Each season the LET Access Series ushers in a new class of rookies, ready to give it their all and earn a card on the LET, this season one such rookie is Switzerland’s Natalie Armbruester.
LETAS saw great Swiss success last year with Chiara Tamburlini and Elena Moosmann both clinching their cards.
Armbruester is excited to get her first season underway and hopefully follow in their footsteps.
Armbruester, who is still an amateur, has already shown her mettle on LETAS after securing a top 10 finish at last year’s Ahlsell Final at Elisefarm where she finished tied seventh.
The 24-year-old, who graduated from NC State last year, impressively placed 13th at the Pre-Qualifiers last December to earn herself a spot at Final Qualifying but fell short of a top 20 position.
“Q School was very nerve wracking.” Armbruester admitted. “I was very lucky that my father could caddie for me the first week at pre qualifiers.
“I think much of my success was also because he was out on the bag with me. Then the second week unfortunately didn’t go as planned.
“I got very nervous. I felt like even more was at stake in the second week and I struggled on one of the two courses, so unfortunately it didn’t quite go as planned.”
Ending the week with category seven on LETAS, Armbruester is well placed to play a full season in 2024 but is yet to turn professional.
“I just thought it would be better for me to stay an amateur to be able to play some amateur events in the spring and prepare for the season.
“Although I played a few events last year I very much felt like last year was just about experiencing the atmosphere. This year is more about competing and eventually when I transition, being a professional and experiencing that lifestyle. So, I’m very excited.”
The Terre Blanche Ladies Open is Armbruester’s first professional event of the season and the Swiss player is excited to tee it up at a familiar course.
“I’ve been to Terre Blanche quite a few times. My father knows somebody who’s a member there and so when I was very young, this was before I even knew what a professional golf was even about, my friend’s father invited us to play the golf course and we’ve been back a few times.”
“So, I’m very excited to be competing this year. I think it’s a challenging course. Each hole is very different, and you must be strong throughout the board, strong off the tee, good approach shots and good green reading.
“I think is always cool if you have a course like that, that really tests all aspects of your game. I’m excited to see how it plays in the spring, I think the course might be playing longer than when I typically played in the summer.”
Armbruester’s father is a keen amateur golfer and first brought a young Natalie to the game.
“I hit my first golf ball in Spain on a family vacation. My father was playing golf there all week, and I spent most of my time at the kid’s club. Then one afternoon, I asked him if I could go with him onto the golf course and that’s where I hit my first golf ball ever. I absolutely loved it.
“But in Switzerland at the time, there weren’t that many opportunities for younger juniors to play.
“So, it wasn’t until my family, and I joined a golf club when I was eight that I could really start practicing on a weekly basis.
“I instantly fell in love with it. Now, I love the precision. The precision that you need, trying to nail that quite difficult movement, but then also how important the mental aspect of it is. But what I enjoyed as a kid, I’m not actually too sure.”
SWISS SHOES TO FILL
The Swiss rookie has big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of Tamburlini and Moosmann, but Armbruester insists there is no pressure.
“I grew up playing with both girls and it’s been great to see them start this journey last year. I’ve practiced with both throughout the winter and get their advice, so it’s been great to have players like that to talk things through.
“Swiss golf has always been very supportive and Jeremy, our coach, he’s always done a great job in not making us feel like it’s an expectation. I think we all have the same goals. Everybody wants to achieve the same things, but I don’t think there’s added pressure from them.”
Aside from golf, Armbruester enjoys time with friends and family and other sports such as tennis, skiing, swimming, and running.
COLLEGE LIFE
As a Covid-19 student, Armbruester’s college experience was not without its hurdles but she earned her degree in Business Administration at the beginning of May 2023 and finished her undergraduate career with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
“I had quite an interesting four years, first with Covid then unfortunately the husband of my coach died, so she took some time off. I had quite a few hurdles in college, but, nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot. thought I had great, absolute, great teammates.
“I think college golf is just a great preparation. In general, just because the courses that you play, the quality of the courses that you play and the facilities that I had at college were fantastic.
We were celebrated as athletes. The US makes you feel like you belong also to the university and to a team which I think is a very cool feeling because golf can often be such an isolating individual sport.”
Whilst Armbruester is keeping her amateur status for now she is set on the path of turning professional.
“I’m pretty much set, I think. Although I’m keeping my amateur status, I think the step from amateur to professional won’t be too big a leap.
“At least this is how I’m approaching it. I’m just going to continue doing the things that I did as an amateur.
“I will focus on the things that I know that made me successful as an amateur and not emphasise too much that my status has now changed and this is my job now but to just continue doing what I know helps me and try not to get lost in the bigger picture.”
Armbruester starts her season at the Terre Blanche Ladies Open which starts on April 12th.
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