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Catriona Matthew
Professional golfer, Catriona Matthew, has an ambition to get into the top-ten world-ranking female golfers. She travels the world for competitions, but tells us why Scotland is ideal for playing golf
Catriona started playing golf when she was five-years-old. “Golf is something I grew up with, and it’s one of the main things to do in North Berwick. My mum, dad and two older brothers played golf, so I started playing too at the children’s course. When I was 16-years old I started going to competitions.
"At Stirling University, where I studied Financial Studies, I was lucky to get a golf scholarship. This meant I could have an extra year for my degree to fit in training. I won the British Ladies title. That's when I decided to become professional," she says.
Catriona is also a golf ambassador for Scotland's tourism organisation, VisitScotland and promotes Scotland as a golfing destination across the globe.
She believes Scotland – the home of golf – is great for playing the sport because of the weather.
She says, "The best weather is a nice, calm 18ºC day. In Scotland, you can play all year round as it doesn’t have extreme weather. The only condition you can’t play in is when there’s snow and ice. Scotland is also the home of golf, so the courses here were designed to suit the Scottish weather."
Catriona doesn’t only miss family and friends when she is travelling. "I travel about eight months of the year to competitions in different countries," she says. "I travel with my 16-month-old daughter, Katie, and my husband, Graeme, who is also my caddie (the person who carries a player's clubs). Ironically, one thing I miss when I am away is the Scottish weather!"
"When you're playing golf, you follow the sun. But I miss the surprise of waking up in the morning, wondering what today’s weather will be like!"
Since becoming professional, Catriona is most proud of helping the European team win the Solheim Cup in Sweden in 2003. But wherever she travels, Scottish courses will always be special to her. Catriona says, "One of my favourite courses is the St Andrews Links. Scotland is well-known for its links (courses that are built on sand ground, near a shore). A lot of countries try to copy our golf courses but they don't have the land. Our courses are very old – about 200-years-old – and follow the natural land. They’re not sculpted, so look very natural."
Catriona believes that golf is a sport for everyone.
"Golf is great for fitness,” she says. "It gets you out in the fresh air. You’re also carrying and pushing your clubs and walking four or five miles, so it’s good exercise.
"Golf is for everyone, that’s the great thing about it. You can be 80-years-old and still continue playing. You don't have to give it up because of your age. That can’t be said about a lot of other sports!"
Information correct at May 2008
Catriona Matthew is playing at the Ladies Scottish Open at Loch Lomond from 1-3 May 2008.
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