August 15, 2021 • 57 mins
As Golf in the Olympics becomes a more regular occurrence, the growth of the game is bound to grow and expand from its traditional base of support to many other nations across the globe as their athletes vie for the much coveted Olympic medal.
In Today's episode, we focus on the Netherlands and the growth and development of the sport through the emergence of more modern coaching and training techniques and methods. We visit with Liesbeth Pauwels, an internationally recognized golf & fitness specialist who works with elite athletes in the Netherlands and elsewhere. We also have two of the Netherlands emerging talents -- Anne-Sterre den Dunnen and Noa van Beek as they share their experiences in the world of competitive junior and amateur golf.
If you have a child, grandchild or someone that you know from the golf course that might be interested in seeing how far that they can travel in Golf, then this is an episode that they simply need to listen to. Anne and Noa discuss how they came into competitive golf, their practice and training regime, and what to expect as an elite junior and amateur. They also discuss their long friendship together - both competitors and as young women forging paths in the world of Gold and Academics.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Douglas Maida (00:12):
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our show.
We're talking golf. I'm DouglasMaida
This past weekend, the Olympicswrapped up from Japan. And we
had two weeks of fantastic golfboth on the men's side and on
the women's side. We hadmedalists on the men's side
representing the United States,Slovakia and Taiwan. On the
(00:35):
women's side, the medalistsrepresented countries like the
United States, the host country,Japan, and New Zealand. The
Olympics itself is a noble ideaor gesture based upon bringing
the nations of the worldtogether in a peaceful reunion
for the purpose of advancingsport. Now in golf, one of the
(00:56):
major thoughts behind theOlympics was that when it came
back into the Olympics in 2016,for the real games, many believe
that one of the benefits wouldbe bringing the sport to other
parts of the world, to placesthat rarely saw golf. Perhaps
the best example of that thispast weekend represented the
play of India's Aditi Ashok, nowa DT didn't metal, but she came
(01:20):
close. And she put in afantastic effort. She captured
the attention of not only thegolf world with a phenomenal
putting in play, but shecaptured the interest of her
country, a country that is notknown for playing golf. So
imagine a country like India,with a population of over 1
billion people, many of themwatching one of their own
(01:40):
competing for a medal at theOlympics in golf.
This is the way that the sportgrows. And it's taking place all
over the world, whether it be ina place like India, or in places
like Thailand, Malaysia, or inother countries around the
world.
Now today's show was going to beabout a country that has had a
golf Federation since 1914. Ithas had some players of note
(02:03):
competing on golf's biggeststages on the European tour, and
the LPGA.
When we think about golf, theNetherlands isn't the first
country that comes to mind veryoften. Usually, when we think of
the Netherlands, we think ofsoccer or football. Depending
where you live. We may think offield hockey or speed skating,
(02:24):
but very rarely is golf thefirst sport that comes to mind
when we think of theNetherlands. Now the Netherlands
has produced some notablegolfers such as ust loyalton,
who's played on the Europeantour. Or if you follow women's
golf Anne Van Dam, who plays onthe LPGA more recently, and has
even been featured in Golfsshowss and other media because
of her graceful swing, and herability to drive the golf ball
(02:47):
300 yards. Now our topic intoday's show is golf in the
Netherlands. And we will discussthe growth and development of
the sport, the effect ofimproved coaching and training.
And then we're going to talkwith a pair of promising young
women about their golf journeyin the Netherlands. So here to
discuss these topics with uswill be Liesbeth Pauwels,
(03:08):
Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, and Noavan Beek. Now before we get to
them, we'll take a short breakfor a message from our producers
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follow in 2021 for PGA and LPGAgolf coverage. Today's show is
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You can also follow us on Weiboand WeChat. Now, back to our
show. Here is your host Douglasmaida.
Douglas Maida (04:17):
Hi, we're back.
Thank you for staying with us.
Now without further delay, let'sget straight to our guests.
liesbeth pauwels is the owner ofLP golf performance based in
Amsterdam. She graduated fromthe University of British
Columbia and Vancouver, Canadawith a degree in kinesiology,
the study of human bodymechanics. She is a TPI,
(04:37):
certified fitness and golfspecialist. And she's previously
worked as a national Trainerwith the golf federation of the
Netherlands.
Anne-Sterre den Dunnen is a 17year old member of the Dutch
national golf team. She is apast winner of the Dutch
national match play championshipand winner of the junior tulip
golf challenge. She holds aworld amateur golf ranking best
(05:02):
of 126 in the fall of 2022, Annais committed to playing with
Wake Forest in the NCAA DivisionOne.
Noah van Beek is 18 years old,having celebrated her birthday
just a couple of days ago. Sheis a member of the under 18
Dutch golf team. She also holdsa world amateur golf ranking.
(05:25):
And she too is planning onattending university in the
United States in 2022.
More recently, she had theexperience of playing an LED
ladies European Tour event withEmily Kristine Pedersen of
Denmark. Welcome to the show,everyone.
Anne-Sterre (05:41):
Thank you.
Noa van Beek (05:42):
Thank you for having us.
Liesbeth Pauwels (05:44):
Excited to be here.
Douglas Maida (05:46):
Our pleasure, her pleasure. So thank you all for
taking time out of your busyschedules and competitions and
whatnot to be with us today.
Let me start with you, Liesbeth.
Do you have a couple of moments?
I mean, you're known to ourreaders a fair bit and people on
our podcast show who've listenedto you before and heard your
show. But do you have a maybe aquick 30 seconds that you'd like
(06:09):
to share with people about yourrole and how active you've been
in golf in the Netherlands? Andand any of those particulars
that I think our audience shouldknow about?
Liesbeth Pauwels (06:19):
Um, well, yeah, since 2010, I really help
professional and top amateurgolfers to be able to perform
better and as a golf performancecoach and mentor, you know, I
helped them in throughoptimizing their body, mind and
the game. And of course, I'vebeen taking this from Canada,
(06:47):
Vancouver, back to Holland. AndI've been here in Holland, for
think almost six, seven years.
And I've seen a lot ofprogression happening,
especially both on the elitelevel and on amateur recreative
levels. There's definitely beena lot a lot that has changed.
(07:08):
And yeah, it's really excited tobe a part of that and have to
see the growth happening.
Douglas Maida (07:17):
Let's chat a little bit about the development
of more elite players in theNetherlands. In the Netherlands,
it seems that growing and bettercoaching and training is a big
factor in the development ofthese elite players. We've seen
players like Joost Luitenplaying on the European tour.
And, and occasionally in theNorth American PGA Tour, we have
Anne Van Dam, who's now playingon the LPGA Tour and whatnot.
(07:40):
So there seems to be thisgrowing movement of developing
more and more players at anelite level out of the
Netherlands -- Liesbeth, howmuch would you attribute that to
the better coaching andtraining? And what does it mean
for the elite athletes and forcoaches like yourself?
Liesbeth Pauwels (07:56):
Well, if we're talking about the physical
performance coaching part of it,I mean, it has definitely been a
big, big role globally, forplayers to be able to evolve
because the game has evolved. Imean, it has become super
powerful, players need to beable to hit it very far, they
(08:19):
need to be explosive. But aswell, tournament schedules are
packed, the traveling has becomeway more intense, and maybe even
taxing on both the body, themind can be sometimes mentally
challenging as well. And so itcomes down to being really
physically mentally preparedvery well to be able to play and
(08:44):
compete and perform and do verywell at the highest levels. But
it also comes down to kind of,you know, be able to down
regulate recover after an eventand how quickly a player can
recover.
So I think that's the importantpart of the coaching if we
talking about the physicalmental side of it is that it
(09:08):
helps to players to prepare forall of these scenarios. And I
think there's, you know, I'vedefinitely, like I said, seen
development happening in theNetherlands, but physical
training and assessments, theyhave been part of the national
program for a long time. I mean,I've coached there for a couple
(09:32):
of years. But however, I dothink that there's still a, I
mean, from my perspective,there's still opportunity for
growth needed and especiallywhen we're, when I'm seeing from
the communication part and fromthe integration part. That's
(09:54):
where I see where we can stillgrow in the Netherlands.
