“I’ve been a member here for 20 years and now I get to work here”

The Golf Operations Manager at Bristol & Clifton Golf Club, Alex Saunders, talks to Corinna Brown about her role, why golf means so much to her and why women’s golf is in such an exciting place at the moment.

“Sometimes golf has a reputation for being quite a stuffy sport – but in reality, it’s not.”

Alex Saunders is the Golf Operations Manager at Bristol & Clifton Golf Club and was formerly the club’s youngest-ever women’s captain. She reflects on the way she has seen the landscape of golf change over the years. Addressing the misconception of golf as a ‘stuffy’ sport, Alex, through explaining her own experiences and speaking of the shift towards wider inclusivity that she has seen, paints the sport as quite the opposite.

Originally not a golfer but a tennis player, Alex turned to golf following an ankle injury, a decision that turned out to be key. Falling in love with the sport, she began by joining sessions held for juniors at Bristol & Clifton, in which she got to know the other members of the club. Today, she’s a scratch golfer.

“I’ve been a member here for 20 years and now I get to work here,” she said.

The relationship between Alex and the club remains longstanding, as she transitioned from visitor to staff member. A role which now includes a happy combination of both golf and the administration that takes place behind the scenes, exposure to which Alex credits as “[combining her] love for the game with an opportunity to learn and understand more [about the processes].”

Alongside her work at the club, she is also vice-captain of the Gloucestershire Ladies County Golf Association (GLCGA) and a former Gloucestershire Ladies’ county champion. Speaking of the importance of clubs such as these, Alex touches on the benefits golf can bring, far extending beyond just physical health and exercise.

“I’ve travelled to Croatia and the Czech Republic”, she explains. “I would never have had those opportunities had it not been for golf.”

Speaking further into how she has personally benefited from the game, Alex credits much of her “personal development” to golf. Referring to golf as “a really welcoming sport”, and one that has social and mental health benefits, she explains that, to her, a game of golf is much like “a four-hour mental health walk every few days”.

Indeed, her experience with GLCGA highlights much of this experience, with a focus on team-spirit and fun. Trips to games include activities, such as excursions to the beach [location dependent!], a team playlist and the consumption of plenty of Percy Pigs.

It’s these “little things” Alex explains, that really make all the difference, leading her to view team golf as her favourite form of the sport. From trips away as a team, to the common and shared experience of existing as a women’s team in a landscape that is perhaps still more widely viewed in a traditional light, the team appears tight knit.

Indeed, when it comes to women in the sport, Alex details practical ways the sport is becoming more inclusive and accessible by the day.

Reflecting on the changes she has seen over the years in her own club, she explains the way in which she worked with the then captain at the club to implement changes to the naming of the Women’s Section.

“The captain before me [and I] implemented the change from the Ladies’ Section to the Women’s Section. [This was due to] a sense of ‘ladies’ being a little bit less inclusive [and] inviting than ‘women’s’.”

Bristol & Clifton was one of the first clubs to do so, in a bid to make the Women’s Section appear more welcoming and less traditional than perhaps the title of ‘Ladies’ Section’ would.

Alex further goes on to address some of those ongoing challenges within golf, regarding women being underrepresented.
“It can be difficult sometimes hearing comments,” she explains.

“It’s a lack of understanding or education. Times change and it takes a while for people to accept those changes.

“The tide is changing but there is still a way to go.”

Regarding some of the prevailing attitudes towards women’s golf, Alex highlights some potential reasons: “Fundamentally there is a gender difference in golf, but the beauty of golf is that you have tools that you can implement; you can take into account the difference in course rating to make it more of a level playing field. That is the great thing, you can implement those things.”

Although there is always progress to be made, Alex’s belief in the positive position of women’s golf provides encouragement on the topic.

“At every level of the game there have been things introduced to help women and girls,” she said.

“I think that golf is in a really good place, and it is a really exciting time, particularly for women in golf, with all the initiatives we’ve got coming out. I just really want to be a part of that process.”

Alex is affecting change in the world of women’s golf more widely, whether it’s through key achievements such as becoming the youngest women’s captain at Bristol & Clifton to being instrumental in changing the name of the club’s former ‘ladies’ team’, in an effort to modernise and be more welcoming.

Alex intends to continue to pursue a career in golf, with the aim of progressing into a leadership role.

She intends to “[work] towards building [her] confidence and knowledge and understanding to be able to fulfil a leadership role.”

Alex’s passion for golf seems to secure a long and promising future with the game and shows the way in which sports such as golf can provide so much more than just a form of exercise.