Karen’s words of advice bear fruit

Karen Heywood - appointed Lancs girls coach

KAREN Heywood is helping to nurture golf’s up-and-coming players.

Assistant to professional Martin Beaty at Crompton and Royton, Karen is combining her role with that of Lancashire county girls coach.

Lancashire is split into four sections and the qualified PGA pro has taken charge of developing the talent in the Greater Manchester area.

Heywood (36) has already seen one of her proteges achieve success: Carina Tierney won the spring meeting at Clitheroe.

Hard-working Heywood oversees four sessions a year at Crompton and Royton, which has recently opened a new driving range.

She said: “A lot of the girls haven’t played much golf, so the idea is to make it fun and ultimately get them to a handicap mark of below 22. They will then move on to Laura Fairclough, Lancashire’s main coach.

“I work on their short-game skills, such as bunker play, chipping and putting, and I use the driving range for any technical changes that need to be made.”

Heywood passes on her expertise to a dozen or so eight to 13-year-olds at a time. A handful are from Crompton and Royton — including 12-year-old Carina.