News Blog
From dreams of becoming a professional footballer to life as a PGA Golf Pro.
By Phil Sykes, PGA Professional.
As a child, I always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer but found out all too early that I wasn’t going to be good enough to make the grade but I was saved and by accident I came across another sport…………..golf!!
Once trying my first few shots I instantly became hooked and found it the most frustrating AND rewarding sport I had ever tried!!!!
At 17 I left home to train and take my qualifications to become a Professional Golfer.
Playing in local tournaments was great fun and being around a golf club and golf shop introduced me to so many people from all different walks of life and offered a career with so many opportunities.
I started the coaching side of the profession with the juniors at my first club and found quickly that the whole coaching experience was very rewarding and challenging at the same time.
On qualifying, I was under the impression that I knew everything there was to know about how to teach the game until I took my first move overseas. How wrong I was !!!!!!
I quickly learnt that I needed to know far more about the golf mechanics and the whole “learning to coach” process. The fact that I had qualified as a Professional Golfer only meant that I had been able to remove my “L” plates!!!!
Fast forward to now 32 years later I am still enjoying coaching and using all the experiences and knowledge gained to help players enjoy and develop their games further.
Over these years I have always embraced technology and made efforts to continually learn both through my association and with my peers.
I also remember very early on an ex PGA captain once telling me that “The day you stop learning is the day you stop” !!!!!
With this always in mind, I work to deliver educational, entertaining and thought-provoking sessions to either individuals or groups and aim to try and learn one new thing for myself every day.
How the development squad came to be and Angela’s future vision for Guernsey women’s golf
Written by Angela Goddard, GWGDS
I come from a golfing family – my parents and brothers all played the game – so when I met my husband and found out that he also played I thought well if you can’t beat them join them!
Both my parents, my husband, me and my younger brother have had the privilege of being Captain of The Royal Guernsey Golf Club. I have sat on many club committees during my 42 years as a member and am currently on the Board of Directors.
I’ve watched endless games of golf and witnessed some amazing play on our Channel Island courses. I have also been RGGC Ladies’ Team Captain for both the Bronze and Silver club divisions for many years.
I was then asked by The Guernsey Golf Union if I would be the Guernsey Ladies’ Island Team Captain for the inter-insular match against Jersey (which I have captained for both the 2016 and 2018 bi-annual matches). When reflecting on both these matches I had thoughts of how our ladies could become stronger as a team and how we could encourage younger girls to take up this amazing game so that they could have some fun within a programme of practice, training and encouragement.
So, with this in mind, I spoke to Phil Sykes who was coincidentally having exactly the same thoughts. Golf doesn’t have the privilege of a Development Officer, unlike a lot of other sports in the island, so with the help of a small committee alongside Phil we have gone on to set up the very first Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad.
With nearly 50 women now signed up and with the fantastic sponsorship of La Grande Mare Hotel we are up and running. Alongside Phil who focuses on all the technical aspects of the game, we have Ashley Carter our trainer and nutritionist who is also working with our squad.
My vision for the future is to take Guernsey women’s golf to the next level and to help and encourage old and new players reach heights they had only ever dreamt of and at the same time and perhaps most importantly to have a lot of fun along the way.
Isle of Wight match to be a permanent fixture in Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad’s calendar
Guernsey’s top women golfers travelled to the Isle of Wight at the weekend for a friendly two-day match play competition against their island ladies.
Despite losing by 10 1/2 games to 4 1/2 the experience the Guernsey squad gained over the weekend was invaluable.
The Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad, sponsored by La Grande Mare Hotel, was formed in the spring this year. It has 50 members within three levels of ability by handicap – 0 to 11, 12 to 19 and 20 and over. During the year players have experienced matches at both La Grande Mare and L’Ancresse courses, they have honed their golf skills, worked on their fitness and nutrition as well as the mental aspects of the game.
The Squad’s aim is to grow the talent and ultimately to produce top players who are ready to take on other islands in the Guernsey 2021 NatWest International Island Games and beyond.
The match against the Isle of Wight was arranged to further develop the squad’s match play skills on unfamiliar courses, particularly as this was a year without a women’s inter-insular and golf was not part of the Gibraltar Games.
Saturday’s match was a 10 singles match play off scratch at Sandown and Shanklin Golf Course – a fairly sheltered parkland course where the players were treated to unseasonably sunny calm conditions.
Matches were won by Guernsey’s Bonny Hamilton, Di Stenner and Roch Vaudin and Sally Ingrouille halved resulting in the visitors trailing by 6 1/2 games.
On Sunday the players travelled to the other side of the island to play at Freshwater Golf Course set up high on the chalk cliffs overlooking The Needles. A cooler breezier day the women played 5 four-ball better ball matches resulting in just one point added to the Guernsey score board by the Di Stenner and Sally Ingrouille pair who beat their opponents 3 and 2.
The final result was 4 1/2 to 10 1/5 to the Isle of Wight.
Travelling team manager, Angela Goddard said: “This was our first development squad away match and for some of our players the first time they’d played these courses. It has been a fantastic experience so much so that the Isle of Wight is interested in the concept of our development squad and keen to have a return match in Guernsey next year.”
First away team match to be played on the Isle of Wight
It’s not long now before some of the players within our La Grande Mare Hotel sponsored Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad travel to compete in their first away team match.
On Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October 10 squad members, captained by Angela Goddard, will be travelling to the Isle of Wight to play against some top women golfers at both Freshwater Bay Golf Club http://www.freshwaterbaygolfclub.co.uk/ and Shanklin & Sandown Golf Club https://www.ssgolfclub.com/ (the golfing venues of the 2011 Isle of Wight NatWest International Island Games).
