Forty years on, and Lois has come a fair old way
It’s been a long journey since Lois Beattie joined the St Andrew’s Golf Club on a whim in 1977, thinking she and her husband ‘‘might play golf one day’’.
Beattie has just been named the club’s first woman life member, having filled a wide variety of roles in the club, from junior coach to gardener to her current role of co-club captain, shared with her daughter, Linda Brown.
‘‘I’ve been right through the ropes.
‘‘I’ve just tried to put back in what I’ve got out of the club over the years,’’ she said.
‘‘Being made a life member was a real surprise. What I do is what every member does. I’m very honoured they think enough of me to award me this.’’
Some of the highlights of Beattie’s golf ‘career’ include a round of 72 ‘‘off the stick’’ and reaching a low handicap of just 5, but she says the best thing about the game is the people.
‘‘I’ve started a lot of people off playing, and I get a lot of enjoyment from that.
‘‘It’s a great game, and I’ve met a lot of people through that.’’ Beattie has also helped link the St Andrew’s club in South Canterbury with its namesake in Scotland, regarded as ‘‘the home of golf’’.
‘‘I’ve been over there and walked the last hole, but unfortunately I didn’t have time to play.
Co-captain and daughter Brown said her Mum was ‘‘always at the club, she spends a lot of time there’’.
‘‘She is an amazing golfer. She has been the top player down there for 17-18 years.
‘‘This is a well-deserved thing for her’’.