And that's what I'm You know,continuously looking at what's
happening in the united statesor countries or coaches that do
really, really well at thehighest levels from golf, but
also outside of golf. And tryto integrate that as well into
(10:15):
the golf scene, because that'swhere I see there's an
opportunity to, to take on,especially in this very small
country, but as we just saw on Imean, just recently, with the
Olympic Games, we've done reallywell got a lot of medals for
this very small country. Butyeah, I think, related to golf,
(10:41):
physical coaching, and mentalpreparation still needs to be
taken more seriously. That'swhat I'm sensing. And it's
amazing to see players that dothat and go after that. So.
Douglas Maida (10:56):
So perhaps you can share a little bit with us
in terms of what do you thinkthat the biggest change has
been? If you could, if you couldname one thing? liesbeth? What
do you think the biggest changehas been in the evolution of
coaching and training in theNetherlands?
Liesbeth Pauwels (11:13):
It's been that the technical coaches have been,
are more open to get gettingtheir players really physically
strong and creating that teamaround the player. Apart from
just a technical standpoint,yeah.
Douglas Maida (11:34):
What do you mean by team? I mean, I I'm pretty
sure I know what you mean. Butwhy don't you explain what you
mean by the team for ourlisteners?
Liesbeth Pauwels (11:42):
Yeah, so I mean, going on to the elite
levels, a player needs to have ateam of experts and coaches
surrounded by them. And thechange here in Holland, what I'm
seeing is that the team used tobe just a physio or, and like
their, their, their Swing Coach,or maybe a putting coach. But
(12:04):
now, the team also integrateslike that physical coach or a
mental coach, and all of theteam members are way more
effective with communication toeach other, so that the players
development is, you know, at theright is the priority, and
(12:26):
therefore, the team members needto be communicating. And that's
what I'm, what i what i see whathas grown. Isn't that the swing
coaches, technical coaches,except there being more, yeah,
yeah, other other team memberson the team for the player. If
(12:47):
that makes sense,
Douglas Maida (12:47):
Oh, completely, completely. But I, I appreciate
that. Because, you know, I'msure we're gonna have people in
the audience listening, who areeither Junior golfers wanting to
pursue a career or an elitecareer in golf, whether it be
just to attend university, orperhaps to take it to the next
level, make the national team orperhaps have the opportunity to
(13:08):
pursue a professional career. SoI think it's important that they
start to get some understandingand awareness as to what what
takes what it takes to become anelite player and some of the
things that go into it.
Maybe I'll switch gears and askthe two ladies we have with us a
little bit about sharing theirexperiences in terms of working
(13:30):
with, say, the national programand coaching and the
specializations. So why don't westart with yourself there? And
would you like to share a littlebit about how you found coaching
and your experiences workingwith the elite coaches and the
program and what it's meant foryou.
Anne-Sterre (13:56):
So I've worked with my Swing Coach for the past six
years. And basically, like, acouple months after I started
with him, I got, I also got aphysical coach. And they are
just really good friends. Andthey've known each other for a
long time. So they constantlycommunicate, and that definitely
(14:20):
helps. And but I also think thatbecause we have a lot more data
right now, and we just get somuch more data, we can use that
too. Yeah, yes. See faster andeasier.
Yeah, if something's wrong, or,you know, maybe we shouldn't go
this direction or this doesn'tlook good. And I also think
(14:45):
that just because we havetrainers that I have a lot of
experience like they've playedon tour themselves or they they
played on the lead levels, theycan give us that edge. To be
playing better to help usprevent making mistakes that
maybe they've made, or they knowother people that made those
(15:07):
mistakes. And I think that'sjust the last couple years that
you would improve.
Douglas Maida (15:11):
Okay. How about yourself Noa? What has your
experience been like in terms ofworking with some of these more
specialized coaches? And, andobviously, for the audience, I
don't know if I've mentioned itor not, but we know that you
work with liesbeth a fair bit,and she's worked with you over
the past few years.
Noa van Beek (15:27):
Yeah. So I am working with Liesbeth from
almost the beginning that Istarted. And I feel like it
really helps me on differentkinds of Reinhardt's for my golf
game gave me a way to toshipyard my mental bars, and
also my physical floors. So Ifeel like that's something that
(15:47):
has improved over the years aswell. So it has not only been
the golf bar, but also all thesidebars, that helps you,
eventually you will become abetter player. So I'm really
happy that I'm working withthese players, because she gives
me so much support from for allthe different kinds of parts
that are that are cited, whicheventually help you my golf
(16:11):
game. So I feel like that's abig, that's been a big change
for this year.
Douglas Maida (16:17):
Are you finding know that some of what you're
working on because I knowLiesbeth and I know the work
that she's been doing, and a lotof it takes a much more holistic
approach to, to not just thegolf aspect, but in terms of
helping the people that workwith their become better
individuals, whether it bespiritually. And I don't
(16:38):
necessarily mean in a religioussense. I mean, spiritually in
the sense of feeling whole,developing as an individual
taking this broader approach todevelopment and whatnot. Are you
finding that to be a big partand helpful to you as well?
Noa van Beek (16:53):
Yeah, I know, I can be at first and become
really frustrated, when whichdoesn't go away what I was
hoping for. So I talk about it,of course, as she gives me kind
of advice that I can take withme on the shores. So I can
(17:14):
again, I can keep likeeverything. Don't get too
frustrated. And I feel likethose things that are known are
kind of technical goal, farbetter still, they are helping
or hitting better shops. Soyeah, she's also helping me on
like, kind of way, way, way ofthinking and visualization on
(17:38):
the golf course and stayingpositive.
Douglas Maida (17:42):
Liesbeth. You mentioned a little bit about the
technical development and workthat's been going on in
coaching, and in particular,your observations about it in
the Netherlands. Now, when Ithink technical and whatnot, I'm
starting to think a lot aboutTPI based training and
development. Is that animportant element or is it more
than just TPI?
Liesbeth Pauwels (18:03):
Absolutely.
It's more than just TPI. I mean,TPI is a method that us coaches
can use and apply to. I mean,indeed, like Anna said, gather
data. I mean, that's why we dothe TPI screenings. And it's a
structure and a language that weas coaches can refer to one
another. It's it's veryimportant, and it's just one of
(18:25):
the methods at least that's howI'm from my experience that I
use to I mean, talking aboutthe the physical development is
TPI, but it's a strength, skinstrength and conditioning as
well. It's it's yoga, it'spilatos, it's integrates, you
(18:45):
know, endurance training,different sports skills, and to
be able to transfer that togolf, in if we're talking from
junior development point ofview. So, I mean, yeah, for me,
it's definitely just more thanTPI, but it's nice because we as
a team can all communicate inthe same language and we
(19:08):
understand and therefore canhelp the development of the
player which is always apriority. Much better.
Douglas Maida (19:20):
Let me ask this question of you Liesbeth and
then I'll ask it to the twoladies. Do you think it's
possible to develop an eliteplayer these days without having
that kind of access to qualitycoaching and support systems?
Liesbeth Pauwels (19:37):
Well, that's not because I'm a coach and I
coach young juniors, but Ihonestly don't think that you
can, yeah, really hit thoseperformances and and do really
well, but also gain thatfulfillment and be still growing
as a golfer as an athlete and asa person without, you know,
(19:59):
great coaches. And a teamaround you who's experts ly in
different fields?
Douglas Maida (20:05):
Yes, I would tend to agree. I mean, I think the
days of a Bubba Watson who nevertook a golf lesson in his life
are kind of numbered if theyalready aren't finished, just
because of the way the game hasgone with the explosion (speed
and power). And then we havesomebody on the PGA Tour like
Bryson D Shambo who people seemto either love or hate. But he
(20:27):
brings that, you know, almosttoo much of a scientific
technical perspective to to thegame and whatnot. But the game
has definitely moving in thatdirection. And it seems like you
really have to be on the ballthese days, and even at a little
bit of an earlier age thanperhaps waiting until college
like people used to do in thepast.
