to take a break from the golfing industry. This decision was made with a heavy heart, but it had to be done.
After a strong re-assessment of where my life was heading, I was fortunate enough to be taken back by my former employer at The Good Guys. Upon my return I decided to take every opportunity that presented itself to me. Over the course of five years I grew both personally and professionally. Over that same course there wasn’t much golf involved. There were always conversations with family and friends about how I would get back into golf industry again. After more thinking and assessing I felt this was the year to start playing again. However, during a friendly game of basketball I took a fall resulting in a ruptured ACL in my left knee.
Which brings me to here, where I had the pleasure of bumping into Ballarat Golf Club’s Head Professional David Wallis that led to the intriguing discussion of a job offer. After some serious discussion with friends and family, unsurprisingly they all told me I’d be an idiot to not accept. With this strong network of support, as well as a desire to do something I love, I happily accepted.
