When Angela Tatt steps out to play the Australian Ladies Professional Golf tournament in late January, it will be with a far different mindset than that of her younger days.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Ballarat Golf Club professional has only returned to golf in the last two-and-a-half year, while only stepping back into competition over the past year with the odd tournament.
Tatt, a talented junior golfer, tried her luck at some of the top events around the country through her 20s, even travelling to America to attend a golf school.
But the intensity of the journey saw her step away from the game as she fell out of the love with golf.
What was initially planned to be a short stint off the course turned into seven years.
An offer to return to Ballarat Golf Club as its pro saw her take up that offer after a few days of thought and she is now rediscovering what drew her to the game all those years ago.
“I just mentally blew up with it, I just started hating the game,” Tatt said.
“I never felt like I had closed the book completely when I did walk away, it was always going to be a short period of time, but life gets busy...but I’m loving being back in the industry.”
When Tatt graces the course for the ALPG, among an impressive field, there will be no expectation to win, no pressure to perform, simply a want to find the enjoyment in the game.
“I’m not trying to get to play forever, but to play a handful of tournaments would be good and at the moment I’m just trying to get through my own personal battles with it. My only goal is to go out there and enjoy it...no pressure, I don’t go out there expecting to win.”
Tatt said she was loving working with players of all ages and abilities in her role as a club pro, while an ALPG event was something she had long wanted to see in Ballarat. Promoting the game to women is something she is passionate about and the feedback from last year’s inaugural tournament has been great.
“When I started at Ballarat (Golf Club) a couple of years ago I mentioned that we needed to try and get one of these ALPG events up and last year was a huge success.
“The support we’ve had from the club to try and boost it has been great. We’re always trying to push women in sport and gender equality at our club. What’s most satisfying is that the girls last year loved our tournament. They play a lot all over the world and to put ours up there as one of the best ones...that’s the part that’s most satisfying.”