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 Caroline on Course for Golfing Glory
Golf used to be a pastime reserved for dads in dodgy jumpers on a Sunday
afternoon…
However, since Tiger Woods arrived on the scene a few years back, all
that has begun to change. One shining example of golf in the modern
world is 17-year-old Caroline Atherton, who was voted Sports Performer
of The Year at the Wigan Sports Awards earlier this year.
The LINC caught up with the young lady from Shevington to find out what
it’s like being a successful female in a traditionally male-orientated
sport. Here is the full, complete interview with Caroline, a brief
section of which was featured in the winter edition of The LINC
newspaper.
So, how did you get into golf?
Through my dad, he used to play and my brother too. It’s kind of a
family thing.
What age where you?
I was about 12, maybe 13.
Is that not pretty late?
Yeah. I know some people who are 11 and they’ve been playing since they
were seven. So I was quite late really.
So did you have to play catch up? Or were there a lot of young girls
playing at that time?
No, there wasn’t then. There’s a lot more now, sort of over the last two
years, but maybe I’ve only noticed that because I’m a lot more into it.
There wasn’t that many when I started though.
Are there a lot of girls that play locally?
No. I go into Lancashire and I know quite a few who play in Lancashire,
but not round here. In fact, I don’t know of any other girl golfers in
Wigan [Borough], or at least I don’t think there are anyway.
You started playing when you were 12, were you interested in it before?
No, not really. Well, I suppose I was a bit because my dad and my
brother used to go and I got involved and followed them about.
Was it something that you took to straight away?
Well, my dad got me lessons straight away rather than teach me himself,
so I could do it the right way, and because I could do it I enjoyed it.
If you think something’s rubbish you won’t enjoy it.
Is it something that you were a natural at?
I wouldn’t say that no, it took some work!
Getting back to the girl thing, because there’s only a few girls
playing, how did you feel about doing something different?
It doesn’t bother me that much. The club that I’m a member at now there
is no other girls there and there never has been. So I have to get used
to it. That’s why I like the Lancashire Girls because you meet people
who do what you do.
How did you feel when you first got into that environment?
It wasn’t really that different. I’d got used to playing boys and I’ve
always played with my brother and my dad. It didn’t really affect me.
It’s better because with the girls’ team you can chat and have a laugh
with them and stuff.
So when you first started you were a bit on your own?
Yeah, because it’d be like I’d be in the girls’ locker room, and all my
team mates would be in the boys’ locker room so I’d never know about
anything. But it’s all changing now, they’re aware that girls do play
golf so they do something about it.
When did you start competing against other people?
[Laughing] When I started.
Right from the start? So you must be quite good at this game and must
have beaten a few boys, how did they feel about that?
They didn’t mind. They probably get upset but they never show it.
When did you start taking it seriously?
Maybe two years after I’d started when my handicap dropped quite a lot,
but at first it was just for fun. I still played in competitions but it
was never serious. IT was only when I was about 14 that I started taking
it really seriously.
How much work have you put into it?
A lot. I have two lessons a month and I do training throughout the
winter and go to the gym. All the effort of getting ready for
championships and going away and spending months away in tournaments.
It’s hard, but it’s worth it.
How many hours a week do you practice?
It depends. In winter I’ll do a lot of work in the gym and training and
stuff to prepare for the next year. Then when it comes to summer it can
be like four/five times a week. I maybe practice for like an hour then
go play 9-hole on a weekday because I have to go back to college, but at
the weekend I can practice as much as I want. Then practice drops off
when competition starts.
What do you enjoy the most about it?
The winning. Playing well definitely makes it all worthwhile when you’re
in championships and things.
Golf is a very individual sport where it’s all down to you…
Yeah, it’s…you can play it in teams when you have to, like in matches
with your county and teams and things, you have to work together. I like
that because it’s different. A lot of the time you’re on your own and
then it’s good when you get to play in matches.
Do you have a coach?
Yeah, I have a few. Alan at Haigh, I’ve been training with the
Lancashire coach, Jim Payne for a bit and Steve Robinson who’s the
England training coach.
What’s the difference between the coaches?
Well, I’ve been with Alan from the start; he’s the main one I go to. He
works on the technical bits and he always manages to sort me out if I
have a problem! Jim Payne works more on course management. Steve
Robinson works on the more modern teaching of what I guess you’d call
the ‘x-factor’. Just all the little things that make you 1 percent
better, which is what you need to be a top player.
There’s a lot to think about in golf, do you tend to get in a huff a bit
if something’s going wrong?
No, I go and see Alan! I went to see him once in the winter and I’d
totally shanked a shot, but within 45 minutes I’d gone from shanking it
to hitting it!
In golf, if you’re playing well, how can you all of a sudden stop
playing so good?