Liesbeth Pauwels (20:47):
Well, yeah, and it's not something, maybe
it's a misunderstanding or myththat I want to, you know, take
takeaway is that many young, Imean, many young juniors or even
parents don't decide to createthat team, very young and early
on. Because they think 'Aw, it'snot necessary yet, or my junior
(21:10):
doesn't need to lift weights'or, you know, all that fitness,
it doesn't need to be thatspecialized at all. And that's,
yeah, it's a misunderstanding,because it's only going to help
them into developmentphysically, and mentally them as
a player, but as also, as youknow, a person, like I said.
(21:30):
It's not something that you takeon when you need it, you take a
coach, when you don't need it.
So you can really tackle thosedifficult, challenging moments,
which are a part of, you know,growing into elite sports at
any, any age or also any othersports, you know, they come and
that's why you need to beprepared and have a team that's
(21:53):
also there to support and bekind of an anchor, um, it's all
of the things that happen.
Yeah, but I'm, like, I'm, ofcourse biased, but it's still
true. I mean, I also havecoaches. So yeah, it's hard. For
(22:14):
me, it's a part of the game. ButI'd love to hear the girl's
opinion about that.
Douglas Maida (22:20):
Yes. Well, I agree with you too, Liesbeth.
It's a very important aspect anddevelopment. Let's switch yes,
Noa, following up on that, doyou want to share your thoughts
about coaching and theimportance of it? Or do you
think? I mean, do you think youand this is the same question
for you to Anne? Do you thinkthat you could be where you are
(22:43):
today in your careers in golfwithout that kind of coaching?
Noa van Beek (22:49):
I'm in my opinion, and I think if you look at like,
like the guys ranked players,you know, they all do these
different kinds of aspects, Ifeel like you really need them
to get nowadays on a kind ofhigh level. And in my opinion,
if I started working out when Iwas nine years old, so I feel
(23:13):
alive over all these years, ithas really helped me in my golf
game, gaining skills and morespeed, more distance.
I feel like you really need allthose different kinds of aspects
like the magician's mark, orshuffling or anything on the
corners, your mental marks, ofcourse, helps you so I feel like
you're like, again, get out ofyour game, if you're not doing
(23:36):
all the different types.
Douglas Maida (23:39):
How about yourself, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (23:41):
Yes. So I know, for myself, my parents decided to
form a team, like from thebeginning when I started
training. And so I'm very luckyto have my parents decided to do
that. And, but I have definitelynoticed a difference. Because a
couple years ago, I started moreheavily with, with training and
(24:04):
with working with my coaches.
And I definitely saw improvementin how I performed and it wasn't
just a training, but it was alsomentally, just being more
prepared for being on the courseand hitting a bad shot, but
still being able to recover.
And I also think that especiallyfor the physical part, you need
(24:25):
a coach that's going to reallyguide you through because I am
actually still growing, whichis very difficult because I
couldn't really start weightsearly. Because then you're it's
not good for your body. So mycode, she made a whole plan on
how we were going to handle it.
(24:45):
So yeah, and if I had started tojust use the ways from very
early on, I definitely wouldhave gotten a serious injury. So
I think coaching is just one ofthe most important things you
can have.
Douglas Maida (24:58):
Lizbeth Let me ask you a question of you before
we move on, there's now I knowthere's the topic of weight
training and whatnot. When we'retalking about golf, fitness and
development, particularly at theyounger ages, we're not
necessarily talking about weighttraining, where you're lifting
for bulking up your muscles andand bulking up the body and
(25:21):
whatnot. Am I correct inthinking that what we're talking
about is more about conditioningand strengthening your core
muscles, your key muscle groups,things of that nature, so that
you're, you're stronger overall,but without bulking up? Is that
a fair assessment?
Liesbeth Pauwels (25:37):
Yes, yes, it's a definitely a part of it. I
mean, physical development, whenyou're at that Junior age,
really depends not on yourchronological age, but on the
biological age. So indeed,referring back to Ana, when now
she's still growing. I mean,there's there definitely has to
(26:01):
be taking account of that. Eventhough Yeah, you know, we're not
the growth and the rate of thejunior growing needs to be taken
into account. And it helps thento create a program that aligns
(26:24):
with how fast they're growing,or if they stopped growing. And
of course, it also is verydifferent girls versus boys.
It's a big, big, big difference.
And in terms of actual training,that could be different,
practicing different sportsskills that easily transferred
(26:44):
to golf, such as you know,hockey or throw throwing skills,
kicking skills, those are super,super important. We're talking
about bodyweight movements, pushups, press ups, Turkish get ups,
but also conditioning with thespeed rope, jump rope. Things
(27:06):
like that, to also keep itlight, fun. And yeah, that's
some of my key elements in jrtraining is being aware of the
state that they're in of theirbody in the growth, while also
keeping them engaged, becausethey need to have fun with it.
Because they need they want, youwant them to be able to do this
(27:28):
for the rest of their life. Soand then from there, it's
gradually adding more resistanceand resistance doesn't always
mean adding weights, it could bein different settings. So yeah.
Douglas Maida (27:42):
Right. Well, thank you for that. We're gonna
take a short commercial break.
And when we return, we're goingto spend some time now chatting
with the players about theirjourneys in golf and how they
came to be in competitive golf,and their future plans. And just
go down that road because Ithink it's quite fascinating.
Because I follow a lot of juniorgolf as well. And I've been
(28:05):
watching all over and I'mnoticing the your players in
your program and the Netherlandsis quietly going about in the
background and is competing afair bit and challenging a lot
for your tournaments and whatnotat the at the amateur level that
these two players are playingat. So I think that's
fascinating. And that's whatwe'll discuss when we come back.
Commercial (28:26):
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Douglas Maida (28:41):
Alright, welcome back. And thank you for staying
with us. We're going to move nowinto the second segment of our
show. We're going to talk withthe players a little bit about
their experiences in golf, howthey've came to playcompetitive
golf, and what their experienceshave been, like developing as
players in the Netherlands andcompeting for the Netherlands on
(29:01):
European stage.
So the first question I'd liketo ask the two of you is, how
did you get into competitivegolf? Anne did you want to
start?
Anne-Sterre (29:11):
Yes, so one of my earlier coaches, he was like,
Yeah, why don't you just try goto a competition. And that was
turned out to beat a nationalchampionship under 12. Which is
also where I met Noa because wewere in the same flight. And it
(29:34):
was a lot of fun, and I reallyliked it. And then I just
continued and a couple weekslater, I joined a federation,
the national team and then itjust started playing
competitions and basically neverstopped.
Douglas Maida (29:48):
How old were you when you first started to play
golf?
Anne-Sterre (29:51):
I wasnine but I've only really been training for
about six years. So since I was11.
Douglas Maida (29:59):
Who got you into the game who introduced you to
golf?
Anne-Sterre (30:02):
My dad, he was, he would just be trading and
hitting shots from the bunker.
And I would be sitting therewith a little shovel and just
going about my day. And, andthen a coach from the local
club. He was like, you know,there's a lesson that kids lives
in, if you want, you can join.
(30:24):
And I joined. And he was like,Well, you know, why don't you
just come every week and a windevery week? and kept training?
Douglas Maida (30:34):
And that's where you are today?
Anne-Sterre (30:35):
Yes.
Douglas Maida (30:38):
How about you Noa? how did you get into golf?
Who? Who's the first person thatput a golf club in your hands
and got you playing this game?
And? And how did you make thedecision to come into
competitive golf?
Noa van Beek (30:49):
Um, yeah, so it all started with my parents and
my dad is now, so obsessed withthe game. He loves it more than
anything. So he brought me andmy sister to the golf course
when he was playing with somefriends or for Im style. And me
and my sister and like the flopthat was even longer than
(31:11):
ourselves. So, but yeah, wehave some shots. And it was just
for fun, because at that time, Ialso did other sports, I played
tennis, and I did gymnastics aswell, well, so it was just a
little extra stress.
