The Ladies European Tour invited junior girls from the Andalusian Federation to the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España for a two-day behind-the-scenes tour to look, learn and get inspired by the LET professionals and the atmosphere at the event.
The girls, aged between 15-17 years, all with handicaps between 0-3, learned about the different aspects of a tournament that many people don’t realise exist, to help prepare them for the day they turn pro and to make the transition from amateur to professional golf easier and much smoother.
The tour included an introduction to life on the LET, a talk with Spanish golfers Beatriz Recari and Nuria Iturrioz, a visit to the TV compound to learn about the production, from on-course camera work all the way through to commentating and the live feed. They also participated in a golf clinic with juniors and women from Aloha Golf Club to understand the importance of sharing advice with the next generation and the local community. Next up was a visit to the LET physiotherapist to learn about the most common golf injuries and how to prevent them as well as advice on which types of exercises are good for professional players. In between all the activities, they watched the Spanish LET professionals and all the other players on the course, including Anne van Dam as she won the event.
Photo: Raquel Prado, Beatriz Barrios, LET winner Anne van Dam, Mercedes Vega, Maria Torres and Ana Sarrias. Top photo: Nuria Iturriuz with the junior girls.
The girls particularly enjoyed being able to meet up with the professionals to ask them questions about how they prepare for tournaments and to gain tips for dealing with nerves and travelling from event to event.
“We enjoyed meeting both Nuria and Bea. They are very different and it was good to learn from them both and see a different side of professional golf and it was nice to get this information as a group at an LET event,” said one of the juniors.
“We are very encouraged to keep improving and practising and we understand now more the importance of taking care of ourselves and also sticking with our dreams. Sometimes it means sacrifices but the results and rewards are so much bigger and it was nice to hear about this. We also enjoyed participating in the clinics to teach the juniors but also watching the professionals and hearing their advice. There are so many things that we take for granted and, through this tour, we were able to experience a lot and understand what it takes to be a professional golfer.”
Photo: Junior Girls with members at Aloha golf and LET players at a golf clinic.
The girls were invited thanks to a co-operation between the R&A, the Spanish Golf Federation and the LET, with the objective to help grow the game for women and girls and make a positive contribution, working in partnership with local and national organisations to leave a lasting legacy thanks to inspirational experiences.
