Slagged at school but now I’m having the last laugh…

JUST STARTING OUT NAME: HANNAH DARLING AGE: 14 JOB: PUPIL

When I started out in golf, I’ve got to admit the reaction from my friends wasn’t very positive. I was playing a sport that most others my age didn’t play – a normal girl my age would be into dancing or gymnastics, I suppose – and, in truth, it was seen as an old person’s game.

As I have progressed, though, and got a lot better – I managed to become the youngest-ever Scottish Girls’ champion last year – it has changed. All my friends are now very supportive and that’s huge.

I have my brother to thank for me getting into game, really. He had a memebership at Broomieknowe, where I’m now a member, and he was going to give it up when he got into football. I was at the age where my dad said, “why don’t you give it a shot”, so I took over my brother’s membership at nine and started in the ladies’ section.

I started playing in medals and 12-hole winter tournaments and the women were all very welcoming to me. It’s kind of like a family at Broomieknowe and they all sort of took me under their wing straight away.

Though it has started to grow now, there wasn’t a junior section back then, really, and I had to compete against the women, which I suppose hasn’t done me any harm. The same applies to my friends not really understanding why I had taken up golf. I think them slagging me almost made me want to go out and do well in golf. I like to think of golf as being a cool sport, but I know that others think it is boring. They say that at school but people need to experience it and see how exciting it can be. Something as simple as having a putt for a birdie can give you a great feeling. Until you get that, I think it can be hard to push kids into playing golf.

I’ve already had some success, so I’m grateful I got into golf. Now I am looking forward to seeing what lies ahead in the future. I will often stand thinking I’ve got a putt to win a big tournament or to win the Solheim Cup for Europe. I am trying to help grow the game and that’s part of the reason I try to do as well as I can. There are a few young girls coming through at Broomieknowe and I want to inspire them.