Ladies Golf Lifestyle Magazine

LadiesGolfLifestyle

Today’s Magazine For the discerning lady golfer

ISSUE 4 \ September 2019

Special Feature

Costa del Sol development golf opportunities for the aspiring lady professional

Special AIG Woman's British Open Edition

Lifestyle section featuring Fashion & Jewellery trends

The Vestis Tour Ladies behind the tour NDR Elite

Sports Sports Eyewear Eyewear

Exclusive Interview

Ela Clark, World Golf Awards Host

The Interview

‘Regular Feature’ with Female Tour Professionals

Fitness & Coaching Tips

Editor’s Welcome Notes Ladies Golf Lifestyle Magazine For today’s discerning lady golfers

W

elcome to the first issue of our all new magazine incorporating our diverse features with new innovative editorial from the great team of contributors joining us.

In our continued commitment to support grassroots ladies golf & elite tour professional’s events, we will be announcing some great sponsorship initiatives for development golf in the Costa del Sol this winter with LET event sponsorship planned for 2020/21.

We have some amazing content for the first quarter’s editorial features & interviews from lady golfers across all spectrums of the golfing world.

Editorial will include destination golf across Europe, luxury golf & spa resorts, fashion, latest trends, coverage of European Tour events, player’s interviews amongst more diverse lifestyle’s features.

Lisa & I have a combined passion to continually evolve the magazine to be the quintessential lifestyle magazine for lady golfers.

We are looking forward to delivering a next generation publication for our valued readers.

LadiesGoLfLifestyle

Today’s Magazine For The discerning lady golFer

David is a member of the International Travel Writers Alliance.

EDITOR & FOUNDER DAVID J NICHOLSON

ISSUE 4 \ SEptEmbEr 2019

Special Feature

costa del sol development golf opportunities for the aspiring lady professional

speciaL aiG Woman's British open edition

liFeStyle Section Featuring Featuring Fashion & Jewellery trends

Lisa and David

The Vestis Tour Ladies behind the tour

CONTRIBUTORS LISA NICHOLSON NATALIE TURNER

ndr eLite

sports eyewear

Exclusive Interview

ela clark,

DESIGNER TEODORA NIKOLOV

World golF aWardS HoSt The Interview

‘RegulaR FeatuRe’ with Female touR PRoFessionals

Fitness & CoaChing tips

CONTACT MEDIA@LADIESGOLFLIFESTYLE.COM HTTPS://LADIESGOLFLIFESTYLE.COM

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LadiesGolfLifestyle

Contents

ISSUE 4 \ September 2019

INTERVIEWS

ELA CLARK - WORLD GOLF AWARDS HOST KELLY DE CASTELLA - VESTIS TOUR ELIZABETH ESTERL FROM E2 APPAREL

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FEATURES

HENRY COOPER JUNIOR MASTERS 2019 SPECIAL FEATURE ON FRENCH WINE AIG 2019 WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN The Solheim Cup

DESTINATIONS BRESCIA GOLF, ITALY

LIFESTYLE

PHYSIO GOLF MARBELLA PGA PROFESSIONAL HANNAH BOWEN MICHEL MARTINS PHOTOGRAPHY

FASHION

FLAME INTERNATIONAL FASHION & ART FESTIVAL 2019 Manchester Fashionistas

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Destination Feature

Franciacorte Golf Club Brescia, Italy

The Wine Golf Club

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BY David J Nicholson

his scenic golf course is just one hour East of Milan situated in between the UNESCO listed cities of Brescia & Bergamo.

Franciacorte is a region synonymous in cultural significance & fine wine production.

Situated south of Lake Iseo on the botanic hills approximately 185 metres above sea level the scenery is truly breathtaking.

Franciacorte is one of 4 courses in the collaboration in the region known as ‘The Historical Italian Golf Clubs’ which make this an ever growing popular destination for the discerning lady golfers.

The golf club was inaugurated in 1986 with three 9 hole golf courses designed by Pete Dye & Marco Croze named in keeping with the wine heritage, Brut, Saten & Rosé.

The courses are perfectly conceived, technically

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demanding, requiring accuracy & distance control complimented by quick greens, strategically placed bunkers as well it's natural water hazards .

It's breathtaking scenery from the small forests, lake Iseo & surrounding vineyards make this a truly unique experience.

The region’s wine heritage dates back to the 16th century although records show the 1st bottle was produced in 1961 at the largest of the wineries, Guido Berlucchi.

Over 1000 hectares produce the quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc creating Italy’s premier sparkling wine.

Awarded DOCG Status, the highest level of Italian wine classification, it makes wine tasting experiences after golf an essential part of the visit!