I started taking group lessonswith golfers my age at the golf
(31:33):
course nearby. And I actuallyreally liked it. And I also went
every week with the same group.
So I made my friends over there,I really started to like the
game because I saw theimprovement. And I tried this
out for small competitions on myhome club club. And, yeah, when
I first really started to playthose events, and I saw you were
(31:59):
able to win prizes andeverything and see the
improvements. And I reallystarted to get motivated to
practice more and get evenbetter and and sign me up from
your tournament. So that's kindof the route that I've been
following. And and now I'm stilldoing it.
Douglas Maida (32:22):
So it was a little bit of the promise of a
reward that got you into it. Andit's like, the carrot and the
stick kind of thing. You had thecarrot there. Well, that's it. I
don't know if it's, yeah, it wasnice. I saw they motivated me to
get even better and better.
Noa van Beek (32:38):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (32:41):
Let me ask you both something else right now,
on the LPGA. There is atremendous amount of collegial
conduct, like a collegiality,like, the players seem to be
very supportive of each other,they go out and compete hard.
They tried to beat each other.
But it never seemed to cross theline. And it becomes more of a,
(33:05):
well, I give it my best I didthe best I possibly can and the
other person won, andcongratulations type of thing.
Do you find the two of you inparticular having grown up a
fair bit together? And like Annasaid, playing in the same flight
from the start and whatnot? Doyou find that playing against
(33:29):
each other and growing uptogether has been a good way of
helping you practice and developyour games? And and how
important would you say thatkind of friendly rivalry, if you
will, or friendly competitionhas been and I see friendly,
because I know the two of youwhen you probably play
individually, you want to win.
And you want to have the bestfinish you can. But I've noticed
that you play very well togetheras well on the team events when
(33:51):
you're competing for theNetherlands against say Germany
like you were last year or someof the other other events. Noa,
did you want to start?
Noa van Beek (34:01):
Yeah, so I think we really know each other for a
really long time. And practiceso many hours together, and we
have seen each other men orwomen face. So it really helps
us as well, because you get abetter friendship, on and off
the golf course you get to knoweach other better. And you can
(34:22):
also help each other with goseckas someone who's better at the
other part and someone who'sbetter at some something else on
that golf game. So I feel likeyou can also support each other
on that. And when you playagainst each other one on one
makes plays or in a stroke, orplays and you're forced to beat
each other. That's just howcompetitions work. So and then I
(34:48):
feel like when you're playing ina team, it's different because
you have to work together andthen after your fingers three
championships. You're usuallykind of find a different
relationship than when you'replaying in this video. So, yeah,
we've experienced all kinds ofthings together.
Douglas Maida (35:10):
And how about yourself, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (35:14):
Yes, so I don't have any brothers or sisters.
And so just going to the golfcourse every week and seeing
everybody really helped me to tolike push myself because I want
it to be as good as them. Andwhen I first joined, because I
never really trained a lot. Iwas just going to the course of
(35:38):
my dad, playing for fun, andthen we'll see how it goes. And
then I joined the Federation, itwas like, okay, you know, we're
gonna train we're gonna do thisand this, and I was like, oh,
wow, you know, this is howyou're supposed to. And to just
grow up with these girls. Yeah,really helped me to push myself
(35:58):
and be like, you know, oh, Iwant to beat them next time or I
want to be better at them thanthan a distant them. And so
yeah, I think it's reallyimportant to somebody to Yeah,
just, yeah, compare yourselfwith almost, but just really
help you push yourself.
Douglas Maida (36:20):
Liesbeth let me jump in and ask you a question.
You've been working with theyounger athletes for a while
now. And obviously not Anne, butsurely you must have a degree of
satisfaction to see how theyoung players are coming along
and, and the development of themand, and while you have that
close connection working withNoa and her sister, it must be
(36:42):
very satisfying, just to see thework that the young ladies are
putting in and the way that thegame is going and and the way
they're developing his players?
Liesbeth Pauwels (36:50):
Absolutely. I mean, for me as a as a coach,
this is I mean, I get my, I feelfulfilled when I'm on the Corps,
and I'm at a tournament,watching them play. And seeing
everything integrate, I mean,not even being there to actually
coach but just observing themand doing their own thing. Like,
(37:14):
a couple of months ago, in June,when they had the opportunity,
for example, to play at theplayers experience on the Le t
here in the Netherlands, whichalso has been a huge
development, by the way, talkingabout golf development here in
Holland.
(37:34):
But yeah, just to observe andsee how they're doing and see
how they, their game is theirswing is but also their
demeanor, their vibe, theirenergy on the course to me that
that gives me all thefulfillment because I put my
Yeah, not just my job is mypassion. And my knowledge is,
(37:56):
you know, I try to bring thatforth in my coaching, but it's
also kind of your it puttingyour heart and your soul into
your coaching. And yeah, whenyou see they, they're having
fun, and they're doing what youhave, you know, kind of
instilled in them. It's to me,it's absolutely, yeah, the most
(38:22):
fulfilling thing as a coach, nomatter what, you know, the
scores are that. Yeah, to seethem grow and develop. Yeah,
very satisfying. And fill youwith a little bit of pride.
Yeah, yeah. But as well, I justknow, they, I mean, I put in the
(38:42):
I put in a lot of effort, butit's their work. They're putting
in the the hours as well.
They're putting in continuouseffort, they asked me to
questions, they stay openminded, they, you know, come
back to me with more questionsor when they're doubting, and
that's the thing that makes themgrow. And I'm just there to, to
guide them to support them,mentor them, or advise whatever
(39:04):
it's most needed at that time.
So.
Douglas Maida (39:12):
Right, Let's chat a little bit about and I'll ask
you first, Anne. How would youdescribe your life and routine
as a elite player? Specifically,like, how do you practice? Do
you have a practice schedule? Imean, if let's say you have
(39:35):
another girl that comes up toyou on the golf course and says,
What's it like to play on thenational team? What's it like to
play at the levels you're doing?
I mean, what's life like foryou? What would you tell them?
Anne-Sterre (39:46):
Well, for me, besides golf, academics has
always been important. So Ispend a lot of time on that as
well. But I'd say just thetraining is every weekend. And
that's with the national team.
And then through the week, I'mvery lucky to have a golf
course, walking distance. And sothat's just you're out of
(40:10):
school, you go to the golfcourse, then you come back home
and you do your homework. Andthen you either contact your
coaches, or maybe you dosomething for yourself, and then
you get sleep, and it's just dayto day life.
And then if there's atournament, you work towards
that you adjust your schedule,from just doing technical
(40:32):
training to also more likeadding the competition part into
it. And challenging yourself andgetting yourself in the right
mindset to be able to play in atournament. And then after that,
it's reflection and immediatelyjust go on to the next
tournament. And just, that'slike day to day your, your daily
(40:54):
business.
Douglas Maida (40:56):
How about yourself Noa?, how would you
describe your day? And what kindof advice would you give to some
someone else that came up andasked you at the golf course?
Noa van Beek (41:04):
Um, yeah, so I would say your schedule every
week, It changes also, becauseof the tournament, you play.
You have early mornings, and Iwas in a school that had golf
practices in the morning. Sofirst, I have to travel one and
a half hour an hour towards mytraining, and then it starts at
8 (41:26):
30. And I practice all morning, I go to class, and I
throw my back home. And then youdo your homework. And sometimes
you have also your strength andconditioning training after all.
So you have really busy days,and you want to get your rest as
well. So you go to bed early.
