Kent Golf Limited
Kent Junior Golfer's Story - Alice Chou
Date published: 1 Mar 2024
Hi everyone, I’m Alice Chou, I am 12, a Kent Girls junior golfer and I’d like to share my golfing journey with you.
I started golf at the age of 5 when I first met James Brooker from Upchurch River Valley Golf Club. I enjoyed his weekly group lessons and regular Order of Merit events and won the Seve Award for good sportsmanship. From there I worked through my Blue, Red and Green Bag Tags and graduated from James’ Under 12 Academy a year ago.
I joined Mid Kent Golf Club in 2020 as I had heard good things about it, and it is close to my home. I got a handicap early on and was encouraged to take part in the Cadet Stableford competitions over 10 holes. I remember feeling quite daunted by the size of the course but always enjoyed being out into nature, meeting new people and having fun.
I worked hard and visited the club 4-5 times a week and was delighted to win my first major competition: The 2020 Junior Club Cadet Championship. By the end of the year my handicap had dropped down to 32.5. The following year I was proud to be part of James’ GolfSixes ‘A’ Team.
After this, I wanted to play with like-minded junior golfers in Kent and was fortunate to be invited by Kent Golf to attend their annual girls Multi-Squad Day. I met many new faces and soon after was playing in the Kent Invicta 10s and Futures Championships.
These events are fun and competitive and after you attend a few, you start to see familiar faces and you feel part of a community. You also get to play lots of different and interesting courses. In the Summer of 2022 I won my second trophy: The Kent Golf Junior Handicap Championship at Rochester & Cobham Park. I remember the rough being quite high and after 4 hours of on-and-off rain, I finished first with a gross score of 92 and a nett score of 54.
Last year I was invited to join the Kent Girls ‘A’ Squad which I was super proud of. We met once a month for 3 hours and worked with different specialist coaches on all aspects of the game. It’s another good opportunity to see familiar faces and form long-lasting friendships.
This year things have changed a little and I am now part of the Kent Junior Girls Development Squad Academy.
Mid Kent were proud of my achievements and invited me to play with the Ladies, initially in the 9 hole Stableford and Medal competitions and gradually moving to 18 holes. In my first Ladies' competition, I did well and came out top with 42 points!
I wanted to test myself further and decided to join Rochester & Cobham Park whilst remaining a member of Mid Kent. Having only played at Rochester & Cobham Park once prior I was overjoyed to finish in 2nd place in their Junior Open with a Gross of 105 and Nett 70.
Last year was an amazing year for me personally as I came first in the Kent Golf Futures Category C competition right here at Upchurch on the Long 9 hole course. The icing on the cake has to be when I won both the Mid Kent Junior and Ladies Club Championships Nett. At the start of 2023, my handicap was 30.1 and my handicap now is 15.1.
For some of you, maybe golf is about building self-confidence. For others maybe you want to work on your mental toughness. Perhaps some of you are looking for a different hobby instead of football or gymnastics. For me, I have always enjoyed being outdoors and I find that golf is a good way to relieve stress.
Golf is not just about winning, you learn many other life skills and habits such as: focus, resilience, patience, and sportsmanship.
My main goal for this year is to break into the Kent Girls Performance Squad and my long-term goal is to make it on the LPGA Tour.
I hope this has given you a better insight into what could be possible for your own pathways.
Alice Chou
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