WHEN Susan Keylock decided to sign up as a member to the Sandy Creek Golf Club at age 15 with her brother and father, her mother, Kath Barr, decided it was time to jump on board and see what all the fuss was about.
As it turned out, Barr fell for the game head-over-heels, and with Susan’s daughter Stephanie now an avid golfer herself, three generations of the family call the club home.
“I’m a late starter, so I didn’t start playing here until I was 60,” Barr said.
“My husband has been a member for forever-and-a-day – well over 40 years – and he and Susan would always play together, while I was always stuck at home. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did, I thought of it more as something I can do with my husband when I retired.
“It worked out that I’m the one that’s playing all the competitive golf now – he comes and still plays three times a week, but not competitively – and I’ve travelled around South Australia playing at different tournaments; not that I’m any good.”
Susan, who teaches at Trinity College, spoke about how things have changed since she was young, especially with women in golf.
“I was really lucky because there weren’t many 15-year-old female golfers when I started, so it meant there were a lot of opportunities for me,” she said.
“I was able to rise fairly quickly through the ranks in golf and get a lot of opportunities at state level, and interstate golf, which I might not have had in another sport. So that made it pretty easy to stick with since I really enjoyed it.
“We’re very lucky at Trinity College in particular, because we’ve got a really good group of young golfers, particularly female golfers, that I’d say would rival any school in the state.
“I think it’s really great for the younger girls to have friendships out here and encourage each other, and I think they’ll go far because of that.”
A recurring theme around the family’s love of golf wasn’t as much about putting up good scores, but about the relationships they have been able to form.
“I get to go away on golf trips with a bunch of girls, I’ve met so many great people – it’s the social aspect of things that are the best,” Barr said.
Stephanie, the youngest, chimed in similarly, saying the main allure was being able to play with family, and making friends at the club.
The Sandy Creek Golf Club has remained open during this pandemic, bar the clubrooms, with minor adjustments such as leaving the flagsticks in the hole and removing rakes from bunkers.
For more information about the Sandy Creek Golf Club, call 8524 4231 or visit (sandycreekgolf.com.au).