It’s been a quite a year for amateur golf in Great Britain and we asked some our leading players what were their stand-out moments and also asked them to look ahead to 2022
‘I politely declined his suggestion to chip back on to my own fairway and proceeded to hit this towering wedge shot, straight up my own nose, over the trees. The ball landed half a foot away from the hole and then spun back to about an inch
1) Your best round of the year and why?
Probably the last round I played at Hornsea before I flew back out to university in America. I didn’t really know what to expect coming out of the lockdown back in April but right from the off my game pretty much hit an all-time high. Consistently throughout the year I was shooting good score after good score, yet I was still to have that breakthrough round where I strung the entire game together to shoot a really low round. Up until July my lowest round was 68 (-4) which obviously nothing to be ashamed of, but I had lots of people around me shooting in the mid to low 60s regularly which was frustrating as I knew that I was good enough to be joining them in doing that. About a week before I left to go back to university, I gave it one last go around Hornsea and I managed to shoot a personal low round of 65 (-7). The round included nine birdies and two bogeys. It was a great relief to achieve this as it proved to myself more than anyone that I am capable of it.
2) Your best shot of the year and why?
So, we had a college tournament down in St. Augustine Florida at the World Golf Village. The 12th hole is a fairly straightforward par four with water on the left and the 11th hole running adjacent on the right. I had hit my tee ball right over onto the other fairway, which meant that I was blocked out by a small copse of trees. I vaguely remember having about 145 yards off a downhill hanging lie, where I had to get the ball up extremely quickly. Our coach had made his way over to me at this point and was doing everything he could to talk me out of taking on such a risky shot. I politely declined his suggestion to chip back on to my own fairway and proceeded to hit this towering wedge shot, straight up my own nose, over the trees. The ball landed half a foot away from the hole and then spun back to about an inch, narrowly missing the cup on its way past. It was definitely one of those 1 in 50 shot moments.
3) The best shot you saw and why?
Fellow Hornsea GC player Jack Maxey’s course record-setting putt on 18th at Hornsea. Jack had played amazing all the way round, and I knew that he was on the way to breaking the course record. However, beating it by just one or two strokes was never his intention. He wanted to obliterate the old record instead. On the 18th green he had about 20/25 foot for birdie, and I just had this feeling that he was never going to miss. Sure enough he poured it in, dead centre. This was the first time I had played with someone who went on to break the course record, and with such ease too might I add!
4) Your favourite moment of 2021 (this could be personal or something completely random but golf related)?
Definitely had to be winning the Yorkshire Team Championships at Ganton. To be able to win back our title and be crowned champions for the second time in just three years was a special moment for all three of us who played. What made things even sweeter was the astonishing amount of support and congratulations we received from all back at our home club. It makes me proud to play with the Hornsea GC badge on my shirt and I am happy that I can contribute putting our club on the map at such an elite level.
5) Your hopes and ambitions for 2022?
A big goal for me will be to win my first collegiate out in the US. As a senior I was hoping that this would have happened already but I am yet to quite get over the finish line. There have been big signs of progress this fall, with my game trending in the right direction throughout the entirety of 2021, I’m just hoping that 2022 can be a turning point and one where I can challenge for titles more and more.
6) One thing you would change about about golf for next season?
A joint Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup. I think it would be big for the game as a whole if we got to see men and women competing together on the same grand stage.