And if you live in like, fromMonday to Friday, you don't
(41:50):
really have much time tosocialize with your friends
because of the travelingpractice your schoolwork as
well. Well. That's the kind ofdecisions you have to make at
this high level with withperformance and everything. And
yeah, the guy Wait where I like,I feel like it's what everyone's
(42:11):
different. I liked I like goingmore on the technical part in
the winter season. So theoffseason, and more on the
skills and performance part areduring the season. So it really
depends. When and what kind ofseason you have with tournament,
and to start off with ourtournament, but I would say,
(42:33):
Yeah, you're really busyschedule.
Douglas Maida (42:38):
So Anne, you're planning to attend Wake Forest
in September 2022. Correct?
Anne-Sterre (42:43):
Yes.
Douglas Maida (42:45):
What are your plans? In terms of golf and
universities that your focus isgoing to be on education? Is it
going to be on both golf andeducation and see what happens?
And possibly a future careerprofessionally? What are your
plans and your goals at thisstage?
Anne-Sterre (43:02):
Well, my goal is definitely to plan the LPGA.
That's just always been a dreamof mine. And but yeah, from my
family, it's just beeneducation. I do want to get a
degree. And because you know,the chances of making it to the
PGA is so small. That you know,in a small van, it doesn't work.
(43:27):
And so I have something to fallback on. So, for me, I'm
definitely going to be focusingon both golf and education.
Maybe a bit more on golf. Butyeah, definitely both.
Douglas Maida (43:40):
Do you have a career path in mind for a
university? Like what you'd liketo study?
Anne-Sterre (43:45):
I yes. So it's probably going to be either
biology or biochemistry. Andwhich I is, of course, very
hard. But I just don't get anysort of satisfaction from the
economics part. So that'sdefinitely a no.
Douglas Maida (44:03):
Yeah, I was gonna say, Well, you could be another
wonderful candidate for STEM,women in STEM. There are there
are a few players out there. Youknow, somebody I know Brittany
Marchand. She was a chemicalengineer or is a chemical
engineer. She graduated from NCState. So she had that very
difficult academic career pathas well as playing golf and, and
(44:24):
she's playing on the symmetrictour. And she played a year on
the LPGA as well. So yeah,interesting.
How about yourself, Noa? Areyou still planning to attend
NCAA Division One, and I seethat you're affiliated with peak
USA. Did you maybe want to sharea little bit about what that's
all about?
Noa van Beek (44:43):
Yeah. Well, I'm planning to also go to college
and finance division one forclass two, and I'm working with
Jenna for over two years now,and she's really helping me find
the right fix. She works withmany different players in
(45:04):
Europe, boys and girls. And shejust gets in touch with coaches,
informing them about playersthat she is working with that
are looking for. And eventuallyto find the right fit for
everyone. So I really like thesupport that she gives me. And
I'm really happy that she helpedme through this whole journey.
(45:28):
And many people also know that Iwas probably committed to a
university this year in Texas A& M University, and I have made
my commitment with a lot ofthings changing. So I got my
coaches at my school, andunfortunately, it didn't work
(45:51):
out I was hoping for. So Iessentially made my decision to
not go and go more and more openup my recruitment process again.
And now looking for anotherschool. That is the right fit
for me. So I feel likeeverything happens for a reason.
So we probably have to be likethis. And then I will see where
(46:14):
I yeah, what my school will be.
Yeah, I'm now speaking withteams again. Yeah, I'm excited.
Douglas Maida (46:25):
Let me ask a quick question of both you and
Anne, one of the big Juniorevents, that seems to attract a
lot of attention for recruitingis the IMG event in San Diego
every year. I think they call itthe Callaway event. Have either
of you ever looked at playingthat? Or have you played it? Or
(46:45):
is it in your plans at all?
Anne-Sterre (46:49):
No, , not for me.
No,
Noa van Beek (46:51):
No, I haven't heard for me. Also. I I do hear
about other events in the USAlike Jr or the amateur. but,
I haven't heard of this one.
Douglas Maida (47:07):
it.
No? Neither have you, Anne?
Unknown (47:10):
Know, No,
Anne-Sterre (47:11):
I haven't heard of it. I I did get the chance to
play in the junior Orange Bowl.
But that was two years ago. So Ihaven't played in America since
due to COVID. But uh,
Douglas Maida (47:24):
Yeah, the COVID sure taken a
Anne-Sterre (47:26):
It's been tough
Douglas Maida (47:27):
COVID shirt taking a bite out of all the
international competitions thatplayers like yourselves could,
could participate in. Let me askyou this. If you could in say a
short sentence, what advicewould you give to others about
choosing to play competitivegolf, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (47:41):
Go for it fully.
And you learn a lot and you geta lot of experience you wouldn't
get otherwise. You travel, Andjust give it your all?
Douglas Maida (47:55):
Alright, How about yourself, Noa?
Noa van Beek (47:57):
Yeah. I agree with Anne-Sterre, I feel like
it's really for them that theyhave to know it's not easy. And
it doesn't come from granted. Soyou really have to put in all
the work. But essentially, keephaving fun. I know it can be
really hard when you have toperform and then it's not always
going the way you want. But youhave to. Yeah, having a fun in
(48:21):
the game, because you reallyneeded to perform at the highest
level. And after all, youstarted the game because you
liked it. And I feel like you'vealways need to keep the fun in
the game.
Douglas Maida (48:35):
Right. So no regrets for the path you've
chosen so far.
Noa van Beek (48:40):
No, definitely not.
Douglas Maida (48:42):
And how about you Anne? No regrets?
Anne-Sterre (48:45):
No, no, no, you miss a lot of things that so
many other things make up forit?
Douglas Maida (48:52):
Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's wonderful. I'm going to
ask Liesbeth one more questionhere before we move on.
Liesbeth, you've been in theprogram a little bit now. Is
there anything that you know,looking back so far? Is there
another focus or anything thatyou wish that you could see
developing in the Netherlandswith its golf program or, or
(49:14):
things of that nature to to helpthese athletes get to the next
level or or to continue toimprove on?
Liesbeth Pauwels (49:20):
Yes, absolutely. I mean, there's
always room for improvement.
And I think, like I shared alittle bit before, I think to
embrace the physical mentaldevelopment fully and integrated
into not just the programs butalso the budgeting is going to
help grow the game even further.
(49:48):
Especially development of youngplayers here in Holland.
Douglas Maida (49:52):
Okay. Yeah, very important. Thanks. How about you
ladies? Is there anything youwould like to suggest that could
be improved or done a little bitbetter now that you're at a
stage, you can look back alittle bit. Who wants to go
first?
Anne-Sterre (50:06):
Oh, no. I'm looking back. Yeah. I don't
really know of anything, atleast that comes to mind right
now. But I could have beenchanged. Maybe just from the
early stages on, I think women'sgolf is incredibly important.
(50:30):
And I think, because when wewere younger, there wasn't a lot
of attention to us. It's gettingbetter. But I think that's
definitely at least one of theregrets I have that just, there
hasn't been that much attentionto women's golf. I think that
could be changed.
Douglas Maida (50:47):
Okay, that's a very good point. Hopefully,
programs like this will help tocontinue to put the focus on
women's golf and, and inparticular, this episode in the
Netherlands and women's golf inthe Netherlands.
Anne-Sterre (50:57):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Douglas Maida (51:00):
How about yourself Noa?
Noa van Beek (51:04):
Yeah, I agree with Anne-Sterre, I don't really know
what I could have changed in thepast. Maybe Maybe I've always
been really competitive. Somaybe at a really young age, not
focusing too much on the scoreswhen I was like, like, 1011
years old. Sometimes I see like,the young girls might not know,
(51:25):
right? And if you're okay,you're still so young. So maybe,
yeah, I don't know anything elsethat I would have changed.
Unfortunately, golfing had abig impact on our careers, the
last few years. So, yeah, thatsaid, everyone's experiencing
the same. So it's not reallysomething I think, was in our
(51:50):
own hands.
Douglas Maida (51:51):
Right, right. So another Carpe Diem, seize the
day and enjoy you theopportunity while you got it,
because you can't take it forgranted.
Noa van Beek (51:59):
Definitely.