Destination Feature l Culture & group experiences are in abundance in this historic region to compliment this unique golf experience l Bergamo is truly spectacular with the old higher city complimented by a visit to the bustling modern lower city or Citta Basa, as it's known locally. l A visit to the highly acclaimed, Accademia Carrara museum & art gallery with the masterpiece by Andrea Mantega is another recommended visit. l Other recommendations are an excursion to the Island of Loreto taking in the classical outdoor concert, or cooking classes at Trattoria del Gallo in Rovato, a historic trattoria in the heart of Franciacorte. l Retail therapy at the Fashion outlet Village of Rodengo Saiano is popular with international brands & exclusive boutiques. l Lake Iseo offers another insight into the regions history with the home of the ‘Riva’ luxury speedboat sadly the last production was in1996. l Built on the shores of lake Iseo, the design of Pietro, Serafrim & Carlos Riva, this iconic speedboat lives on to feel that breathtaking moment speeding across the lake in the Riva Aquarama. l Or relax on the historical traditional sailing boat, sipping a cocktail & watching the beautiful sunsets. l No visit is complete without visiting the impressive Dispensa Pane e Vini, a fine dining restaurant, wine bar, modern osteria & enoteca to enjoy the finest local cuisine and award winning wines.

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Feature

The Vestis Tour

Exclusive Interview with Kelly De Castella

BY David & Lisa Nicholson

T

he Vestis Tour is in it’s second year & going from strength to strength with friendly monthly competitive events across Surrey.

Behind the impressive fund raising by the tour's founders Simon & Kelly in memory of Simon’s late father cruelly taken by Prostate Cancer with regular Hole in One challenge & ‘Beat the Pro’ fund raising.

We spent time looking at the team behind the scenes finding out the great work before, during & after to make the tour as close to a professional tournament experience for the amateurs.

Kelly gives up her time, working & juggling her young family commitments at each event always with a friendly smile!

So we wanted to find out more about future plans, her love of golf & what really happens to make the tour as popular as it’s becoming!

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Feature

Q&A

How do find the time to spend the hours required to keep the order of merit & social media to keep the player’s updated?

- Honestly I find the time from the love of the tour. It is such an amazing event to be part of and something I am incredibly proud of so it may be a juggle and sometimes some very late nights but its totally worth it.

It’s great seeing ladies joining the men at the last few events, can you see this expanding?

- I really hope so. The more ladies that come and play, the more that word should spread. We always wanted to create a completely inclusive tour that welcomes absolutely everyone. Women and men playing together on equal playing fields is fantastic and so exciting to watch. My mission for next season is to boost our lady numbers and really try and promote ladies golf.

Hopefully I will be out there on the course playing with them next year!

Who else is also involved in helping you?

We are very lucky that we have a great team of volunteers around us that give up their time to help on the day, assist with social media and book golf clubs. We really couldn't do it without them. We also have our fabulous sponsors and affiliates that mean that we can provide unbelievable prizes which essentially drawers in more players. We also have the amazing team from Prostate Cancer UK who have supported us from the very first event and continue to help us grow.

You are also having lessons with Nick George, the Tour’s resident coach, how are the lessons going?

- Time restrictions have meant that I haven't been able to see Nick for a while which is frustrating as I was making great progress with him. Nick is such an amazing coach and we are so lucky to have him affiliated with the tour. My aim is to get back with him and get back on track to hopefully play in a Vestis Golf Tour event next year.

Simon is committed to continuing to expand the Tour’s appeal to the ladies, can you see a lady winning soon?

- Absolutely!! The great thing about the Tour and Golf in general is that men and women can play together on a

totally even playing field. I cant wait for more women to join and start taking the trophies! Its only a matter of time in my eyes.

What have been your funniest moments at the events.

- Alot of the funny moments happen on the first tee box. As an amateour tour we are unique in the sense that we announce every player before their first tee shot.

This can be extremely nerve racking and even the pros have been known to have an air shot or two in these circumstances. The atmosphere and comradery now between the members means its only ever supportive laughter and banter between them all. We have been really lucky with the community that has arisen from the tour and we spend most of the events having a great laugh with them.

It’s great seeing your kids, Rosie and Lola at the event at Milford earlier in the year. Will you be encouraging them to take up golf as they get older?

- Rose is 5 in October and is already having casual lessons with Simon. We dont want to do too much too soon and her end up finding it a chore but so far she wants to go to the driving range every day. She is showing amazing potential so fingers crossed.Our dream would be they both take it up in a serious way.

Ultimately we need to get more young girls interested from when they are very young as they are the future of womens golf.

It’s a great atmosphere at the events, how can Sponsors get involved?

- Come on down to an event and have a look first hand as to what we have created. This would give sponsors a good insight into the course set up and the target audience that we have. We can also show them the extensive social media promotions we do for sponsors. The sponsorship options are endless and we can discuss this with anyone should they wish to get involved. Sponsorship is what keeps the tour going, creates such a buzz about the tour and ultimately means more money can be raised for Prostate Cancer UK. For any sponsorship enquiries please email simondecastella@gmail.com

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Feature

Introducing Hannah Bowen

PGA Professional from Wales

BY David J Nicholson

H

annah has just finished Pre Qualifying for the AIG Woman's British Open & although she didn't qualify remains determined to reach the highest level in Ladies Golf.

