KirkwoodGolf: Holywood golf club produces champions: Player Profile

Player Profile – Jessica Carty

Holywood golf club produces champions

18 May 2016

Jess Carty is one of the well-known and talented golfers from Holywood Golf Club, Co Down. Holywood were looking to recruit more female junior members and Carty decided to give it a go at eight years of age. She was impressed with the system in place for juvenile golfers at Holywood, 'It was a great place to take up golf and they were constantly trying to recruit new junior girls so it encouraged me to play more', commented Carty. Having Rory McIlroy as a member of the golf club helped keep Jess interested, 'I watched Rory play in junior events and seeing him play such good golf egged me on a little more', she added.

Her talent soon shone through as she made Ulster training panels and inter-provincial teams, followed by representative golf at international level. Carty was hooked after representing Ireland, 'I always loved it but it's different when you play for your country, it's so special. I have made the best of friends and have competed on a European stage and you can't get better than that.'

Jess is a junior at the University of Denver (DU), where she is studying psychology and has just taken on a major in communications. For her, attending university on a golf scholarship was not always the priority, 'I actually wanted to go to the US to play soccer until I was about 15. I got injured a few times so I decided to play golf instead.' Choosing Denver University was a coincidence for the Holywood golfer, 'I was playing the Home International matches in Cork in 2012 and I played Scottish golfer Rachael Watton in the singles, who was a sophomore at DU. I ended up playing really well and beating her so she put me in contact with the coaches. I haven't looked back since, I love it here', said an elated Carty.

Carty captured her first individual title at the Summit League Championship in April and had confidence going into the tournament, adding 'I knew what to expect. It was my third appearance at the Championship and Denver were the highest ranked team there. I had a good chance of winning it and managed to do that'.

Recent Results (2015 & 2016)
Date	Tournament	Venue	Position
April 2016	Summit League Championship	Arbor Links	1^st
April 2016	PING/ASU Invitational	ASU Karsten	38^th
October 2015	Ron Moore Women's Invitational	Highlands Ranch	R1: 66 (-6)
June 2015	Irish Women's Close Championship	Rosapenna	Last 8
June 2015	British Ladies Amateur Championship	Portstewart	Last 64

Most US college golfers want to turn pro and try to make it on tour, but Carty doesn't see that in her future. 'The ambition is to become a division one coach. I thought about playing for a long time but we practice as a team on a daily basis and my teammates often ask for my advice. I think coaching is the route I want to go down,' she commented.

She will be due home soon for the summer and plans to work on her swing and play as much Links golf as possible, adding 'In the US during the season you can't really make major swing changes so I will be spending a lot of time with Stephen Crooks, the PGA pro at Holywood Golf Club and try to work on a few things.

Keeping it simple and focused, Carty has one goal for the rest of the year, 'I want to make the Irish team. I haven't played Home Internationals for a few years because I have always been back in the US but they are earlier this year, so that's the focus.'

Upcoming Schedule *Depending on Team Selection
June	July	August
British Women's Amateur Championship	European Team Championships (selected)	* Home International Matches