Kiwi trick-shot sensation now wants crack at pro career
Tania Tare has more than a few tricks up her sleeve in pursuit of her LPGA Tour dream.
After three wrist surgeries during a frustrating three year period, the US-based Kiwi golfer hopes to finally get a crack at achieving her long-held goal this year.
The 2013 Florida International University marketing graduate feels all-but back to full fitness and is eyeing up LPGA Tour qualifying school, which starts in August.
While being able to properly practice and play helps, Tare happily admits it is a position she probably wouldn’t be in if not for a sudden and unexpected rise to fame. Since around October last year, she has transformed into a golf trick-shot sensation.
Her ability to flip clubs (and cups) and juggle, chip and bounce balls in all manner of creative and contorted ways has seen her go from 500 followers on Instagram to more than 37,000. Tare has even caught the attention of sports broadcasting heavyweight ESPN and specialist media organisations Golf Channel and Golf Digest.
It has been a whirlwind six months for the former top fiveranked New Zealand amateur.
‘‘It’s been super fun,’’ the 28-year-old Aucklander told the Sunday Star Times from her southern California base.
‘‘I’ve done things in the past couple of months I definitely wouldn’t have done without the trick shots ... it’s just opened up a bunch of opportunities.’’
Tare’s first foray into the trick shot world came two years ago but it wasn’t until an Instagram page called Women with Drive, with more than 150,000 followers, posted a montage of her best trick shots that things took off.
On November 1 last year, she posted a video of the popular Laybourne trick, where the club is flipped over her front shoulder and caught in her back swing before hitting the ball, and it all went to another level.
Since then, Tare has done appearances at the PGA Show, a trick-shot video for car manufacturer Honda prior to a PGA Tour event and has had numerous offers from various companies.
She is on the brink of deals with two big-name golf brands and has even bumped into world No 1 Kiwi Lydia Ko, who was beginning to make headlines during the latter years of Tare’s amateur career in New Zealand.
‘‘All these things just happened because of social media,’’ she said.
‘‘I didn’t realise it was such a big deal.
‘‘Now because of the opportunities I have got I’m thinking I should have done this earlier.
‘‘I’ve had lots of messages from people saying they love seeing me trying to make golf cool again.
‘‘I like that because lots of people have this terrible stereotype of golf. I had the same stereotype before I started playing.’’
With her fitness and financial situation under control, she hopes to play in her first event for some time within the next month.
The plan is that several events on mini-tours will follow and have her peaking for LPGA Tour qualifying school, where she says more than 300 women are vying for around 20 playing cards.
Tare knows that means trick shots will need to go on the backburner, but she isn’t planning on ditching all her fans - who come calling if several days have passed without a new trick - entirely.
Being a trick shot celebrity doesn’t come without criticism.
But for every ‘‘you can do trick shots but you’ll never make the LPGA’’ and ‘‘you’re not a real golfer’’ comment, there are many more from those who can’t get enough.
‘‘I kind of feel everything has worked out in my favour and I’m just going to ride it.
‘‘It has definitely opened doors and made everything possible.’’