I don’t know, I often wonder that myself! I think you just get tense
sometimes and worry about it too much.
Are you quite tense when you play?
I was at the start. When I played my first England schoolgirls I was on
the tee and there was a guy with a microphone and about 100 people
there! I was about 13, 14 at the time and I was so nervous, but then I
went to one in July and I’d got used to it.
Do you have anything that you do before a game to try and relax?
It’s always best to be prepared and make sure you’ve got everything so
that you know you’re not going to worry about having forgotten
something. Then all you have to think about is hitting that shot.
Has there ever been a time when you’ve been out there and forgotten
something?
I got disqualified once for taking my card home. I was only young. I’d
won the competition and I was really pleased so I took my card home to
show my dad that I’d won, and then I got disqualified for not handing it
in. So I actually didn’t win in the end.
Golf tends to stick quite rigidly to the rules. Do you think that is
something that the sport may have to address in order to attract young
players?
Definitely. The dress codes are shocking. But like, when you go to a
Lancashire women’s event, you can pretty much wear what you want. Like,
I was in the clubhouse at this really posh golf course in jeans,
trainers and a casual top. If I did that at my club I would be picked
out. It’s the little clubs that still have all these stupid rules.
Things are modernising at the top level but it has not filtered down to
club level yet. If things become less rigid at the grass roots level,
then the game will attract more new players.
Where do you play locally?
Locally, I play at Chorley at the moment. I play a wide variety of
courses all over the country with Lancashire Girls, which is really
nice.
How many rounds have you played this year?
Competitively, I probably played over 90 rounds.
That’s a huge commitment. How do you fit in your college studies and the
rest of your life with that?
I don’t know! I don’t want to think about how I fit it all in or else
I’ll start worrying about it.
What’s been your greatest golfing achievement to date?
I played really good golf to come second in the under-16s Girls’ British
Championship. Even though I didn’t win it, I only missed out by a shot
and I played really, really well. A girl called Jodie Hewitt from
Cataric in Yorkshire won the competition.
What’s the relationship like between the England players from different
counties?
When you’re with your counties you tend to stick together but when
you’re with England it’s not really relevant where you’re from.
What’s the talent like coming through at national level in the girls’
game?
They’re all really young and really good, but that motivates me to
improve even more.
What levels have you represented England at?
I’ve been training with the North of England Girls. There is England
regional training and then there’s England Elite, which combines the
best players from all of the different areas. Then there is England
over-18s Elite, which is made up of girls that are around 20 and 21. The
handicaps are really love at that level.
How confident are you about making it as a professional?
To turn pro you need to be playing off 1 or 2. My handicap is 3 at the
moment so I need to drop another shot. I think I can do that, I
practically did it at the end of last season but I didn’t quite manage
it. It is very hard cutting your handicap though. For every round you
play above your handicap you go up 0.1. If I play to a handicap of 1 I
drop 0.2. If I play to a handicap of 2 I drop 0.1. Even if you have a
2.4 handicap you play off 2. If you have a 2.5 handicap you play off 3.
You can only lower your handicap in competitions.
I don’t know if I want to turn professional, I haven’t really thought
about it a lot. For the moment I’m happy being an amateur. I’m not sure
if I want to do it for money because it turns it from a bit of fun into
a job. There’s money on the LPGA but then there’s more competition. In
the men’s game there is more money so in the lady’s game you’ve got to
be a top player to make a decent living out of it.
Who are your golfing heroes?
Tiger Woods. He changed the golfing mentality when he came on the scene.
He made everyone else do physio work, mental work, psychology and the
fitness side of things.
What about Michelle Wie?
Michelle Wie has done for the women’s game what Tiger Woods did for the
men’s. She is so far ahead of everyone else at the moment and we’ve all
got to catch up.
Do you fancy taking her on some day?
I do, but I’d probably lose!
Michelle Wie became the first woman to compete in a men’s competition
earlier this year. Do you think mixed sex tournaments are the future of
golf?
If women are allowed to play in men’s tournaments, then technically men
should be allowed to play in women’s competitions. Michelle Wie took the
place of someone who had qualified for that tournament so he didn’t get
paid that week because the sponsors wanted her to play. If anyone,
regardless of their gender was allowed to enter any competition, then
the women would get beat the whole time because the men’s game is quite
far ahead of the women’s. I’m not sure about having a lot of mixed
gender competitions. There are good and bad points about it.
Why would you encourage other young women in Wigan Borough to take up
golf?
I wouldn’t because that would mean more competition for me! Seriously
though, it’s something different from what most other girls do, because
hardly anyone else does it. Carrying a bag of golf clubs round a course
is hard so it keeps you fit as well. I like it but everyone is different
so girls should just give it a try and see what they think.
Caroline is currently studying at Winstanley College and hopes to go on
to university to study medicine.
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