English golfer Thalia Martin made her LETAS debut this year at the Golf Flanders LETAS Open where she finished T5.
We caught up with Thalia to find out about her journey into golf, her thoughts on turning professional, what it would mean to secure her LET status and much more.
At what age did you pick up a golf club?
I was 12 years old, my family is not into golf so it’s quite a crazy story. We were waiting in a restaurant and there was no table available, they said it would take an hour to wait. Nearby was a driving range. My dad watched golf but never really played so we thought we’d just have a laugh; we took a few swings and I told him: ‘what is this sport?’ and I started to like it, and someone saw me on the range and asked if I wanted coaching. Ever since then I’ve been attached to it.
When did golf become a career goal?
It had always been a hobby because my first love was tennis but then I had a back injury and had to stop. I went to university for a golf degree, and I thought ‘I love competing, I can’t stop that’. So, I thought I’m gonna give myself three years to improve and here I am. The dream came true to actually be on Tour and play amongst my idols around here. I wish I actually started golf instead of tennis because the atmosphere is completely different.
What did you love about golf?
You are always learning about yourself more. Every tournament, you always learn and that’s what I love. Trying to better yourself on and off the course is the main thing, trying to be a better person and a better player each day. Mindset is so important in golf, and I think that’s what people forget about in this game. And I think that with the lockdown, it sort of put mindset as a priority into the game. Golf is just you and the course, no one else at the end of the day. It’s unpredictable and I think that’s what makes it exciting.
So, what age did you start playing tennis?
I was about ten and I just loved running, so that’s why I didn’t take up golf first because I was so hyperactive and me running around the golf course didn’t really suit well. Unfortunately, with my body and everything it just wasn’t suitable for the tennis side and then I started to understand golf a lot more in detail and I just got addicted to it. Golf is kind of like a drug really.
How did you find your progress from starting golf at twelve and then making the decision to concentrate on golf?
I think at the beginning I expected a lot quite quickly, so it gave me some doubts that I think everyone would have experienced but I just kept on going through and kept on trying. And then it just clicked one day. I remember I played in Wales and the first day was awful, but then the next day I went to play another event and shoot lights out. I just thought ‘okay, that is just golf.’ Then I realized that in golf, you can have a bad day and a good day no matter how good you are. I think that’s what clicked in my head so I thought ‘okay, you can do this just keep going.’ and then it just takes one day or one moment to get it all going. That’s the transition that helped me, the realization that you can have good days and bad days and there’s more to life really.
What are some of your best memories from your amateur career?
Representing my university in the BUCS events when I realized I can compete in that pressure and managed to get a few wins on there. Also, the British Women’s Amateur and managing to qualify for that. It was great to represent my club in an important event like that. It gives you chills, and you want to do it again.
What did you want to get out of your university experience?
I studied coaching performance and wanted to gain the knowledge in golf which I was lacking. I just thought ‘hit it straight and keep it on the course’ but obviously there’s more to it than that. There’s science behind it and because my family comes from a science background, I was very into that and very “Bryson DeChambeau” about it, I loved my numbers. University helped me to learn all that and understand golf a bit more. But also, you need to keep it simple which you learn through the years.
How and when did you decide to turn professional?
I had a few goals set out. My final one was to try and get a course record somewhere to know if I can shoot that low on an important day. And then once I finally got that, that was it, I had done all my goals in my amateur career and went from there. Covid did play a part where I knew that this year wouldn’t have that many amateur opportunities and there’s a lot more professional events that I could play and gain more experience.
Where did you first hear about LETAS?
I knew about it through my university shout out to Sophie Powell, because of her I managed to know about LETAS. I was saying that one day I will try to follow the steps of Sophie Powell and get on the Tour that way.
You made your debut in Belgium at the Golf Flanders LETAS Open. What was that experience like?
I was so excited just to get it done and get the first professional tournament on LETAS in. I had a goal to try and get top-5 and thankfully it did work out at the end. But I was just excited, and I think when you finally hit that first tee shot, it suddenly comes to life and you realize ‘right, I belong here, let’s go.’ I had that feeling and the Tour is so welcoming that it’s not intimidating at all which helps.
You finished T18 overall at the mixed ROMA ALPS LETAS Open, which was a great finish – how did you find that week?
I think I was quite used to it playing on the Clutch Tour in 2020, it didn’t seem any different really. Everyone was just so friendly, and we really enjoyed the week, had a laugh, and that’s what it is all about really. You can’t take things too seriously otherwise there’s just no point doing it. I thought it wasn’t any different because I’m used to it. I liked the format, and I thought the course was quite fair for both sides. I think it was very successful in my opinion.
How much would it mean to you to get that LET card?
It would be a dream come true because that has been the goal since university – once I turn professional, that is the goal to get the LET card and then go from there. I didn’t think it would be as quick but now I realized there is the opportunity that it could possibly happen this year, so that would be really good.
