County Durham professional Jessica (Jess) Hall takes us through a summer that took her from a missed cut in Germany to making her first LET cut on one of the most iconic courses in women’s golf.

Most recreational golfers know the Ladies European Tour. Far fewer know the circuit one rung below it — the one where the same dream is being chased on a fraction of the budget, often without a caddie, sometimes with a parent pushing a trolley in the rain.

The LET Access Series is the official development tour for the Ladies European Tour. In 2026 it runs to 20 events across 13 countries, with a projected prize fund of just over €1 million for the season — which sounds substantial until you divide it across a field of professionals who are funding their own travel, accommodation and expenses along the way. Finish in the top seven on the Order of Merit and you earn a full LET card for 2027. Miss that, and you are back to Q-School.

Jess, 27, from County Durham, knows the grind well. She has been playing the Access Tour for several seasons while taking every opportunity to compete at LET level. This summer she gave us an account of a few weeks on the road — Germany, Austria, and then France as a last-minute reserve for an event on one of the most famous courses in women’s golf.

In her own words

My dad usually caddies for me, but for the Amundi German Masters it was just my mum and me travelling, so I arranged a local caddie at the venue. He did a great job — not just with the yardage book but keeping everything dry when the rain came in during the first round.

That opening round set me up well. I shot one over par and was right on the cut line. I started round two focused on playing my own game rather than watching the leaderboard, which is how I like to approach things when I’m close to the number. A couple of costly holes undid that, and I missed the cut.

Missing a cut is never easy to process, but there are always lessons to take.

With an Access Tour event in Austria coming straight after, we made the most of the time in between — some sightseeing, a trip to the zoo. By the time I reached Austria I was ready, and I played solidly over my final eleven holes to finish tied third.

One hour’s notice

The chance to play in the Jabra Ladies Open de France came about in the most stressful way imaginable. For two weeks I had been sitting sixth on the reserve list for the LET event at Evian — far enough back that I had essentially written it off. Then the event before it finished and some spots shifted, and suddenly I was second reserve.

I decided to travel anyway. As a reserve, you’re allowed to use the practice facilities and play practice rounds, and this was Evian — an iconic venue in women’s golf. During the flight I moved to first reserve, and with two days still to go, hope was building.

Once I arrived I played 18 holes in the sunshine. That evening, nothing had changed on the reserve list. The following day — 35 degrees again — I kept it to nine holes, just in case I got in and didn’t want to be tired. That evening, still nothing. I contacted the LET office to ask what would happen on the morning of round one. They told me I needed to be on site from 8am until the last tee time at 2:40pm, and that if someone withdrew I would get a phone call — but they couldn’t say how much notice I’d have.

An hour’s notice, as it turned out. At 7:30am my phone rang. There had been a withdrawal. I was on the tee at 8:30am.

An hour sounds like enough time. It isn’t. The walk to the first tee was 15 minutes, so in reality I had about 40 minutes to get myself ready. There was no space to be nervous. It was simply time to go.

I got off to a good start and finished the day three over par — right on the cut bubble. On day two, I made birdie on my third hole and stayed under par until late in the round. Standing on the 17th tee, I knew I needed par-par to make the cut. I hit my approach on 18 to around 20 feet and two-putted.

Making my first LET cut felt, in that moment, like winning. On the final day I played solidly and finished tied 43rd. Not spectacular on paper, but it showed me something important: I can compete at this level — and I did all of that without my best golf.

It was a week I’ll never forget. Now it’s time for two weeks of rest, and then it’s go time again.

 Picture Credit: LET / Tristan Hall