Centurion Club Ambassador – Alice Hewson
Like many sporty teens, Alice had to decide which sport to pursue. She chose golf at 14 years old; turned Pro in 2020 and hasn’t looked back since. With a flourishing career and ambitious goals Alice is an inspiring woman. As our female ambassador and in honour of International Women’s Day, we caught up with her between her busy tournament schedule to discover a little more about her journey as a golfer.
How and when did you start playing golf?
Golf has always been a big part of my life. I started lessons at six-years-old and played my first ever tournament on my 7th birthday. I was really lucky that I lived so close to a golf course and I think that had a big impact on my golf. I loved going to group lessons where we learned not just about playing golf, but about all the rules and etiquettes that are part of the game. Being able to complete individual tasks and games really drove me to want to get better and move onto.
I’ve always participated in lots of sports. Growing up I did just about every sport available: ballet, gymnastics, karate, football, tennis, netball, lacrosse, swimming and obviously golf. Swimming and golf were my two main focusses as my mum owned her own swimming club. I used to train upwards of 20 hours a week in the pool before and after school so swimming was a huge part of my life. When I was around 14 I had to make the decision between golf andswimming and ultimately I think I made the right choice!
Did you have many opportunities to play competitively at an early age?
My first tournament was quite a funny experience. It was on my 7th birthday and the tournament gave me a cake! My first ever competitive golf shot was a complete air shot – luckily my golf has improved alittle since then! It turns out this tournament was a qualifier for a national tournament and I made it through. This really fuelled my competitive fire and I just wanted to keep competing more and more.
When did you first realise you may actually be something special?
I enjoyed a pretty successful amateur career and made a pretty normal progression through the tiers starting playing for my club and county all the way to playing for England/GB&I until I turned pro. I first played for England at 14, was part of many winning home international teams, a winning Curtis Cup team and two European team championships. After graduating from Clemson university (South Carolina) I went on to win the European amateur championship before turning pro.
What are your career highlights?
My rookie year on tour was 2020, which we all know was a pretty crazy year! I only played one event before the country was shut down due to Covid. We were in South Africa when everything was really kicking off – midway through our first round other events started to get cancelled. There was so much stuff going on off the golf course that on the course I was able to just relax and I actually went on to win the event! It was just a surreal start to my pro career. There was so much media straight after the tournament and then a rush to try and make it back to the UK before the lockdown hit. I think I was actually the last flight into the UK before people had to go into the mandatory quarantine.Life on tour has been slightly easier since then! Now we actually get to explore a little bit when we’re at events and I’ve been to so many cool new countries that I never imagined going to.
When did you first become involved with Centurion Club?
I first became involved with Centurion Club back in 2021. I grew up less than 10 minutes from the club and I had always heard amazing things about the course and club as a whole. Once I turned pro it became really apparent that I needed to have great facilities to practice and play at if I wanted to keep taking my golf up a level. We get to play so many great courses on tour and to be ableto play on an elite level course week in, week out was something I was really keen to do.
What’s your favourite thing about Centurion Club?
My favourite thing about the facilities is the 19th hole. The space can be used for so many different things and I can literally spend hours out there whether it’s doing bunker shots of different lengths, chipping and pitching all the way up to full shots. I feel my par 3 play has improved a lot from being able to practice different shots to a variety of pin positions.
What does it mean to be the Club’s ambassador?
I get to to represent Centurion Club when I’m out on tour and in return have an amazing course and facility to practice at when I am back at home in Hertfordshire. I have so much pride when the Aramco Team Series LET event comes to the club and the whole tour can get to see what a great place I get to play and practice at. I also love that the members all get to come out and watch and they can see a little bit of what life on tour is like.
What are your hopes for 2024 and beyond?
A For the most part 2023 was a good year. I had some of my best results to date including a T16 at the Women’s Open at Walton Heath, my best result ever in a major. Given I was +8 through 8 holes I battled hard to get back to +2 to make the cut on the number and then finish the week under par. I had so many great experiences out on tour and visited so many new countries lastyear. I am really looking forward to next season where my goals will be to try and get another win and to try to get my LPGA tour card.
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