Douglas Maida (52:01):
One more quick question, though, you're talking
about how competitive you are,when you're younger, how much of
that was driven by the siblingrivalry in having your sister
play you? and you know, the twosisters going out of the house
had died. If you're like my twosisters, they're always
competing with each other.
Noa van Beek (52:17):
It's definitely really competitive. between us
and also off the golf course, onsome different kinds of aspects.
We really wants to beat eachother. And I feel like the
pressures were on me because I'mthe oldest one, so I can really
lose is that's what I get tohear from everyone. But it's
really competitive. But becausewe are doing so much together,
(52:41):
we also have a really closerelationship together. And we do
our best, and we hope we bothreach out. Also, we do also
support each other. But when wehave patients, we really want to
beat each other as well.
Douglas Maida (52:58):
What's next for you? What's coming up? Are you
any competitions? Anything likethatNoa?
Noa van Beek (53:03):
Um, yeah, so I do have a few tournaments left this
year, at the end of the month,I'm also going to get away
together with Anne-Sterre to theItalian girls (event). So
that's what I'm looking forwardto, because it's a big
tournament where we go regardedwith good players. AndI still
(53:24):
have a few nationalchampionships, where I am going
to play. And in the meantime,also focusing on a regular
process to find the right coach,for me so. So those are the
things that are most importantto me right now.
Douglas Maida (53:40):
Great, great. And how about you, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (53:43):
Yes, so I have a tournament in the coming days.
So that's the Dutch AmateurChampionship. And so that's an
international tournamenttournament here in the
Netherlands. And they Yeah, theItalian girls under 18.
And then there's also a nationalopen. So that's actually
(54:03):
competition with both amateursand professionals. So that's
always really fun to play. And,and then I'm probably going to
play a LET Access competition ortwo, because it's just basically
the only thing that's left thistime of year.
Douglas Maida (54:22):
Right, right. And how about yourself Liesbeth I
know you're always busy and onthe go and whatnot. So what's
happening for you in the nextwhile?
Liesbeth Pauwels (54:31):
Well, I'm always looking to onboard new
driven motivated juniors fromthe Netherlands but also
globally. And there's ... I'vegot a research paper that's
coming out pretty soon which Ihelped develop and which is
going to be huge push forwardfor golf, fitness and the
(54:53):
Netherlands hopefully, butespecially to help reduce,
reduce overuse injuries andgolfers. And I'm currently
working on hopefully launching abig international project as
well. Also, it's also going tobe a huge push forward for the
Golf, kind of golf communityglobally. And yeah, overall, I
(55:18):
can't wait to see the nextcouple of progress development
that my clients will make in thewhat's left of this year. And to
dive deep into the training thisoffseason. That's what I'm
really excited for as well.
Douglas Maida (55:39):
Yes, well, in getting to know you over the
last year, you're definitelysomebody who's always going to
be on the move and looking toimprove things. So that's
fantastic. Liesbeth, keep upthat fantastic work.
Liesbeth Pauwels (55:50):
Thank you.
Douglas Maida (55:51):
We're kind of at the end of our show. Now, while
we're not kind of we are at theend of our allotted time. So I'd
like to thank all of you fortaking the time to join us. It's
been a wonderful opportunity.
And I know we're just scratchingthe surface. But I found it
incredibly fascinating, andparticularly to hear the
examples of what's going on andand in your lives to ladies, I
mean, as the players just to seethe enthusiasm and the hard work
(56:14):
and the dedication going intoit. I think it's I think you're
making Dutch golf going to be amuch bigger force in the future.
So keep up that fantastic workand, and you to Liesbeth and
thank you all so much.
Anne-Sterre (56:27):
Yeah, thank you.
Liesbeth Pauwels (56:29):
Thank you so much for having us and having
this discussion about golf inthe Netherlands and the
development.
Douglas Maida (56:37):
Yeah, it's been fantastic. And hopefully, maybe
we can do another episode likethis in the future and just kind
of do a touch back and see whereeverybody is and how things have
improved.
Anne-Sterre (56:46):
Yeah, that would be fun. Yeah.
Liesbeth Pauwels (56:48):
Okay, love to
Douglas Maida (56:50):
Wonderful. Well, thank you very much books. And
that's our show for today. I amgoing to thank all of our
listeners for having to fortuning in and downloading and
listening to our podcast show.
Because without you, we couldn'tmake this happen. So thank you
so much for listening.
Amy (Studio) (57:07):
You are listening to we're talking golf produced
by the world of golf. The viewsexpressed by our guests are the
sole views of the guest and notof the podcast show. We're
talking golf, nor of theproducer, the world of golf nor
any of its personnel, includingthe host Douglas Mater. This
episode was recorded on Tuesday,August 10 2021. If you have an
(57:29):
idea for a future show, send usan email please include "Podcast
Show" in the subject line.
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our show.
We're talking golf. I'm DouglasMaida
This past weekend, the Olympicswrapped up from Japan. And we
had two weeks of fantastic golfboth on the men's side and on
the women's side. We hadmedalists on the men's side
representing the United States,Slovakia and Taiwan. On the
(00:35):
women's side, the medalistsrepresented countries like the
United States, the host country,Japan, and New Zealand. The
Olympics itself is a noble ideaor gesture based upon bringing
the nations of the worldtogether in a peaceful reunion
for the purpose of advancingsport. Now in golf, one of the
(00:56):
major thoughts behind theOlympics was that when it came
back into the Olympics in 2016,for the real games, many believe
that one of the benefits wouldbe bringing the sport to other
parts of the world, to placesthat rarely saw golf. Perhaps
the best example of that thispast weekend represented the
play of India's Aditi Ashok, nowa DT didn't metal, but she came
(01:20):
close. And she put in afantastic effort. She captured
the attention of not only thegolf world with a phenomenal
putting in play, but shecaptured the interest of her
country, a country that is notknown for playing golf. So
imagine a country like India,with a population of over 1
billion people, many of themwatching one of their own
(01:40):
competing for a medal at theOlympics in golf.
This is the way that the sportgrows. And it's taking place all
over the world, whether it be ina place like India, or in places
like Thailand, Malaysia, or inother countries around the
world.
Now today's show was going to beabout a country that has had a
golf Federation since 1914. Ithas had some players of note
(02:03):
competing on golf's biggeststages on the European tour, and
the LPGA.
When we think about golf, theNetherlands isn't the first
country that comes to mind veryoften. Usually, when we think of
the Netherlands, we think ofsoccer or football. Depending
where you live. We may think offield hockey or speed skating,
(02:24):
but very rarely is golf thefirst sport that comes to mind
when we think of theNetherlands. Now the Netherlands
has produced some notablegolfers such as ust loyalton,
who's played on the Europeantour. Or if you follow women's
golf Anne Van Dam, who plays onthe LPGA more recently, and has
even been featured in Golfsshowss and other media because
of her graceful swing, and herability to drive the golf ball
(02:47):
300 yards. Now our topic intoday's show is golf in the
Netherlands. And we will discussthe growth and development of
the sport, the effect ofimproved coaching and training.
And then we're going to talkwith a pair of promising young
women about their golf journeyin the Netherlands. So here to
discuss these topics with uswill be Liesbeth Pauwels,
(03:08):
Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, and Noavan Beek. Now before we get to
them, we'll take a short breakfor a message from our producers
Commercial (03:17):
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Welcome to our show. We areproud to announce that we're
talking golf has been recognizedas one of the top 40 podcasts to
(03:40):
follow in 2021 for PGA and LPGAgolf coverage. Today's show is
being recorded from our studioin beautiful Vancouver, British
Columbia. We are produced by theworld of golf and you can find
us on the world wide web atwww.worldofgolf.org or on our
(04:00):
social media channels ofFacebook, Twitter, Instagram,
and now on LinkedIn. For thoseof you in Asia and elsewhere.
You can also follow us on Weiboand WeChat. Now, back to our
show. Here is your host Douglasmaida.
Douglas Maida (04:17):
Hi, we're back.
Thank you for staying with us.
