Chicks With Sticks has started its second year in the UAE with over 100 new members signed-up to join our all-female golfing community for our first season, bringing our membership tally to over 500! Now operating in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Chicks With Sticks continues to go from strength to strength. I’m excited to see what’s in store over the coming winter months, the best is yet to come!
On September 4, the Ladies Senior Cup team at Lahinch Golf Club were crowned All-Ireland Champions! In Ireland, the Senior Cup is a competitive match play format whereby the lowest five handicaps in each club compete for the distinguished All-Ireland title. Match play between the participating clubs commences in late spring, with regional finalists battling it out for the grand title at the end of the summer. Lahinch ladies overcame Royal County Down GC and Dun Laoghaire GC in the quarter and semi-final respectively before the ultimate showdown in the final against Douglas Golf Club from Cork. Golf is a predominantly solo sport, so having the opportunity to play on a team with my golfing friends and the thrill of playing competitive golf meant the world. A huge thank you to my teammates Aideen Walsh, Sarah Cunningham, Niamh O’Dwyer, Olivia Lucas as well as our team captain Aedin McCarthy and manager Valerie Hassett for leading us all to victory. I personally feel I’m still on a high from the win. It was a weekend to remember with memories that we will cherish for years to come.
On September 15 I travelled to Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland to graduate from the Women in Golf Leadership Programme, a programme run by the R&A. It was a wonderful two days of workshops, seminars, group discussions, guest speakers, and of course some golf! The R&A are making major efforts across the globe to promote women in sport, and I’m thrilled to be a part of the journey. Approximately 30 other like-minded ladies completed the programme, all united in our drive to grow the game of women’s golf. It has provided me with many useful tools to navigate my own personal golfing journey but most importantly provided me with the knowledge and confidence to keep pursuing my dream of growing the game of golf in the UAE and further afield.
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open was held at Dromoland Castle Golf and Country Club in late September. This is the first time the event has appeared in the LET Schedule in the past ten years. Ireland’s National Hero, Leona Maguire headlined the event. She provided her fans with a demonstration of golf on the third day of the tournament, shooting an amazing round of 7 under 65. After birdieing the 18th hole during a one-hole play-off, 27 year old Klara Spilkova from the Czech Republic was crowned the KMPG Women’s Irish Open Champion 2022. This is her second LET win to date. The event was a huge boost for golf in Ireland, showcasing a very high level of women’s golf and inspiring a younger generation to enter the game.
