The IX: Golf Thursday with Carly Grenfell, January 24, 2019
By The IX Team
How I fell in love with golf—Interview with Mel Reid—must-click women's golf links
How I fell in love with golf
If you would have told me five years ago I’d be working in golf, I would have told you, “not a chance.”
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I am a retired college basketball player (Drake University) and hoop head through and through. Three years ago, I could have counted on one hand how many times I ever touched a golf club. But with a summer I needed to fill in between my first and second years of graduate school at Northern Arizona, I applied for an internship at the LPGA. I got it. I had an invaluable experience and met some incredibly awesome people. Fast forward three years and I work with some of those same people, now at the PGA of America.
My job is in digital and social media at the PGA. In just over a year’s time, I’ve caught the golf bug and I blame that on a couple of things. First off, if you’re playing, you can’t ever perfect it. That’s what makes it challenging. The challenge is what makes it fun to me.
And secondly, for too long, golf has been a man’s game. I absolutely love that the sky’s the limit when it comes to bringing more women into the golf industry and the game itself.
I’m here because I want to share all of the new and noteworthy happenings in women’s golf. But even more than that, I want to invite you and welcome you into a world and industry that I didn’t know, understand or even relate to until a few years ago. Golf often gets categorized as expensive, time consuming, intimidating and boring. But if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that it is a game for everyone.
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This Week in Women’s Golf
Eun Hee Ji wins the LPGA season opener.
Prediction: a Korda or Jutanugarn sister, or both, will win a major this year.
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan is on a mission to make the LPGA Tour bigger and better.
The gender gap is still there in women’s golf, but Mike Whan wants to fix it.
The future of women’s golf, via Beth Bethel.
The inaugural Augusta National Women’s amateur field list is here.
LPGA invests in shot-tracking system in anticipation of legalized sports gambling.
Tweet of the Week
Five at the IX: Mel Reid
LPGA Player Mel Reid lost her LPGA card last season, but finished fifth at Q-Series this past October and November to regain her professional status. She’ll compete in her first 2019 event in Australia in February. Here’s what she’s been up to and how she’s been preparing for another year on tour.
Carly Grenfell: You recently went through Q-school to regain your status on the LPGA Tour. What was that experience like and how do you think it’s prepared you for the upcoming season?
Mel Reid: Obviously it’s never nice having to go back to Q-school, but it was probably one of the best things that happened to me. It made me reflect on a lot of things in my life and forced me to make some changes. I don’t want to ever put myself in that position again, so I decided to move over to Jupiter, Florida from England so I could put a lot more of my focus on my game. I have now had the best offseason preparation in my career. I’m hoping all that hard work is going to pay off early in the season and set me up for a much better season as a whole.
Carly Grenfell: You said in a recent social media post that it’s going to be a year of change for you. What are some of those changes and how have they helped you?
Mel Reid: Well, I moved to Jupiter, sold my house at home, came out of a serious relationship and changed my equipment. So yeah, there have been a lot of changes, but I feel all of them have been extremely positive for me and I haven’t been this happy about things for a long time.
Carly Grenfell: What has your offseason looked like?
Mel Reid: Well, I’ve been working with my coach Jorge Parada closely as he is only up in New York. Since moving, I’ve realized how hard my life was from a training point of view in England. Being in Jupiter, the weather is perfect, so I’m able to put the hours in required to make the changes we want to make in my swing to give me a good foundation for the year.
Carly Grenfell: What are some of your goals for 2019, inside and outside of golf?
Mel Reid: Certainly one of my goals for golf is to win out on the LPGA. The competition is tough out there and the girls are getting stronger and better every year. I want to be playing well in big events and be in contention a lot more than I have been. It’s also a Solheim Cup year, and everybody knows how much I thrive and enjoy that. That’s definitely on my radar too. Off the course, I’m happy to let things develop the way they are meant to, but I’ve settled in very well down here and I’m loving my life off course right now.
Carly Grenfell: If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be and why?
Mel Reid: Great question! It would have to be the Queen. She’s a total legend. The people she has met, the athletes she has met, the leaders she has me; she has reigned through wars and depressions—and I just think it would be great to hear her stories and philosophy on life.
