My non-traditional journey into golf

I'm living proof that not everybody follows a traditional path to the game of golf. 

I'm part of generation Topgolf, someone who didn't really learn to play golf on grass but is now starting to fall in love with the game. 

In the past, generations of golfers learned by lessons, time spent on the practice putting green and playing on the course, but my relationship with the game has evolved following a different path over time. I am the oldest child in my family and only have a younger brother, so I did not grow up seeing older siblings with a club in hand practicing and learning.

I'm one of the many women who are just getting interested in golf for the first time. Statistics from the National Golf Foundation show that more girls are taking up golf following the post-pandemic golf boom. The NGF now counts off-course golfers like me as "golfers", and that makes sense because I'm getting more and more interested in taking up the real thing.

It's an exciting time for women in the game. I want to share the stepping stones of my journey to the game in hopes that it will help other young women and girls find their way to a game that is loved by millions around the world.

My journey into the game began in Michigan where I grew up. It's home to some of the best courses and golf resorts in the country. There are some really good courses just 15 minutes from my house. My dad has loved the game as long as I can remember, and he was really the first person that got me interested in the game. Just hearing him talking about the PGA Tour and each week's tournament became common place.

It was almost a guarantee that the Golf Channel would be on TV at my house every weekend. When I was in elementary school, I began watching it with my dad, becoming more intrigued with the sport. I would ask him about the players, courses and tournaments. I started asking how to play. Watching Golf Channel sparked my interest. As a visual learner and someone who is more cautious to try something new, watching the tournaments helped me understand the rules of the game, the community surrounding it and the beauty of its courses. To this day, I still sit in the living room with my dad and watch almost every tournament.

Like many kids, my first introduction to the game was mini golf. My family would go on vacations every year down to Florida or Myrtle Beach, S.C., and we all loved playing mini golf together. This was a fun and easy way to get exposed to a very important element of the game -- putting. I am ambidextrous, so figuring out how to hold the club was a challenge, but it was a ton of fun for us all to play together and learn how to putt. I always found it fascinating how making just one long putt always left me wanting to play more. My brother and I would face off against each other to see who would score better on a particular hole. That got the competitive juices flowing! It felt like we were on the 18th hole of a major tournament seeking victory.

As I progressed through high school and college, I was comfortable with my mini-golf skills, but I was still hesitant to get out on the course without my dad. I guess I found a golf course scary and intimidating, especially when I realized that I could be paired with other golfers. During my freshman year of college, I was invited to go to Topgolf, and this was definitely a turning point in my love for golf. My school's Sport Management Event Planning class put together an event with Topgolf Cincinnati, where we played for 3 hours with six people in a bay, plus an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Even though one of my best friends asked me to go, I was very uncertain about it at first. I had only been one other time beforehand and my best friend and I would be the only girls in our bay. I thought of bailing out a few times, but that night was one of the highlights of my freshman year and all of college, for that matter. We were all able to just have fun with it and work on our swing.

I loved the game aspect of Topgolf, hitting to targets to earn points. I even beat my best friend one of the rounds, which was very cool since we are both very competitive. I have been back a few times with my family because it is the perfect mix of entertainment and playing golf.

With my journey into golf, I am proud of how far I have come and will continue to learn more. My next step now is getting my own set of clubs. I hope my journey inspires girls and young women from all walks of life to travel down their own path toward loving the great game of golf.