As she moves on from a busy summer Enfield Golf Club Junior Captain Issie Brunskill is getting ready for the Junior Presentation Dinner and her speech!

The Junior Captains play an important role at golf clubs where there provide a solid link and voice from the younger generation at the club. We want to follow the year of one Junior Captain and see exactly what it is like to be in the role, what it entails, the highs and lows and see whether they are able to achieve the changes they hope to make during their year in office.

Issie Brunskill is the Junior Captain at Enfield Golf Club, you can read her introductory Q&A here.

Coming to the end of the season

As you can imagine after a busy summer on the course, it’s been a little quieter over the last two months. Especially as I’m now in my final year at school and I am looking ahead to university.

In my last blog, it was the week before my birthday. Turning 18 was great. I decided to keep it pretty quiet, but I did enjoy a lovely dinner with my family in London to celebrate.

Issie Brunksill Junior Captain

On the golf front, I took part in the final of the Middlesex Friern Junior League. It was between three teams, two from Enfield and one from Ealing. I was the captain on the second team. We came runner-up to our first team which was captained by my friend Stanley. I was obviously pleased that Enfield won overall but wish the second team had come out on top!

As part of the Enfield Ladies Scratch team, we reached the final of the Middlesex Women’s Scratch league second division. We took on Sudbury golf club but unfortunately, we were runners-up (see pic at the top of the page).

Learning from a professional

A highlight over the last two months has to be playing in a Pro-Am at Abridge Golf Club. It was an event that was open to 10–18-year-olds during half term. Every team was given a pro and our team from Enfield had LET Access player Holly Calvert.

Issie Brunskill blog
Playing with LET Access professional Holly Calvert (2nd from left)

It was such an amazing experience, getting to play with a professional golfer. Holly was so encouraging, and it gave me a great opportunity to see a different style of play. She also had a caddie, and it was so interesting to see how they lined up putts on the green and really took their time to make sure that they had got it right. I definitely came away thinking that I need to take more time to read my putts. It really was such a great experience.

Junior Presentation Dinner

At Enfield, we were obviously preparing for the Junior Presentation Dinner which is taking place on 18th November. We had one final committee meeting, well, my last as Junior Captain. I have to say that it’s been a really eye-opening experience being on the committee and getting a greater understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at a golf club. There’s so much involved in running a golf club!

The Junior Presentation Dinner has a set format that we follow. I am going to have to give a speech, which is what I have been most worried about, but I have been practising and am sure it will go ok. Think it’s about seven minutes which is plenty! I think a highlight of the evening will be presenting the Most Improved Player Award as this can only be selected by me. It’s set to be a very special evening and I can’t wait to see everyone there.

What's next

Watch this space – I’ll report back after the event! I'll also be reflecting on my year as Junior Captain.

Issie Brunskill

JUNIOR CAPTAIN PROFILE
Name: Issie Brunskill
Club: Enfield Golf Club
Age: 17 years old (18 on 21.09)
Handicap: 12.6 to 9.8 (achieved my goal to get into single figures)
Junior Captain: 01/01/21 – 31/12/21
Golf idols: Rory McIlroy and Anne van Dam
Golf goal: To get to single figures

We will be checking back with Issie next month as she reflects on her time as Junior Captain. Are you a Junior Captain or do you know a Junior Captain? We always want to hear more stories from juniors, so if you have a story to share or want to get in touch, then please drop us an email here.