As well as being a respected coach, she has recently started modeling in her spare time to subsidise her costs to travel & enter tournaments.

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She epitomises the dedication of a modern young lady professional determined to empower the ladies game with a positive outlook & keen to enhance the evolving fashion now becoming available to them.

We will be following her journey through the magazine & providing opportunities to her for more events in the winter in the Costa del Sol.

Q&A

Feature

Hobbies & ladies professionals that have inspired you?

- I am so busy with being a golf professional it becomes difficult to fit in extra hobbies. Being a professional there are so many different roles you have to be, you have to fit in time to do them all and be the heart of the golf club from a salesperson, player, coach, club-fitter and much more.

I have a job as a model in my spare time to help earn money to help pay for travelling for golf tournaments, and I love it because I get to dress up and be girly and have my makeup and hair done.

When I do have any spare time I do anything that will help me in my golf, so I currently have personal training in the gym to help gain strength. I also do a balance class to help with flexibility and a Twerk class to help with general fitness.

Really probably one of my only lady golfer inspirations was Catriona Matthew, although growing up I didn’t watch a lot of golf, even now it’s not the choice of TV especially if I had to chose between that and Love Island ha ha.

I really want to always be my own inspiration, and hopefully inspire others one day. I want to look at what my goals are and the person I want to be in 10 years time and be inspired to be that person. It’s about looking at myself and being proud and happy with what I have achieved and never comparing my accomplishments with anyone else’s.

How did you get into golf?

- As a youngster I was a joiner, I would be part of all sorts of clubs from football to book club. I wasn’t the most naturally gifted at sport, but when I tried golf I noticed I had a bit more of a natural ability for it. The beauty of the game is no matter what ability you are, because of the handicap system anyone can compete. It also helped me being a self paced individual sport, you can work hard and learn it.

Your early experience?

- When I started playing golf I was a member of a local course called ‘Royal’ Glynneath and I loved it there!

Everyone was supportive and laid back and made it easy for me to love golf. One lady from that club Evelyn her name was, I have to thank for all her help with taking me out to play and getting me my first ever handicap at 14 years old.

However sadly as I was getting a little older the ladies section was sadly dying out, which meant I had to move to another club called Neath. This club was still a very old fashioned club and hadn’t moved forward with the times and ways to make golf more appealing for youngsters. So being a young female golfer my time there was made a tad more difficult. Even now working in the golf industry it’s still very evident that golf is still a male dominated sport, although I’m doing everything I can to change that! My parents and sisters were incredibly supportive with driving me to tournaments and taking me to practice, even driving me to work when I had my first professional job.

I couldn’t be more thankful to them. I remember when I qualified for the Junior European Open my sister Sam came with me and really did everything she could to help me play well (that even involved being a Human Buckeroo

when our golf buggy broke down). My dad was really amazing when growing up, he didn’t play golf in fact no one in my family did, but he took an interest in the game because I was playing it. He gave up lots of free time to take me to the local golf club for practice and tournament all over the country. I remember he used to work a night shift, take me to a tournament, walk the 4 hour round with me, have a little nap before the prize presentation, then go and work another night shift. My mam didn’t drive so she didn’t make it to many of my tournaments but

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Feature when she was there she was always extremely supportive, it was lovely to have her on my bag. She always got me prepared for the tournament and helped with picking what to wear for the event. She’s like my fashion guru!

While doing my PGA training to become a fully qualified professional I did have ups and downs and occasionally I lacked confidence but my boss Lewis and my work college Lloyd had faith in me and supported me all the way. I loved every event I entered I meet so many incredible people. I had the honour to caddy for Mrs Brown’s Boys star Jenny Gibney, throughout my whole career she has been so supportive by following my progress, so it’s a fantastic feeling to know I made another friend for life.

First tournament experience?

- My first ever tournament experience was a 9 hole competition in a section called South Wales Girls. I had so much fun although I was very nervous I won the event that day.

My first ever big Amateur tournament experience was when I qualified tor the Junior European Open in Spain.

That tournament really was the tournament which made me sure I wanted to one day turn pro. I’m actually going to be at the Event this year as a volunteer to make sure the girls are all ok during the event, and give them any advice I can that can hopefully help.

I have played so many professional tournaments over the last four years I can’t even remember my first event, but I love every event I enter (even when the travelling there doesn’t go to plan) and relish the opportunity to do well. I haven’t yet won a ladies event, but I have been close and I feel my game is in good nick, so I feel a win coming on. Every dog has it’s day, so I just have to sit back and keep plodding along and hopefully soon it will be my day!

Current plans?

- I don’t know what the future holds, but I have a lot of plans and dreams that I would love to do.

I love playing and have open Pre-qualifying in July, so I look forward to playing in that. I have around 4 WPGA events left to play, but I am currently 5th in the OOM, if I stay top 6 I will get into a big LETAS tour event called the PGA Cup. But with so many events left anything could happen, wish me luck!

