GOLFER Bronte Newman is off to the United States in August 2017.
The 17-year-old Camden Haven High School student will be attending college, through the National Scouting Report (NSR) program.
The NSR evaluates Australian athletes keen for international experience and pitches their talents to sporting colleges in the USA.
Bronte registered and trialled for the program in Sydney earlier this year, then attended interviews before being accepted.
To earn a place on the NSR athletes must demonstrate a high level of sporting achievement as well as academic performance.
“I’m pretty excited. Going to college in the US isn’t something I imagined was possible for me,” Bronte said.
The NSR will promote Bronte to various colleges and she will soon learn what her options are. In college athletes study equally as hard as they train and play sport.
Bronte is a past winner of the Emma De Groot Scholarship which provides assistance to young female golfers. She represented Kew Country Club in the Encouragement Shield team for Jack Newton Junior Golf for three years and has played in Jack Newton Junior Golf tournaments.
Her dad Kerry is the golf enthusiast in the family and Bronte started playing as a child hitting a tennis ball around the backyard in Muswellbrook.
“She asked me to play when she was about five,” Kerry said.
“I gave her a cut off, hickory shaft club that my dad had made me. She’s now helping out young kids and getting them to practice with a tennis ball in the backyard.”
Kerry said Bronte wanted to start playing golf “properly” so he took her to the golf course and “she got me fully addicted again.” She bought her first set of clubs by saving her pocket money.
The family moved to the Camden Haven in 2012 and Bronte started playing at Kew Country Club with the Red Swarm (junior golfers).
She now balances working at the club’s pro shop with studying for the HSC.
“I’ve cut back on playing golf a bit so I can concentrate on the HSC,” Bronte said.
“I get on the course whenever possible but school needs more attention than golf at the moment. My handicap is 14, not as low as it should be.
“After the HSC my goals are to knuckle down on areas of my game, especially my bunker and approach shots. I want to balance work and golf, just like dad.”
After college Bronte said a professional golf career would be great.
“If I can get on a tour, that would be great but I will have a back up plan by having a degree,” she said.
“I’d love to work at a golf course or teach juniors eventually. As long as I have a roof over my head and helping others, that’s enough for me.”
Kate Dwyer
Journo. Wife. Mother of three.
Journo. Wife. Mother of three.
