Ahead of her maiden GolfSixes appearance we sat down with Ladies European Tour star Charley Hull and picked out six questions for the 22 year old...
How are you feeling about playing your first GolfSixes?
I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t get to play much in England or Europe anymore, with the LPGA events keeping me over in the states quite a lot, so I think it’ll be a lot of fun. So it’s really nice to be back in the UK and not too far from home as well. I think this week is going to be a lot of fun and ‘m not nervous about competing against the guys. Last year’s event looked really exciting on TV, so I can’t wait to get started.
How excited are you to take on the guys in competition golf?
We don’t get the chance to play competitively with the men much, of course, so it’s a great opportunity for us to play together. A lot of my golfing friends are guys so it won’t be too much of a change for me personally. I have more male friends than female as well, so for me its not something that will be too new to me. Yes, there are a lot of differences between the men’s and women’s games, but overall there are a lot of similarities too: we all travel a lot, we all have similar routines, and we all want to win the biggest events.
Do events like the GolfSixes help promote Women’s Golf?
Events like GolfSixes definitely help in breaking down the barriers between men’s and women’s golf. It’s traditionally always been a very male dominated sport so it’s good to see organisations like the European Tour push the boundaries and modernise the game. I’d certainly like to see more of these mixed events, I think it would be really great for the Sport.
First up for you this week is the English men. That should be a good match right?
I’m really excited for the match against Eddie (Pepperell) and Matt (Wallace). They’ve both got good wins this year on the European Tour and I know Eddie fairly well as I’ve played with him a few times in the past. He was a good player then and he’s even better now. It should be a lot of fun whatever the outcome. It’ll be nice to play in front of the home fans too, with an all-England group. Beating the guys would be a lot of fun, especially back here in England, but really a win is a win and it’ll still be a great feeling whether it was against men or women. I won’t get too carried away if we beat the guys this week, it’s just going to be a lot of fun whatever happens.
Are you and your partner, Georgia Hall, feeling confident about your chances?
Georgia and I are feeling really confident ahead of the week. Personally I’m playing really well at the moment having finished third at the weekend over in America, and overall I’ve had a pretty solid season so far, having also performed well in our first Major of the year, so I took a lot of confidence from that. I’ve known Georgia since I was 11 years old and we were really good friends when we were younger and we’re still close friends now. I think our games complement each other as well. We definitely have different styles, but that can be a good thing going into these match play style events. Overall, Georgia’s a really solid player. We’re both young and confident so we should be a good team.
How happy are you to see the ‘Shot Clock’ hole here this week?
The Shot Clock hole is a great addition in my opinion. I’ve spoken out before on how I dislike slow play as I believe it’s a real issue in our sport. The Shot Clock shows we can play faster, so it’s just about changing the overall mentality of the game. I find playing quicker keeps the flow of my game in better shape too. I do everything fast in life so it’s just my natural routine! Playing with someone who is slow can definitely affect your game as when you’re waiting on every shot it can be hard to stay in the zone all the time. So yes, it’s great to see the European Tour making a start in addressing the issue, not only this week, but also with the Shot Clock Masters in Austria later this year.