I would love to run my own coaching clinics, I teach loads at my current club from beginners to elite players, from 4 years old to 80 years old. I am also an Ambassador for the golf union of Wales, and a fully qualified inclusive coach. Working with children and adults who have a variety of disabilities can be challenging, but the most rewarding work I do.

I do corporate events for a company called European Golf Challenge and they specialise in bringing a unique, modern and fun approach to golf events. They offer a 'Beat the Pro' ladies challenge. Plus a complimentary Chaka Travel Hole in One Challenge where you can win a 5* holiday to Mauritius.

I love fashion and so would love to be involved with designing a golf brand or adding to golf brands that already exist. If you can imagine being a full time player I know what is practical for golf, but I also want it to be stylish.

I love talking also so if I got the opportunity I’d love to be a commentator for sports, golf in particular.

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Photography Chloe Mary Photography https:// chloemaryphotography.co.uk Jewellery Sam Ryde www.samryde.co.uk Make Up Sarah Water Aesthetics Instagram @sarahwateraesthics

Do you feel that more tournaments should be available for young female professionals?

- I would love these to be more events, and cheaper events to enter. We have an annual WPGA meeting every year and discuss the same things about wanting more events, with a bigger prize fund, however with the lack of sponsors it looks most unlikely.

When you look ladies professional golf in comparison to men’s it’s evident that it’s still a man's world we live in, although lady golfers all over the world are trying our best to change the perception of the game.

Would you welcome more brand support for young professionals ie equipment, Under Armour apparel etc & have you received support from any brands?

- 100%, sponsorship and brand endorsement is so important. I haven’t signed a contract for sponsorship with any companies although I would jump at the chance to. However being a fully qualified PGA professional I do get equipment with a % off trade discount. I was incredibly lucky that our callaway brand rep gave me my Stroke Lab putter for free this year and I love it! It’s definitely improving my putting. I have also had money off trade for my ping driver and Ping & Titleist irons, I have our local reps to thank.

I feel it’s important to feel like you look good on the course, so by looking good and feeling good, you should hopefully play good too! Clothing wise, I have received clothing off Loudmouth Golf and I love how quirky and different their style is. I have also been lucky enough to get some underarmour gear given to me by our local rep, which I love wearing. I am also so excited for some good weather so I can get some Sweet Sandals golf sandals out because they are so fun and flirty and can really help improve my embarrassing golf tan! So we are striking a deal to help promote their gear. As part of European Golf Challenge we have received very generous clothing from Cross sportswear and I absolutely love their stuff especially the pink bomber jacket, it has to be my favourite.

Photography

Introducing Michel Martin

Sports Photographer in the Costa del Sol

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BY David J Nicholson

e caught up with Michel after his recent accreditation to cover the European Tour, Estrella Damm N.A Andalucia Masters at the Real Club Valderamma.

Michel’s passion for photography started 12 year’s ago covering diverse male & female sports from extreme sports to golf, cycling & paddle tennis.

Currently living in the Costa del Sol, Michel covers events in the region but plans to extend his work across Spain in 2020.

As well as golf events, he also works with professional golfers in the Costa del Sol on individual photoshoots.

He covered Noemi Jimenez’s win on the inaugural AGP Costa del Sol professional tournament.

To find out more about his work and availability, please visit his website www.michelmartinpics.com.

He has kindly provided us with these excellent images of his work.

When did you start getting into photography?

- I always liked sports photography and photographing all the sports I practiced. I started doing it more seriously about 12 years ago.

Photographing mostly extreme sports.

We understand that you also cover other sports does this include ladies sports?

- Yes, I try to cover any sport, whether extreme or not. Surfing, skateboarding, wakeboarding, golf, paddle, cycling, ... And of course I include women's sport in any discipline I photograph. I would not understand a sport without women practicing it.

Are you looking at covering more professional tour events in Spain?

- Of course, I would like to cover all possible professional events in Spain, never forgetting amateur sports. I currently live on "La Costa del Sol” (Malaga) and cover upcoming events but I hope to cover the event all over Spain very soon.

Do you work with individual golfers for photoshoots for their websites?

- Yes, I have worked with some professional Malaga golfers. I really like the photo sessions without the pressure of the competition, they are much more fun and you can get very spectacular images.

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Feature

Ela Clark, World Golf Awards Host

BY David J Nicholson

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la is a good friend of the magazine, having worked on our fashion show for the magazine's launch in 2012. Since then she has become the host of the prestigious World Golf Awards for the last 4 years.

Currently playing off a handicap of 20, she practises on the Western Algarve courses where she grew up.

Ela's journey to co hosting the World Golf Awards.

- The World Golf Awards are basically your Oscars of the golf industry. I was born in Devon and brought up in the Algarve, attended 9 schools in 4 languages and 3 countries. I spoke 4 languages by the age of 12, was a keen sportswoman and returned to the UK to pursue a career as an actor age 18. I was awarded a 3 year scholarship to the Academy of Live & Recorded Arts, London, where any inhibitions on stage or in front of the screen were well and truly eradicated. It was a great environment for self discovery and character building.