Now without further delay, let'sget straight to our guests.
liesbeth pauwels is the owner ofLP golf performance based in
Amsterdam. She graduated fromthe University of British
Columbia and Vancouver, Canadawith a degree in kinesiology,
the study of human bodymechanics. She is a TPI,
(04:37):
certified fitness and golfspecialist. And she's previously
worked as a national Trainerwith the golf federation of the
Netherlands.
Anne-Sterre den Dunnen is a 17year old member of the Dutch
national golf team. She is apast winner of the Dutch
national match play championshipand winner of the junior tulip
golf challenge. She holds aworld amateur golf ranking best
(05:02):
of 126 in the fall of 2022, Annais committed to playing with
Wake Forest in the NCAA DivisionOne.
Noah van Beek is 18 years old,having celebrated her birthday
just a couple of days ago. Sheis a member of the under 18
Dutch golf team. She also holdsa world amateur golf ranking.
(05:25):
And she too is planning onattending university in the
United States in 2022.
More recently, she had theexperience of playing an LED
ladies European Tour event withEmily Kristine Pedersen of
Denmark. Welcome to the show,everyone.
Anne-Sterre (05:41):
Thank you.
Noa van Beek (05:42):
Thank you for having us.
Liesbeth Pauwels (05:44):
Excited to be here.
Douglas Maida (05:46):
Our pleasure, her pleasure. So thank you all for
taking time out of your busyschedules and competitions and
whatnot to be with us today.
Let me start with you, Liesbeth.
Do you have a couple of moments?
I mean, you're known to ourreaders a fair bit and people on
our podcast show who've listenedto you before and heard your
show. But do you have a maybe aquick 30 seconds that you'd like
(06:09):
to share with people about yourrole and how active you've been
in golf in the Netherlands? Andand any of those particulars
that I think our audience shouldknow about?
Liesbeth Pauwels (06:19):
Um, well, yeah, since 2010, I really help
professional and top amateurgolfers to be able to perform
better and as a golf performancecoach and mentor, you know, I
helped them in throughoptimizing their body, mind and
the game. And of course, I'vebeen taking this from Canada,
(06:47):
Vancouver, back to Holland. AndI've been here in Holland, for
think almost six, seven years.
And I've seen a lot ofprogression happening,
especially both on the elitelevel and on amateur recreative
levels. There's definitely beena lot a lot that has changed.
(07:08):
And yeah, it's really excited tobe a part of that and have to
see the growth happening.
Douglas Maida (07:17):
Let's chat a little bit about the development
of more elite players in theNetherlands. In the Netherlands,
it seems that growing and bettercoaching and training is a big
factor in the development ofthese elite players. We've seen
players like Joost Luitenplaying on the European tour.
And, and occasionally in theNorth American PGA Tour, we have
Anne Van Dam, who's now playingon the LPGA Tour and whatnot.
(07:40):
So there seems to be thisgrowing movement of developing
more and more players at anelite level out of the
Netherlands -- Liesbeth, howmuch would you attribute that to
the better coaching andtraining? And what does it mean
for the elite athletes and forcoaches like yourself?
Liesbeth Pauwels (07:56):
Well, if we're talking about the physical
performance coaching part of it,I mean, it has definitely been a
big, big role globally, forplayers to be able to evolve
because the game has evolved. Imean, it has become super
powerful, players need to beable to hit it very far, they
(08:19):
need to be explosive. But aswell, tournament schedules are
packed, the traveling has becomeway more intense, and maybe even
taxing on both the body, themind can be sometimes mentally
challenging as well. And so itcomes down to being really
physically mentally preparedvery well to be able to play and
(08:44):
compete and perform and do verywell at the highest levels. But
it also comes down to kind of,you know, be able to down
regulate recover after an eventand how quickly a player can
recover.
So I think that's the importantpart of the coaching if we
talking about the physicalmental side of it is that it
(09:08):
helps to players to prepare forall of these scenarios. And I
think there's, you know, I'vedefinitely, like I said, seen
development happening in theNetherlands, but physical
training and assessments, theyhave been part of the national
program for a long time. I mean,I've coached there for a couple
(09:32):
of years. But however, I dothink that there's still a, I
mean, from my perspective,there's still opportunity for
growth needed and especiallywhen we're, when I'm seeing from
the communication part and fromthe integration part. That's
(09:54):
where I see where we can stillgrow in the Netherlands.
And that's what I'm You know,continuously looking at what's
happening in the united statesor countries or coaches that do
really, really well at thehighest levels from golf, but
also outside of golf. And tryto integrate that as well into
(10:15):
the golf scene, because that'swhere I see there's an
opportunity to, to take on,especially in this very small
country, but as we just saw on Imean, just recently, with the
Olympic Games, we've done reallywell got a lot of medals for
this very small country. Butyeah, I think, related to golf,
(10:41):
physical coaching, and mentalpreparation still needs to be
taken more seriously. That'swhat I'm sensing. And it's
amazing to see players that dothat and go after that. So.
Douglas Maida (10:56):
So perhaps you can share a little bit with us
in terms of what do you thinkthat the biggest change has
been? If you could, if you couldname one thing? liesbeth? What
do you think the biggest changehas been in the evolution of
coaching and training in theNetherlands?
Liesbeth Pauwels (11:13):
It's been that the technical coaches have been,
are more open to get gettingtheir players really physically
strong and creating that teamaround the player. Apart from
just a technical standpoint,yeah.
Douglas Maida (11:34):
What do you mean by team? I mean, I I'm pretty
sure I know what you mean. Butwhy don't you explain what you
mean by the team for ourlisteners?
Liesbeth Pauwels (11:42):
Yeah, so I mean, going on to the elite
levels, a player needs to have ateam of experts and coaches
surrounded by them. And thechange here in Holland, what I'm
seeing is that the team used tobe just a physio or, and like
their, their, their Swing Coach,or maybe a putting coach. But
(12:04):
now, the team also integrateslike that physical coach or a
mental coach, and all of theteam members are way more
effective with communication toeach other, so that the players
development is, you know, at theright is the priority, and
(12:26):
therefore, the team members needto be communicating. And that's
what I'm, what i what i see whathas grown. Isn't that the swing
coaches, technical coaches,except there being more, yeah,
yeah, other other team memberson the team for the player. If
(12:47):
that makes sense,
Douglas Maida (12:47):
Oh, completely, completely. But I, I appreciate
that. Because, you know, I'msure we're gonna have people in
the audience listening, who areeither Junior golfers wanting to
pursue a career or an elitecareer in golf, whether it be
just to attend university, orperhaps to take it to the next
level, make the national team orperhaps have the opportunity to
(13:08):
pursue a professional career. SoI think it's important that they
start to get some understandingand awareness as to what what
takes what it takes to become anelite player and some of the
things that go into it.
Maybe I'll switch gears and askthe two ladies we have with us a
little bit about sharing theirexperiences in terms of working
(13:30):
with, say, the national programand coaching and the
specializations. So why don't westart with yourself there? And
would you like to share a littlebit about how you found coaching
and your experiences workingwith the elite coaches and the
program and what it's meant foryou.
Anne-Sterre (13:56):
So I've worked with my Swing Coach for the past six
years. And basically, like, acouple months after I started
with him, I got, I also got aphysical coach. And they are
just really good friends. Andthey've known each other for a
long time. So they constantlycommunicate, and that definitely
(14:20):
helps. And but I also think thatbecause we have a lot more data
right now, and we just get somuch more data, we can use that
too. Yeah, yes. See faster andeasier.
Yeah, if something's wrong, or,you know, maybe we shouldn't go
this direction or this doesn'tlook good. And I also think
(14:45):
that just because we havetrainers that I have a lot of
experience like they've playedon tour themselves or they they
played on the lead levels, theycan give us that edge. To be
playing better to help usprevent making mistakes that
maybe they've made, or they knowother people that made those
(15:07):
mistakes. And I think that'sjust the last couple years that
you would improve.
