England Golf

There's no handicap.

We're not registered with English Golf Union either.

So you can't come and play for your handicap at Swinley unless you do it with a group of friends or a society.

So that is unusual, but it's very much how the members want it.

trending topics with England Golf on Golf Club Talk UK.

We'll explore critical areas while speaking to some of the key people within the organisation.

Now, over to your host, Leighton Walker.

Hi everyone, welcome back to Trending Topics with England Golf on Golf Club Talk UK and I'm really pleased to welcome back to the show this week.

We've had Emma on a couple of times, but Emma Highwood, Head of Women's Development at England Golf.

Hi Emma, good to see you again.

Good to see you Leighton, I'm great to be here to chat about where we're moving a few different topics.

I think we all know that that can and will change.

But, but you, you were very much involved in, in a, what I would say is a really positive shift.

Um, whether that was, uh, I mean, you tell me whether that was coming from England Golf or whether there was some advisory type of things going on there.

How did you see, how did it move when you were involved?

Um, so originally when I was approached to do the, the job, um, the remit was to get their short games working-

But a- a- as things evolved-

Mm

... and I think partly through England Golf, but Devon Golf particularly, I think they, they were really, really good at trying to move things forward.

You know, we'd had a taste of winning county finals-

And my thought was, well, if I can't, if I can't beat them as an amateur, not a lot's gonna change for me to beat them as a pro.

So it also coincided not long after that in the early 2000s with the lottery funding coming in for the England Golf, which was another big pull that you got the support, you got to travel and, you know, I had some great trips down in South Africa and Australia, you know, which really added to the, the experience and your sort of knowledge of playing in different places on different grasses and things like that.

So, um, yeah, that's how it sort of developed really and, and just kept chipping away, um, hoping to keep improving.

But yeah, it was a, it was a strong period for, for amateur golf in the sort of early 2000s.

And, and luckily was playing some decent golf.

Had a good year when I was about 15, and that was sort of when I started getting into, like, the England golf stuff.

And then was lucky enough to get offered a place at, to play at Rossall, the school up in Fleetwood.

They have a great golf team and a great golf academy, and it's just a great school in general, and they helped me, you know, a lot grow as, as a person 'cause I, I boarded there.

Yeah... silly stuff that you, I wasn't doing at home.

So that was, like, a real big sort of stepping stone for me in both life and golf.

And then just sort of through the England golf stuff, you know, growing up with, with, you're surrounded by great players, then you're competing against those guys all the time, and that just sort of helped excel my golf and then started speaking to some colleges, and then ended up going to Purdue, which is in Indiana, and I've loved that ever since.

It was just...

So we had that.

We also had, when we teamed up with the guys at England Golf earlier this year.

Oh, we stuck

out Woodhull Spa.

Yeah, good to have you.

And Kirsten McAvoy from England Golf, the head of sustainability there.

Hi, Kirsten.

Hello, good afternoon.

And when conditions are out of your control, it can be tough sometimes.

So I appreciate that.

Kirsten, your role head of sustainability at England Golf.

I know a big part of what you guys do is like to be in a position of trying to provide some solutions and point people in the right direction around advice and guidance and possible solutions that might be out there.

John, you are the only person who is really keen to hammer home the integrity of the challenge.

Getting an ad for you, from you on the England Golf app late one night.

Was good so that you could j-

Yeah, I've been checking out your scores Hugo but currently Lilly is on the call.

S-

I just need to know that I have done it

So some of these scores, I'm looking at England Golf, you've asked a friend to attest your score who wasn't there.

I prefer not to speak.

But this is one where we do have a slight difference of opinion.

So that should make an interesting episode as we debate the Hodgkin course at Woodall Spa, which is the headquarters of England Golf and very highly ranked, is it not?

It is.

It's number 12 in England, according to top100golfcourses.com, and number 32 in GB in Ireland.

I didn't play well at the start because I wasn't synced in because I hadn't practiced.

and Woodall Spa give you every chance to do that.

This is the home of England golf, and they're going to make sure that you're ready to go out if you use the facilities.

Yep,

true.

We do know somebody at England Golf, and his comment would be, enter scratch comps.

Yeah.

But then, would you then play plus sevens all the time and then not have a chance in a different way?