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I had always been a lover of sports and athletics.

I was nominated Head girl and sportswoman of the year at my secondary school and offered a sports scholarship for my running ability and representing the school. (The Porsches International School of the Algarve – now known as Nobel). I went on to qualify as a personal trainer in order to share my love of sport / training as I thought it would also work well alongside acting auditions. I also took up learning to fly light aircraft, loved equestrian sports and had a beautiful horse for 7 years whom I rescued and competed with.

In my mid 20s I got involved with radio and was then approached to host events. A television presenter had to drop out last minute for The World Travel Awards, (The Oscars of the travel industry) and I received a call less than 2 days before the event, asking if I could step in.. they liked my international and multi-lingual background and thought I would fit the gig well..

Feature

Ela with co host Steve Ryder

Selfie time WGA 2017 with Poland's best golf course winner

the hardest part was finding the dress in time! I had to bend the dress code a little, pulled it off by the skin of my teeth and couldn’t believe it when I was asked back the following year!

I was later asked to host The World Spa Awards, The World Ski Awards and then in 2014 The World Golf Awards alongside Steve Rider, British sports television presenter. This year will be our 5th year hosting together, he’s a true gentleman and a pleasure to share the stage with. Again they liked my international background as well as my love of sport.

It was in 2014 when asked to host the first WGA that I realised I needed to pick up on my game and put the time in! I’m still working on it… but as everyone knows

Q&A

Who introduced you into golf?

- Friends and keen golfers gave me my first set of clubs at age 29, I had a couple of lessons then but I didn’t really start to put in any time until I was 35!

Having the scenic golf courses of the Algarve where you live, which are your favourite golf courses?

Ela hosting WTA 2012

you have to be in it to win it and if I take a break at any time, my handicap really pays for it but I’ve realised that yes I love playing golf but there are so many other things I enjoy in life.. so it’s a balance of putting in just enough practice to still enjoy the game but being able to have time to enjoy other things in life too  (Having said that, I can be known to have tunnel vision when it comes to competing in a sport and had I started playing as a child, I think I would have grabbed hold of any opportunity to have gone pro, jumped at every chance to compete, travelled the world meeting talented and interesting people from all walks of life and then perhaps taken up other hobbies later on in life…)

For information on her media & hosting availability please contact elaclarkmedia@gmail.com

- I really enjoyed playing at Sandy Lane – Green Monkey Golf Course, Barbados. The greens were beautifully maintained, the views spectacular and the caddy was brilliant! There are also top golf courses found closer to where I was brought up, ie Quinta do Lago South Course, which was awarded Best Golf Course in 2017.

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Feature

Teeing off at Green Monkey

Interviewing at the World Kids for Sky Sports.

Who is your favourite ladies apparel designer?

- I guess it would be Nike really, as I find their skorts fit my shape the best; I have a fairly small waist which is tricky when it comes to fitting clothes! Nike womenswear in general is pretty good. I do however like my classic Callaway shoes… timeless! So I guess I go for a mix of modern and classic.

What are your favourite funniest memories presenting the World Golf Awards?

- I have to say I always laugh the most when Peter Allis takes hold of the mic as a guest presenter… never a dull moment! (Peter Allis; English professional golfer, television presenter and commentator, author and golf course designer. He has been regarded by many as the "Voice of golf ").

What are your future media plans?

- I’m hosting in Abu Dhabi this year at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, so I’m looking forward to getting out on the course and after that who knows what 2020 will bring 

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Ela teeing off at La Manga for WGA Pro Am

Ladies Golf Lifestyle Magazine will be hosting ladies Pro Am events in the future, who would be in your fantasy Pro Am team?

- Oohhh my fantasy Pro-Am team… well first of all there are so many great players out there today that I would be delighted to play with any of the pros, as I know I would learn from all of them! But I suppose if I had to choose, it would perhaps be… Paula Creamer.. her amazing putt at the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in 2014 still baffles me to this day! Rebecca Hudson, 4 times LET champion, talented pro and lovely person to be out on the course with  Cristie Kerr, an absolute legend.. against all odds came out triumphant! Charley Hull, because she is a very young competitor and it’s interesting to also learn from the younger players because their game has developed through more recently discovered techniques / knowledge from the start which is interesting to compare with the earlier players’ game. Plus Karie Webb, Mi Huyn Kim and Minjee Lee. I’m 5’6 and fairly petit, so I also like to learn from players who are a similar height and build, to see how I can gain more distance with my driver and be able to compete against taller and physically stronger players.

Feature

Introducing James Bargeron from

Golfing Minds

BY David J Nicholson

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e are delighted to welcome James on board who over the forthcoming issues will be offering a fascinating insight into his work & offering valuable reference for our aspiring amateurs & tour professionals.

He is highly respected as a leading figure in his field with a wealth of experience working in the UK & USA where his daughter, Sophie, progressed through the USA college golf programme.

Having worked with corporate clients, junior, college, aspiring amateurs & professional golfers we are looking forward to hearing more about his methods and benefits to our readers.

