Highlights

JAZZY INSIGHTS

Having only taken up the game of golf in 2017, Jasmine, aka ‘The Jazzy Golfer’ has grown a loyal and passionate audience, quickly becoming recognised as a voice for growing the women’s game in particular.

Famous for her trademark jazzy leggings, this mission to document her journey as a new-comer to golf has taken her inside the ropes at events around the world, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Tiger Woods, Michelle Wie, Tommy Fleetwood, Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Rory McIlroy.

Performance54 have helped manage Jazzy’s transition as a full-time golf influencer and content creator, managing partnerships with the likes of Visit Scotland and the Solheim Cup, The European Tour, Troon International, 18 Birdies and Thorpeness Golf Club.

We thought we’d ask her a few questions on her personal experiences so far.

1. Firstly, tell us how you got into golf?

I was first introduced to golf on a family holiday in Portugal at Monte Rei. I was bored of driving the buggy around and was then told to ‘give it a go’. Having played many sports from a young age, including hockey, I thought ‘How difficult could this be?!’ After hitting a few shots which I might describe as ‘less than ideal’, I realised that golf was a lot harder than it looked! However, miraculously, I hit one shot that went exactly where I wanted it to go and landed right next to the pin. It was at that very moment that I was well and truly hooked – I had caught the bug!

2. Do you think golf is changing to become more female-friendly?

Only approximately 14% of golf clubs memberships in the U.K are held by women, which is a disappointing statistic to say the least. With many participation figures in recent years indicating that there are less people golfing and with golf clubs closing at an all-time high rate, many clubs are now recognising the need to re-market themselves and ‘get with the times’ in order to gain more members and increase revenues.

This has been further amplified by England’s Georgia Hall winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open last year, the successes of many European LET and LPGA Players such as Meghan MacLaren, Charley Hull and Anne Van Dam and the upcoming Solheim Club being played in Scotland this September. There are now many golf clubs, brands, institutions and governmental bodies involved in various campaigns to market golf to women and girls including ‘Girls Golf Rocks’ run by The Golf Foundation which successfully brought 1600 new girls to golf in the last 12 months. So, with all that in mind, I’m feeling very positive that 2019 will continue to bring about the change we all need and want to see.

3. What more needs to be done to promote the women’s game?

From a golf club perspective, I think there’s a few key things that golf clubs can recognise and implement to ensure they are more inclusive and ‘female friendly’.

Appreciating that many women have jobs
Many golf clubs still have women’s competitions mid- week. Moving these to a weekend seems like the right thing to do in 2019.

Equal access to equal facilities
By getting rid of such things as separate women’s entrances, ‘men only’ areas and peak tee times on weekends reserved for men only this quickly eliminates the feeling that golf clubs are run by men for men.

Flexible memberships
Many people have busy lives, jobs and families, so a one size fits all membership is no longer suitable and clubs should look to offer more flexible memberships. Family or couples membership packages could also be a good way to encourage new female members.

Changing culture
Relaxing the rules a little will go a long way. Such things as enforcing a strict dress code is NOT the future and not in line with the more modern attire we are seeing emerging on the men’s and women’s tours.

From further afield, it would be great to see more broadcast and social media coverage of women’s golf to really showcase how interesting and exciting it is. Also, we have SO many talented female players in Europe (of all ages, across amateur and professional), we definitely need to be shouting louder about their accomplishments.

4. What does the future hold for ‘The Jazzy Golfer’?

Big question! To be honest, I’m not 100% sure but I’m enjoying where this next part of my journey is taking me. One thing I do know is that I’ll continue to present at some of the events on the Men’s and Women’s Tours, showing the fun side of the tournaments and the players, and I’m incredibly excited to be one of the official presenters for the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, so I’ve got all of that to look forward to!

I’ll also be continuing my ongoing work with golfing institutions, brands and local associations to broaden the appeal of the game and to encourage more young people and women to take up the game that I have totally fallen in love with.

Credit: Four Seasons Fairways Magazine

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