FIPPA Newsletter - July 2007.
Welcome to this edition of the FIPPA Newsletter.
ESTHER NEWSUM - Dutch Ladies Champion.
Last November, I received an email from a young woman in Holland, asking me if there was a qualifying limit for playing in the Australian Triple Crown, which will be held later this year. This young woman, Esther Newsum, declared that she dearly wanted to travel to Australia to play in the event and even though her handicap at the time was 10, she believed she was steadily improving and was hoping that we would accept her entry.
I replied that we were delighted to have her enter the event and wished her well on her quest for improvement.
And thus began one of the fairy tale stories in the sport of Pitch and Putt as Esther improved dramatically and in late May this year she won the Dutch Ladies Strokeplay Championship in a tight finish from Joletta Ottens. FIPPA.NET recently interviewed Esther.
Q1. Hi Esther, Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested
in Pitch and Putt.
I'm 25 years old, living in a small town near Amsterdam. I'm a 1st year student in Medical Radiation Science, and also working in a hospital at the Radiology Department.
I became interested in Pitch and Putt about one year ago. I played Pitch and Putt once before, during a friendly competition between several golfers. I really liked it, but it wasn't really an option to go playing Pitch and Putt, as the courses aren't near my town. The nearest course is approx. 1 h driving. Last year, Joep van Mourik said to me that I could have a go and a try at the B-National Championships at Koekange. He saw me playing before at that friendly competition, and knew I liked the short game. So, in August, I played in that competition, and I ended 2nd. Soon after that, Karl Bergh, the coach of the ladies squad, asked me to come and have a training with the ladies. Since then, I'm seriously hooked to Pitch and Putt.
Q2. What course do you play from, and what club are you a remember of.
Since there's no club or course near my town, and the nearest course is about 1 h driving, I don't have a membership at a Pitch and Putt course. I'm a member of the NPPB, where all players are members of. That's it. For the rest, in the weekends, I try to go and play several courses.
Also, during the winterbreak, Papendal was open and I was a winter-member of Papendal.
Esther Newsum -Dutch Ladies Champion
Q3. What is your favourite course?
My favourite course, hard to say! I know Papendal very well at the moment, but I also do know Oostwold very well. I can't choose that well, and I haven't played all Dutch courses yet.
Q4. If you could play a round of Pitch and Putt with anyone in the world
who would you chose and why?
This is a very difficult question! I just got into the Pitch and Putt world, and I don't know which players are extremely good. I know that the Irish are excellent players, and I'd like to go to Ireland some day and have some trainings with excellent Irish players.
Q5. You are coming to Australia for the Triple Crown. Have you been to
Australia before and what are your expectations of this years trip Down
Under?
Yes, I've been to Oz before, but I didn't play any golf or Pitch and Putt back then. I didn't even know what it was! I was in Oz in 2004, in Newcastle for half a year, finishing my study in Physical Education. So, I'm not exactly a newbie in Australia.
My expectations for the Triple Crown, I'm not sure yet. It's going to be a great event, I think, with lots of good players from all over the world. I am really looking forward to compete. I want to play well compared to my results. Which means that I'm quite happy with rounds of 56/57 but that's speaking right now. It could be that I might lower my expectations during the year.
Q6. What other countries would you like to visit for a game of Pitch and
Putt?
I'd like to go to Ireland, as Ireland is the home of Pitch and Putt, but also Catalunya sounds very good to me! And I saw that Canada has some pitch and putt courses.
Q7. I am sure winning the Dutch Championship was a great thrill - tell us
about how you felt during the competition.
Before the competition, I knew I'd have a good, very good chance to win the Ladies Dutch Championship. The first round I finished with 57, which was a quite good start. The other ladies were quite a few strokes behind me, so I knew I had to keep on playing very consistently to keep my position. The second round was a very good round, with 53, but other players were doing very well too. The third round, it was not that good. I made a 62. Terrible. I felt like I was going to lose. But, I still was the 1st in ranking after 3 rounds. The last round, the three ladies for the final went together. The runner-up was making a very good start, with birdies all the time. All I could do, was playing safe and consistent. During this round, I lost my top position and was running second. It wasn't until the last two holes that I felt I could get my position back. The second-last hole, the number 1-lady hit the ball in the water, and then I thought: Ok, Esther, if you make a par here, you should do well on the last hole and maybe, maybe you can win. And so did I, I made my par, while the other lady made a 5. I was still one stroke behind the number 1. On the last hole, I hit the ball too soft, and ended metres in front of the green. But the first lady hit the ball terrible and ended metres behind the green in the rough. I thought: Ok, make a nice chip, get a putt, and she'll make a 4, so we're going to have a play off. But, I chipped the ball so badly, I never thought I was going to make it. But it went straight to the hole, and fell in it! So, it was a bit of luck too. The other lady couldn't manage to make a three, so I won, all at the last hole. Amazing! I couldn't believe it, and it was such a long long day. I had no emotions left anymore.
It wasn't until a couple of days after the Dutch Championship that I felt that I really won the competition.
Q8. What further ambitions do you have in Pitch and Putt?
My ambitions for 2007 were to take part in the Dutch Championship, and try to get a place in the Dutch team for the European Championship. That was what I said to myself in January this year. Did I know that I really could manage this! Two weeks ago, the ladies coach called, and said that I am going to the EC. Really amazing, and I'm very happy to go.
I know I can be better than I'm doing now at this moment. I want to be more steady during competitions, and make more under-par scores. At this moment, my PR is 52. I know I can be better than that.
Thanks Esther, we look forward to seeing you in Australia in November.
(with Eero Tarik)
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