James has written for a broad spectrum of golf magazine’s including Inside Golf Magazine in Australia, Golf Business Magazine & Surrey Golf Magazine’s Summer issue.

I spoke to him to find out more about his passion and relevance in today’s golf coaching methods to reach a player’s true potential.

Q&A

How did you become involved in Golfing Minds?

- I’ve been involved in coaching and training high performers for a number of years and saw the lack of opportunities for golfers to improve such an important part of their game. We spent some time watching our daughter play college golf in the States and it was very apparent those who stood out and won tournaments, were those who had a strong mental game and mindset as well as a being good players. We also saw the destructive side wherein players crumbled under the pressure, especially when their coaches didn’t support them, which was difficult to see. I decided to combine work with something I love doing: golf and helping people.

Can you give a brief introduction into your work?

- Golf is both a physical and a mental game, but the mental side controls everything. We help golfers improve their performance by improving their mental strength, resilience and mindset, which basically means developing strategies and processes so they are less affected by internal and external interference, so they can perform under pressure.

Having worked in the USA and the UK, what differences are there for amateurs and professionals in embracing this as part of their coaching from each country?

- There’s certainly more awareness in this area in the States, but there’s still a long way to go. The higher up in the game you go, the more available it is and people understand the need for it. I believe what is really needed is to develop mental strength at the junior level, so players have it as part of the armoury instead of merely hoping they will be able to handle the challenges the game throws at them.

With several high profile players experiencing very public problems, will this help focus aspiring professionals that this coaching is essential for their progression?

- I certainly hope so. The more awareness we bring to it the better it will be. It’s all about education.

Thomas Bjorn’s recent book ‘Mind Game’ certainly highlights the challenges professional golfers face and the more prepared golfers are, the better chances of success they will have.

You are currently working with a local Surrey golf club, can you explain the role you are involved with?

- It’s in the early stages, so it’s early days yet. We’re putting together a plan to overhaul the junior section to bring in the mental side of the game to compliment the work the young

golfers do on the range and golf course, so they are better thinkers and better golfers.

What advice would you give to our lady golfers who are experiencing mind set issues in competition golf?

1. The main thing is to have fun.

We all started out playing the game for fun, but very often the pressure to win at all costs takes over from the enjoyment and adversely affects our game.

2. Stay calm. Getting uptight only adversely affects your performance.

3. Play within yourself. It’s easy to get carried away and start chasing scores which usually ends up causing problems.

How can development/satellite tours help to improve awareness of this coaching to their players.

- Good question. It’s all about education and awareness, though I’m not sure it’s just their responsibility.

Ultimately, it lies with the player.

They have to decide if they want to improve and be the best they can be, not just spend hour after hour at the range.

Workshops are a great way to highlight the challenges and how to improve.

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Feature

AIG Women's British Open 4 Page Special Feature Historical win

by Hinako Shibuno, only 2nd Japanese Woman Major Winner

Full report from inside the tournament & spectator experience

Amazing atmosphere with the professionals engaging with the large crowds

Shibuno, Salas, Jin-Young, Pressel & Buhai all in thrilling finish

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Local Favourite Hull comes up just short

Feature

Fairytale Finish at Woburn

Hinako Shibuno wins AIG Women's British Open

BY David J Nicholson

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fter a build up of a misplaced passport, delayed golf club delivery & a stolen trophy, it wasn’t the stories I expected in the build up to the week.

The engaging Japanese young lady playing in her first tour event outside Japan had aspirations of making the cut, well she carded a final round 68 including 5 birdies to win by one shot.

Home favourite Charley Hull sadly fell by the wayside with a final round of 76 to finish 24th.

Defending champion Georgia Hall & Bronte Law both had disappointing days, particularly after Bronte’s impressive first 54 holes bogey free ending up joint 35th.

Japan’s 42 year wait for another major winner following Hisako Higuchi in 1977 at the LPGA Championship was warmly received by the large crowds for the final day.

Aptly her nickname of the ‘Smiling Cinderella’ was all to evident as she happily engaged with spectators taking ‘selfies’ as she made her way to the first hole.

Even as she was making a brave attempt on her winner’s speech in English she again broke into giggles, she certainly left her mark on all who witnessed a fantastic finish to a great major.

Second place was American Lizette Salas who pushed her all the way with a stunning 65, if only that short 8ft birdie putt had dropped on the final green!

Speaking to many of the Korean fans you felt their passion hoping World no 1 Ko Jin-Young (eventually finishing 3rd) would add to her impressive 2 previous majors this year.

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Dan Vestis Tour

LadiesGolfLifestyle Ladies Golf Lifestyle Magazine

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Ladies Golf Lifestyle Magazine

Feature

E2

by Elizabeth Esterl

W

BY David J Nicholson

e caught up with Elisabeth & her partner, Neil to find out how the brand came about & the transition from European Ladies Tour Professional to the successful brand owner of E2 golf apparel.

