Ladies European Tour player Carly Booth has agreed to be an official ambassador for EDGA, the international body that encourages people with disability to thrive through golf.
Carly Booth is a three-time winner on the LET, most recently in the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open in 2019, and has played more than 160 tournaments in her 10-year career. The Scottish golfer welcomed the approach from EDGA as she has stated her desire to help provide more opportunities for golfers with a disability, including more women and girls, to enjoy all the health benefits available through golf.
EDGA is a not-for-profit volunteer-based association which is made up of the National Golf Federations from 29 countries around the world, offering expert guidance to the sport’s major stakeholders, competitive opportunities to golfers with disability at all levels, and training for professional coaches and volunteers to help grow the game internationally.
Growing up near Crieff, in Perth and Kinross in Scotland, Carly Booth comes from a strong golfing and sporting family. She is a trained gymnast; her father Wally won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica (1966), for wrestling in the Light Heavyweight division; older brother Wallace is a professional golfer and younger brother Paul has won four gold medals in the Special Olympics for power lifting.
Carly is no stranger to volunteering in sport, having already fundraised for brother Paul’s Special Olympics team, including through a sponsored parachute skydive and two charity golf days. She is also an ambassador for Scottish Golf: in her role encouraging more women and girls into the game; an ambition she wants to continue through her work with EDGA as the organisation aims with its partners to welcome 500,000 more people with a disability into golf.
Carly Booth said: “I have a passion for helping others and I want to see people of all abilities to have the chance to achieve something for themselves. Being a golfer and knowing the sport, wanting to get more people involved in golf with EDGA is particularly fitting. I also want to help get more women and girls into the game and if I can help EDGA to do this, that’s great. I’m looking forward to being part of the team.”
Carly added: “Golf is a fantastic game for all. It’s not too physically demanding which means that it can be enjoyed by all abilities. You get your fresh air and exercise and it’s a game where you can play at any level and all play together in a great social environment. I’ve been lucky to meet so many different people through golf, and golf offers people with a disability the opportunity to make new friends while doing something in which they can improve every day.”
EDGA President Tony Bennett said: “We are delighted that Carly Booth has agreed to become an official ambassador. The EDGA team has been working hard to promote the great mental and physical health benefits of golf for people with a disability that Carly mentions; encouraging more people to try golf, while laying the foundations so that our member nations and PGA coaches and clubs in these countries can better support disabled golfers.
“Within this drive we are very conscious of the need to get more women and girl golfers involved. There will be so many women and girls who have a disability, or who have been challenged by a health issue, who could benefit hugely from the supportive environment of the game or even by a golf club. We are sure that Carly’s natural enthusiasm for golf and her love of sport and exercise will help us to highlight opportunities and grow the player base. We also believe Carly will be inspirational for our leading female EDGA golfers in the World Rankings and we want to actively encourage more female golfers to improve and reach their potential through international competition.”
Apart from helping to raise the profile of EDGA’s work in the media in the near future, there are also plans for Carly to take on some of the EDGA players in a series of unique golfing challenges, to highlight the range of issues facing players with a disability, and also the adaptability and skill levels demonstrated by these players as they excel in the game.
Carly Booth's agreement to be an ambassador for EDGA follows two other recent appointments, with European Tour player Paul Waring and former European Tour player Tony Johnstone also now generously supporting the organisation.
EDGA provides advice, guidance and standards to all the leading golfing bodies; The IGF, The R&A, The USGA, The EGA, and works closely with the European Tour on the delivery of showcase events that involve golfers with disability.
EDGA also offers a range of training to coaches, therapists, volunteers, clubs, and golfers who wish to be more active in supporting golfers with disability, including brand new players.
Article by Ben Evans, +44(0)7789 722853, July-29 2020
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