I first picked up a golf club when I was eight years old. I wanted to spend more time with my dad, and that meant going to the local driving range every week. At that age I just thought it was a way for me and Dad to bond and have some fun, I was a really active child but dance and music never fully captured my imagination nor interest. Little did I know what golf had in store for me…

More than just a way to hang out with Dad, golf took me around the country – eventually around many parts of the world, too – teaching me discipline, focus, responsibility, sportsmanship and more. At any ability and any age, golf is a networking game. You’re constantly drawn to play against different people from different walks of life, at different stages in their life. With every new game that passed, my confidence and love for the sport, flourished.

I have been incredibly fortunate with the experiences golf has afforded me including holding a scholarship at a prestigious golf club for eight years. It was during this time that I found my career in PR, first doing work experience for jellybean CEO Fiona, followed by accepting an apprenticeship at jellybean when I was 18. That was 9.5 years ago!

Knowing what this sport has given me and lead me to achieve in my life, I realise how much I want everyone to have the opportunity to experience golf. It is so much more than a game where your aim is to hit a ball into a hole. Once a game only men played, it is now so much more inclusive. I am incredibly proud to be a young female golfer.

Back in 2019 I had a hand operation and the recovery didn’t go as planned – I was told I’d be back on the golf course in six months tops. 14 months later I was tentatively trying to hit the ball around the course. I felt lost in those months, without golf. I was so determined to get back playing. Two years later, now recovered, I am. However I recognise there are many golfers who do not make full recoveries from injuries or accidents and stepping back out onto the golf course seems an impossible ask. Similarly, those with physical and mental disabilities often see a life on the golf course as an out of reach dream. This is where the incredible non-profit organisation, British Inclusive Golf, comes in.

B.I.G was founded in July 2012 and champions the fact that disability does not mean inability! It’s aim is to bring disabled and non-disabled people together on the golf course through a programme of taster sessions, organised range games and organised on course golf events, enabling better social inclusion and aiding rehabilitation.

The organisation believes “that participating in golf helps in rehabilitation, aids recovery and promotes wellbeing. It also helps people communicate by talking to likeminded people and sharing experiences to improve their lives. It helps stop isolation by having a golf community that is available all year round.”

Thanks to modern inventions, regardless of your disability you can play golf with the many adaptations available. What I personally love about the work B.I.G does is that the emphasis is always on fun. It’s competitive – of course it is, it’s golf – but it’s mostly about getting disabled golfers back out on the green stuff (sometimes even for the first time) and giving them the opportunity to experience all that golf has to offer. Every agonisingly, beautiful, frustrating, rewarding moment!

I’m delighted that the jellybean 12 days of giving donation will help towards running B.I.G’s program of organised sessions either on the range or on the course.

If you or someone you know might benefit from B.I.G’s program, you can find out more information and contact them here.