This is a story of determination & evolving a passion into a career after a successful career at the highest level in ladies golf.

Elisabeth is an inspirational lady & is very passionate about her charity work for the Ladies for Ladies Breast Cancer Charity based in Switzerland for which she has been an ambassador for the last 5 years with 4 events per year this has so far raised more than 100K Euros, something which Elisabeth is very proud to be a part of.

Q&A

What was your journey to turning Professional?

- I was one of Germany's very first lady golf pros to be successful on the Ladies European Tour. It was never my intention to turn professional but my amateur career was so good that I was asked to play in the Hennessy Cup which at that time was held in Cologne, Germany, but I was told that I could only play on the condition that I turned professional, and so I did! That was the simple start of my pro career.

Can you give us a brief history on your LET career?

- Success came quite easily because I was very relaxed about it and very soon I started to feel comfortable on Tour and I won both the Tenerife Open and the Dutch Open. I

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am also fortunate to have played on the winning Solheim Cup team against America which was held in Sweden in 2003. I was a traveling reserve for the match in Minnesota in 2002 and that made me even more determined to qualify for the next match.

At the end of the 2004 season I went to Florida to the David Leadbetter Academy to work on my game over the winter ready for the forthcoming season. Unfortunately something happened that winter which change the way that I played the game. I am still not entirely sure what happened but in 2005 I struggled to even break 80 in the first few events back on tour.

I did win in Holland in 2004 which gave me an exemption for several more years but it wasn’t the same after 2005. Sadly something happened to my confidence and I was never really the same player again as I was in 2003/4. Sometimes it’s good to work to improve but what I learned is that patience is key. Nobody wins all the time and it’s more about creating some stability in your technique and not necessarily about rushing to change things that already work well.

How did your passion for apparel begin?

- My dress style was very extravagant when I was on Tour and at that time it was particularly well received in the events that I played in America. Like many Tour players who struggle with their form I wasn't really sure what I was going to do at the end of my career which would inevitably come at some point. Sadly, most former tour players end

Feature up on driving ranges coaching club members. This was something that Neil & I talked through to as we felt that I deserved far more than to stand watching other golfers day in and day out for relatively little financial return. Neil did this for many years and could only advise me against it as a career move. As a person I really like to help people but I wanted more for myself than that and clothing has always interested me.

How did you meet Neil & start the brand?

- I met Neil through a mutual friend at the Dubai Ladies Masters in 2008 where he was working for a local golf distributor after he had decided to change career from a golf coach.

Neil had moved to the Emirates GC in Dubai in 1998 and stayed until 2003. He played in several European Tour events in that time and also won the UAEPGA Championship twice. It still was not enough to keep his interest in playing and coaching in Dubai and so he left and headed back to the UK hoping to land a Head Pros job as he had originally intended when he became and assistant pro. This didn’t happen and once again he ended up in Germany, you’ve guessed it, yes, teaching again!

Luckily he worked with Warren Jacklin the son of former Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin and they got on very well and still do but again, he decided to move to start his own academy. This time the club was close to Düsseldorf where he was tasked to try to create a golf academy using the existing pros at the club. This was a complete disaster and so in 2008 he just gave up!

He headed back to Dubai and luckily he landed a job with the local company who were distributing brands and also creating their own brand of golf wear.

The owner, who was an agent for other brands but also made his own designs in corporate golf shirts and sold them in the UAE. It was his ambition to enter the Pro Shop market instead of retailing only directly and he also had a dream to enter his brand into the UAE clubs and Neil was his way in through his contacts and he also had a strong urge to enter the European golf market.

The golf clothing market is extremely competitive as you will know and although his fabrics were ahead of their time, they weren't always very well accepted by the buyers in the local golf clubs. At that point Neil and I had been together for some time and he then made the suggestion to the owner that I should give some input and my name as a female golf professional to the ladies collection which we felt would be a very good way into the golf markets both locally and in Europe.

Using the fabrics that were in his stock already, which were plain and basic colours, I set about putting some designs together. The designs also although basic were quite well received and through some of the contacts that Neil already had made in Dubai we put the product into some of the local golf clubs.

The sales were surprisingly good although not huge and this gave us the incentive to pursue the Ladies Collection.

Unfortunately the boss of the company wasn't absolutely true to his word and my work was not rewarded financially but looking back this was a blessing in disguise!

Luckily Dubai is a very popular hub for many kinds of fabrics and textiles and this gave us the idea to do our own research and try and source some suitable fabrics for sampling. Perhaps we could even start our own line of golf wear!

At that time there was an American company, called Loudmouth who create very loud and bold printed designs and they had become increasingly popular due to the fact

that John Daly was under their sponsorship and was promoting the brand worldwide. It didn't seem to make much sense to us to produce something similar to Loudmouth and so we decided to start to create printed polo shirts instead of trousers & shorts.

Once we had found a suitable source of fabric we made contact with some of the local factories and had sample collections made. These were small in numbers but I began to wear them on the Ladies European Tour and soon the questions started to come. Who was this new brand?

