Casey Chandler has enjoyed success in Division One Women’s Pennant in Melbourne.
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Local golfer Casey Chandler is making her mark on the sport, representing Cobram at some of Melbourne’s most prestigious courses.
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The 16-year-old has been playing golf since she was 10 and said she loved the game from the moment she first stepped on to the course.
Casey said golf differed from other sports she had played because of the constantly changing conditions and the level of strategy involved.
“If you’re playing a four-day tournament, you can get one day when it’s sunny, perfect weather, and then the next day it can be raining and windy,” she said.
“So it’s tricky because you have to consider all those conditions ... but it’s fun having to analyse all the different factors to work out each shot.”
Casey plays for Melbourne-based Commonwealth Golf Club, which defeated Keysborough Golf Club in the Division One Women’s Pennant final at Ranfurlie Golf Club on Sunday, April 26.
Division One features teams from some of Melbourne’s renowned sandbelt golf clubs, with each club selecting its top seven players to compete in weekly matchplay rounds.
In matchplay, players compete hole-by-hole, with the golfer who wins the most holes claiming the match.
The victorious Commonwealth Golf Club team players.
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Casey said the club was very supportive and felt like a real community.
“It’s just a good group of girls, everyone’s so connected,” she said.
She is the only player from Cobram in the squad and said competing meant travelling to Melbourne every weekend for two months.
“It’s a long one because you go down Saturday, stay Saturday night, play Sunday and then come back home, so the whole weekend is gone,” she said.
“But it’s so good to experience all the courses because they’re all so different, and it’s such a good experience because everyone plays one-on-one, so it makes it really competitive.”
Casey said mindset had been key to her development as a player.
“My mindset has changed so much now,” she said.
“I used to think, ‘I've got to win, I've got to win,’ but now that I'm versing the best of the best, I’m like, ‘I don't have to win, I just have to have fun.’”
Casey recently travelled to Adelaide for the women’s Australian Open, where she met Australian professional golfers Hannah Green, currently ranked number five in the world, and Minjee Lee, ranked number seven.
“It was amazing,” she said.
“They're so inspirational and dedicated.”
For others wanting to take up golf, Casey said commitment was key.
“It’s not just straight up that you’re going to be good at it — you have to work towards it,” she said.
Casey’s next event is the Women’s Country Championship at the Cobram Barooga Golf Club on May 16 and 17.
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