This match has been set up to provide our players with the opportunity to compete off-island as a team largely due to the fact that the Channel Islands women’s golf inter-insular is currently only a bi-annual event (the next takes place in September 2020).
Our selected players are: Veronica Bougourd, Roch Vaudin, Kay Mapley, Di Aitchison, Mandy Webber, Nova Cauwels-Wigan, Di Stenner, Sally Ingrouille, Mary Bate, Bonny Hamilton and Janette Riley (who is our non-travelling reserve).
The format of play will be similar to the inter-insular; a 4-ball match on Saturday followed by singles on Sunday both of which will help our players gain valuable experience in a match situation. All matches will be played off scratch to keep up the momentum of match play at a high level, which is vital for the continued development of our players. The team will be practising hard over the next few weeks to ensure we get the pairings working well together.
The trip has been funded by the players themselves and kindly supported with a small subsidy from the Guernsey Golf Union http://guernseygolfunion.com/ which has helped to keep the travel costs for each player at an affordable level.
This is our first away fixture since the start of our development squad and after a lot of practice and training over the spring and summer months is the beginning of our journey to Guernsey 2021 NatWest International Island Games and beyond.
Let’s cheer them on and wish them a great weekend of golf!
We see this as the first of a number of on and off-Island matches that, moving forward, will involve all of the squad players challenging them at a higher level with a view to not only improving the level of play but showcasing what opportunities ladies have to look forward to when starting to play the game.
Next stop a match in Jersey against a combination group of players from all the clubs.
– Phil Sykes PGA Pro
Island’s top juniors edge a one-point victory from women’s development squad
GWG Development Squad v Guernsey Juniors
La Grande Mare Golf Club recently hosted a singles match-play team event, off scratch between eight of our Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad players and some of the island’s top juniors.
The match was extremely close with the juniors claiming victory by just one point; 4 1/2 to 3 1/2.
Up and coming junior girl, Chloe Gaudion, joined a team of seven boys to take on eight members of the squad. The match was played in great spirit, producing some high-quality golf from both sides.
Organiser and committee chairman, Angela Goddard, congratulated all the players. “It was an extremely enjoyable afternoon and we hope to have a return match with these very talented junior golfers soon,” she said.
Match scores:
Rory Mckenna v Roch Vaudin — Match halved
Jake Lowe v Kay Mapley — Ladies win 3&2
Conor McKenna v Di Aitchison — Juniors win 3&2
Daniel Troop v Mary Bate — Juniors win 1 up
Olivier Parson v Bonny Hamilton — Ladies win 6&5
James Falla v Sandy Payne — Juniors win 4&3
James Troop v Alice Hurford — Ladies win 3&2
Chloe Gaudion v Sacha Cauwels-Wigan — Juniors win 5&4
News Release – Official Squad Launch
Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad launch
Exciting developments are afoot among the island’s female golfing fraternity.
Thanks to a three year sponsorship agreement with La Grande Mare Hotel, a brand new Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad has been created to nurture and push local talent capable and committed to representing the island at inter-insular level and onwards at the Guernsey 2021 Natwest International Island Games and beyond.
Leading the squad’s committee is Angela Goddard who, working with PGA Advanced Golf Professional and coach, Phil Sykes and personal trainer and nutritionist, Ashley Carter, is developing short, mid and long-term goals for those squad members keen to represent the island and those wishing to better their games and play competitively.
Since the development squad was first mooted to all the island’s female golfers, 46 women from all the three clubs (Royal Guernsey Golf Club, La Grande Mare Golf Club and St Pierre Park Golf Club) have signed up. The squad is a wide range of ages and ability and the numbers interested has way exceeded the committee’s expectations.
Angela said: “I have always wanted to create a squad that can train, practice and bond together. Thanks to the financial support of La Grande Mare, this has now become a reality. My hope is that those existing squad members will encourage new players to the game so that they can go on to achieve their full potential for future years putting Guernsey women’s golf well and truly on the map.”
Although it is still early days, each player’s basic skills have already been analysed, there has been on-course assessment, skills coaching, a match against the junior island team and two off-island matches have been organized for later on in the season.
The squad has also had an introductory personal training session and a brief discussion on nutrition and match preparation.
Later on in the year it is hoped that a charity golf day will be organized, not only to support local charities but also giving players the opportunity for some more competitive practice.
Resort general manager of La Grande Mare, Sacha Cauwels-Wigan, said: “This is a very exciting time for women’s golf on the island and we are extremely pleased to be a part of it. La Grande Mare is offering more than just financial support to the squad. We are able to host visiting players, speaking events and practice sessions. We are confident that during our three year commitment we will see a lot of growing talent coming through.”
The Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad will also be encouraging the growing number of junior female golfers that are emerging.
Phil Sykes said: “As we move forward this fantastic initiative will help to provide an aim point for our up and coming young players as well as creating a togetherness within the local female golf game across the island, all working together to further improve and increase participation and ability locally.”
We’ve ‘Tee-ed Up’ online, welcome to our website
We’ve ‘Tee-ed up’ online!
Welcome to the Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad’s new website. After a few weeks in the planning and development stages, we are excited to officially announce the launch!
Our goal with this new website is to provide an easier way to learn about the Guernsey Women’s Golf Development Squad. For our squad members, our aim is to provide a central information hub with all the latest squad news.
We will be adding more to the website in the coming weeks and updating this News Blog on a regular basis to keep you in touch with all the new things happening.