Swing Zone

Spectators at this year’s AIG Women’s Open can get in on the golfing action themselves by taking a free 15-minute lesson from an elite coach.

Whether you’re a regular player or are picking up a golf club for the very first time, a team of up to 12 experienced PGA professionals will be on-hand to offer as much advice and guidance as they possibly can.

One of these coaches will be Molly Moore, a Surrey-based coach who lent her expertise to hundreds of revellers at last year’s Championship at Walton Heath – and she will be in the Swing Zone once again, this time at St Andrews in August.

“I want to show people how good golf really is,” said Molly.

“If someone is coming to me for their first experience of golf then it has got to be brilliant.

“But the main thing I want is that everyone walks away with a great impression of golf. I absolutely love golf – and I want others to love it too.”

Molly spends her week running a mixed golf academy, with a real focus on women’s and girls’ development.

A talented and passionate golfer herself, Molly dreamt of one day competing for golf’s biggest prizes and has now turned her hand to helping the next generation realise their own dreams.

She said: “My passion is to make golf more accessible and readily available to more young people. Even though I’m a coach, I want to show them that there are loads of ways that they can have a career in golf – that it’s not just all about playing.

“I love what I do and I feel in a very privileged position that I can help a young girl or boy achieve their ambitions.”

The Swing Zone can be found amid the hustle and bustle of the exciting festival fan village, which will be situated on the Balgove Course at St Andrews.

Alongside these coaching bays will be the Mastercard Mega Putt challenge, a nature trail, a fun Golf It! zone, and the AIG Women’s Open Shop as well as a number of diverse food and beverage outlets.

The Balgove will also stage a live Tom Grennan concert on Saturday 24 August.

“I just think it’s fantastic that this set-up is in place at a major championship,” said Molly.

“Last year there were people who didn’t actually leave the fan village – there was loads going on.

“Most of the people who said they had never played golf before had played crazy golf. So when they saw the Golf It! zone, the bright colours and all the fun that was being had, that encouraged them to stay for longer and have a go at everything. It’s definitely worth a visit.

“And if someone wants to have a go in the Swing Zone this year, hopefully they enjoy it and that might encourage them to get out on a golf course once they get back home.”

For Molly, the biggest difference between the Swing Zone and her academy is that she only gets a quarter of an hour with every player, so she tries to build a rapport as quickly as possible.

“Everyone wanted something different from their 15 minutes,” she explained. “Some people played golf and wanted a bit of advice and others were complete newbies so I had to be adaptable.

“One minute I was coaching a 3-year-old, the next minute I was coaching an 83-year-old! So it was great fun for me meeting all sorts of people of all ages.

“When I saw the look on a parent’s face after their child had been with me; that was really special.”

Molly added: “There was one girl who really stood out for me. Her coach had moved away, there weren’t any girls at her golf club and she was thinking of dropping out.

“I actually gave her a couple of lessons because she was there for a few days and her mum said to me that she saw such a transformation in terms of her daughter falling back in love with golf, which was just lovely to hear. That was very, very special.”

So if you’re going to St Andrews in August, why not give Molly – or any of the Swing Zone coaches – a visit and get playing at the home of golf!