WHY I LOVE GOLF

GM Top 50 Coach Katie Dawkins explains how important golf has been for her over the years and why she's on a mission to get more women playing this great game

- Katie Dawkins

Golf began for me through sheer sibling competitiveness. I won’t lie, I wanted to beat my brother who had just taken up the game at the age of nine. I was 11 and we were fiercely competitive in tennis, hockey, Lego creations, you name it. My mum suggested she and I learned to play golf together. My dad had played as a child and there it started. Family time went from hitting hockey balls round the garden to playing nine holes at Wellow Golf Club back in 1991. We hung out on the course as a four-ball. It was great and also a true test of character to play alongside each other without arguing. I remember throwing a tennis racket at my brother during a ‘friendly rally’ in the garden once when things weren’t going my way – but at least I never threatened him with a putter.

So what does that say about golf? It taught me so many lessons as a child and especially as a teenager, including letting things go. I practised my short game in the garden most evenings during the summer months, chipping balls into the wheelbarrow usually against my brother. Golf served as a great discipline in perseverance. As a child I can’t think of another game that delivers so much in the way of self-control, acceptance and patience. I was often the only girl playing, which gave me so much confidence and a big incentive to beat the boys. I was rewarded with friendships and coping mechanisms when bullied at secondary school. As a teenager, golf was my escape; I was ‘me’ and everything was fair (the things I could control anyway) and everybody was kind. Slowly I grew more confident and developed the art of making conversation during a round. I didn’t let school worries bother me so much and as a result friendships and respect grew. It gave me life skills that made me the person I am today.