Who were my apparel new sponsor?

Where could people get this new brand of golf wear products?

This showed us that there was a very strong potential market for the designs that we had put together.

Instead of creating 10 polo shirts as a sample collection we began to buy larger amounts of fabric and have them made into all kinds of different garments from jackets to polos to shorts and also some small amounts of men's clothing also in printed fabric.

What was your strategy to retail?

- Neil's idea was always to use the direct route to market which simply involves selling directly to clients and bypassing all of the problems associated with setting up meetings with Golf Clubs for Pro shop buyers who may or may not have the same taste as their clients and perhaps were not ready to take a risk with a new brand. It also worked easier for us financially at the start and we wanted a relatively stress free way to get going.

Many of the lady members at the clubs in Dubai were very helpful towards us and kindly allowed us to use their homes for venues to get some of our earliest products out to the market. For that we are still very grateful to them.

Our pricing strategy was always to keep things reasonable, simply because we wanted to try to see if the products would be accepted and we didn’t want to overprice.Luckily for us they were well accepted and pricing was never an issue.

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Feature

What's the history of the brand name E2?

- Our original brand name was DOT which stood for Designed on Tour. We stayed with this brand name until 2014 when I decided that I wasn't going to continue to play on the Ladies European Tour. This meant that the name didn't fit the brand anymore and we came up with a new idea and started to name the brand E2 which is taken from my initials of Elisabeth Esterl and this has now become our name.

Where are the products now produced?

- Since 2014 we have been living and working in the Algarve in the winter months and as soon as we could we started to make contacts in the northern region of Portugal to move all of our production back to Europe.

It took a lot of hard work, many visits and a lot of patience and stress to get things done but we are well on the way now to having a very reliable team around us who help us to get E2 to market.

We now create our own fabrics and choose the prints and colours and we have everything which has to do with E2 created in the region around about the beautiful city of Porto which we both love. It’s great to see how things have become more detailed as time has gone on and how we have been able to advance designs and specifications to create a constant improvement of existing products and a development of exciting new ones.

We have all of our fabrics made to our own specifications and we have them prepared for performance with such treatments as antibacterial, UV, soft feel and moisturewicking and we always make sure that our garments contain lots of stretch and that the fits are trendy but also comfortable. Year-for-year the demand for E2 is growing and although we are still only two people, we have more innovative ideas which we are very determined to turn into reality. So far 99% of the ideas that we have created have actually become a reality. None of this happens instantly and we know that things take time but slowly and surely and without taking too many unnecessary risks we are growing our brand.

We now have clients in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France the UK and also now in the USA. In the near future we will be trying to introduce the brand on a larger scale into the USA. How do you sell direct to the market?

- For the last three seasons we have been operating a mobile shop with which we travel to pre-organised events at many local Golf Club's and we also do private golf days.

For the last couple of seasons we used a large trailer in which we had all of our products. We towed it to the many various venues and people really liked and engaged the idea of the mobile store and so we decided to expand.

This season we have converted a large Iveco Van and

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we travel all over from event to event in it which is much easier. This year we will be at something like 50 to 60 events throughout Central Europe.

What are your future plans?

- We would like to work on growing the brand and currently we don’t sell to resellers nor do we work with pro shops, except for one local club who have always been exceptionally open and friendly towards us. We are working on some strategies to expand this. We are always keeping busy on social media and we operate a successful online store from our home in Bavaria, Germany.

We do absolutely everything ourselves and we have learned each step from the found up and this is a fact of which we are very proud. We know that there are no shortcuts to be taken and we have always been very careful to make educated decisions on how and where we market the company.

Although most people are advising us to grow faster than we would like to (it’s nice that they get so excited) and also in a way which would make us more stressed and less financially secure, we have agreed between us that we will grow at a pace that is comfortable to us. It’s important to keep the fun factor wherever possible and sometimes we see that quick growth is not always the best way.

As I said, in the future we would like to work together with some retailers and we are currently working on concepts for pro shops. We always like this to be based upon relationships with the shop owners and based upon their commitment to the E2 brand. We don’t want to be hung in a corner and hidden. For that we work too hard!

Sometimes it's very hard to know if all of the decisions that we are making the right decisions but I do feel that we have very good instincts and we are gaining more experience on a daily basis. We are absolutely certain that the brand will continue to grow and that the product lines will also continue to improve.

Much like the game of golf you never stop learning in the textile industry and this we enjoy the most. Both Neil and I are very competitive by nature which we feel is a distinct advantage in business. We know how to deal with ‘setbacks’ and still continue on and get the job done.

We are very lucky to have each other’s back, although it is not always easy to keep business and private lives separate, we do a pretty good job! The future is exciting and we are both working hard and beginning to involve other people with great skill sets to help us to grow.

Credit - LGLS are grateful to Neil Webb, Elisabeth's partner, helping to contribute to offer this unique insight into Elizabeth & E2 Apparel.

We are looking forward to more editorial from Elizabeth & Neil in future editions.

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