BRANDY ROOK
Promoting Women’s Golf in Ayrshire
Gill Sherry
When Brandy Rook first started playing golf at the age of 11, very few girls shared her interest. Fast-forward 16 years and she’s on a mission to introduce more girls and women to the sport.
Originally from Eastbourne, she studied Sports Science for two years before taking a three-year course to gain her PGA qualifications, graduating in May this year. She is now part of the PGA pro team at
The Gailes in Irvine.
So, why Scotland?
“I moved up here without a job,” she tells me. “My boyfriend’s family are from Toon. We wanted to move away from the south… it’s too busy! Obviously, the golf is amazing up here and it’s nice having all the mountains and walks. It’s a different lifestyle… it’s a lot calmer.”
Brandy is the first female PGA professional golfer to work at The Gailes and she soon spotted the potential for female-only classes.
“When I first came here, they did ‘Adults Do Golf’ which was mostly men. There was a gap in the market, for sure. I think a lot of ladies prefer to be with other ladies, especially for their first golf lesson.”
As a result, Brandy introduced ‘Ladies Do Golf’, a six-week course which takes place on a Wednesday evening.
“I started it in March. I do three courses: 5-6pm, 6-7pm, and 7-8pm. It’s been really popular. It suits those who are working because they can come after work. It also suits young mums or ladies that work full-time and don’t have enough time to be members of golf clubs but still want to take up golf. It’s so nice for them to have a group of people to meet up with and play with.”
Although there are undoubtedly more girls and ladies playing golf now compared to when Brandy first took up the sport, she is still keen to encourage more females to play.
“When I first started it was quite hard to find a club that had female juniors. There were always quite a lot of boys playing but never really many girls. I joined the Sussex County set-up and found a few girls there. Now, when I walk down the driving range here, there’s a lot more girls playing and coming up with their families which is really cool.”
As a lover of golf, Brandy is familiar with the benefits the sport can offer.
“It’s a really nice social thing. It gets you out doing something active. It’s a nice thing to do with your friends or your family. You can create a lot of good friendships through golf.”
You can also play on some beautiful courses, as Brandy knows only too well.
“Western Gailes is probably my favourite course at the moment. I also played Dumbarnie in Fife a couple of weeks ago, that was quite cool.”
She also competed at Donegal Golf Club in Ireland recently where she finished joint first in the WPGA Stroke Play event. Proof, should you need it, that if you’re signing up for her ‘Ladies Do Golf’ sessions, you’re in very good hands.
More information about ‘Ladies Do Golf’ is available at www.gaileshotel.com/pga-coaching or by calling 01294 204040.