Douglas Maida (15:11):
Okay. How about yourself Noa? What has your
experience been like in terms ofworking with some of these more
specialized coaches? And, andobviously, for the audience, I
don't know if I've mentioned itor not, but we know that you
work with liesbeth a fair bit,and she's worked with you over
the past few years.
Noa van Beek (15:27):
Yeah. So I am working with Liesbeth from
almost the beginning that Istarted. And I feel like it
really helps me on differentkinds of Reinhardt's for my golf
game gave me a way to toshipyard my mental bars, and
also my physical floors. So Ifeel like that's something that
(15:47):
has improved over the years aswell. So it has not only been
the golf bar, but also all thesidebars, that helps you,
eventually you will become abetter player. So I'm really
happy that I'm working withthese players, because she gives
me so much support from for allthe different kinds of parts
that are that are cited, whicheventually help you my golf
(16:11):
game. So I feel like that's abig, that's been a big change
for this year.
Douglas Maida (16:17):
Are you finding know that some of what you're
working on because I knowLiesbeth and I know the work
that she's been doing, and a lotof it takes a much more holistic
approach to, to not just thegolf aspect, but in terms of
helping the people that workwith their become better
individuals, whether it bespiritually. And I don't
(16:38):
necessarily mean in a religioussense. I mean, spiritually in
the sense of feeling whole,developing as an individual
taking this broader approach todevelopment and whatnot. Are you
finding that to be a big partand helpful to you as well?
Noa van Beek (16:53):
Yeah, I know, I can be at first and become
really frustrated, when whichdoesn't go away what I was
hoping for. So I talk about it,of course, as she gives me kind
of advice that I can take withme on the shores. So I can
(17:14):
again, I can keep likeeverything. Don't get too
frustrated. And I feel likethose things that are known are
kind of technical goal, farbetter still, they are helping
or hitting better shops. Soyeah, she's also helping me on
like, kind of way, way, way ofthinking and visualization on
(17:38):
the golf course and stayingpositive.
Douglas Maida (17:42):
Liesbeth. You mentioned a little bit about the
technical development and workthat's been going on in
coaching, and in particular,your observations about it in
the Netherlands. Now, when Ithink technical and whatnot, I'm
starting to think a lot aboutTPI based training and
development. Is that animportant element or is it more
than just TPI?
Liesbeth Pauwels (18:03):
Absolutely.
It's more than just TPI. I mean,TPI is a method that us coaches
can use and apply to. I mean,indeed, like Anna said, gather
data. I mean, that's why we dothe TPI screenings. And it's a
structure and a language that weas coaches can refer to one
another. It's it's veryimportant, and it's just one of
(18:25):
the methods at least that's howI'm from my experience that I
use to I mean, talking aboutthe the physical development is
TPI, but it's a strength, skinstrength and conditioning as
well. It's it's yoga, it'spilatos, it's integrates, you
(18:45):
know, endurance training,different sports skills, and to
be able to transfer that togolf, in if we're talking from
junior development point ofview. So, I mean, yeah, for me,
it's definitely just more thanTPI, but it's nice because we as
a team can all communicate inthe same language and we
(19:08):
understand and therefore canhelp the development of the
player which is always apriority. Much better.
Douglas Maida (19:20):
Let me ask this question of you Liesbeth and
then I'll ask it to the twoladies. Do you think it's
possible to develop an eliteplayer these days without having
that kind of access to qualitycoaching and support systems?
Liesbeth Pauwels (19:37):
Well, that's not because I'm a coach and I
coach young juniors, but Ihonestly don't think that you
can, yeah, really hit thoseperformances and and do really
well, but also gain thatfulfillment and be still growing
as a golfer as an athlete and asa person without, you know,
(19:59):
great coaches. And a teamaround you who's experts ly in
different fields?
Douglas Maida (20:05):
Yes, I would tend to agree. I mean, I think the
days of a Bubba Watson who nevertook a golf lesson in his life
are kind of numbered if theyalready aren't finished, just
because of the way the game hasgone with the explosion (speed
and power). And then we havesomebody on the PGA Tour like
Bryson D Shambo who people seemto either love or hate. But he
(20:27):
brings that, you know, almosttoo much of a scientific
technical perspective to to thegame and whatnot. But the game
has definitely moving in thatdirection. And it seems like you
really have to be on the ballthese days, and even at a little
bit of an earlier age thanperhaps waiting until college
like people used to do in thepast.
Liesbeth Pauwels (20:47):
Well, yeah, and it's not something, maybe
it's a misunderstanding or myththat I want to, you know, take
takeaway is that many young, Imean, many young juniors or even
parents don't decide to createthat team, very young and early
on. Because they think 'Aw, it'snot necessary yet, or my junior
(21:10):
doesn't need to lift weights'or, you know, all that fitness,
it doesn't need to be thatspecialized at all. And that's,
yeah, it's a misunderstanding,because it's only going to help
them into developmentphysically, and mentally them as
a player, but as also, as youknow, a person, like I said.
(21:30):
It's not something that you takeon when you need it, you take a
coach, when you don't need it.
So you can really tackle thosedifficult, challenging moments,
which are a part of, you know,growing into elite sports at
any, any age or also any othersports, you know, they come and
that's why you need to beprepared and have a team that's
(21:53):
also there to support and bekind of an anchor, um, it's all
of the things that happen.
Yeah, but I'm, like, I'm, ofcourse biased, but it's still
true. I mean, I also havecoaches. So yeah, it's hard. For
(22:14):
me, it's a part of the game. ButI'd love to hear the girl's
opinion about that.
Douglas Maida (22:20):
Yes. Well, I agree with you too, Liesbeth.
It's a very important aspect anddevelopment. Let's switch yes,
Noa, following up on that, doyou want to share your thoughts
about coaching and theimportance of it? Or do you
think? I mean, do you think youand this is the same question
for you to Anne? Do you thinkthat you could be where you are
(22:43):
today in your careers in golfwithout that kind of coaching?
Noa van Beek (22:49):
I'm in my opinion, and I think if you look at like,
like the guys ranked players,you know, they all do these
different kinds of aspects, Ifeel like you really need them
to get nowadays on a kind ofhigh level. And in my opinion,
if I started working out when Iwas nine years old, so I feel
(23:13):
alive over all these years, ithas really helped me in my golf
game, gaining skills and morespeed, more distance.
I feel like you really need allthose different kinds of aspects
like the magician's mark, orshuffling or anything on the
corners, your mental marks, ofcourse, helps you so I feel like
you're like, again, get out ofyour game, if you're not doing
(23:36):
all the different types.
Douglas Maida (23:39):
How about yourself, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (23:41):
Yes. So I know, for myself, my parents decided to
form a team, like from thebeginning when I started
training. And so I'm very luckyto have my parents decided to do
that. And, but I have definitelynoticed a difference. Because a
couple years ago, I started moreheavily with, with training and
(24:04):
with working with my coaches.
And I definitely saw improvementin how I performed and it wasn't
just a training, but it was alsomentally, just being more
prepared for being on the courseand hitting a bad shot, but
still being able to recover.
And I also think that especiallyfor the physical part, you need
(24:25):
a coach that's going to reallyguide you through because I am
actually still growing, whichis very difficult because I
couldn't really start weightsearly. Because then you're it's
not good for your body. So mycode, she made a whole plan on
how we were going to handle it.
(24:45):
So yeah, and if I had started tojust use the ways from very
early on, I definitely wouldhave gotten a serious injury. So
I think coaching is just one ofthe most important things you
can have.
Douglas Maida (24:58):
Lizbeth Let me ask you a question of you before
we move on, there's now I knowthere's the topic of weight
training and whatnot. When we'retalking about golf, fitness and
development, particularly at theyounger ages, we're not
necessarily talking about weighttraining, where you're lifting
for bulking up your muscles andand bulking up the body and
(25:21):
whatnot. Am I correct inthinking that what we're talking
about is more about conditioningand strengthening your core
muscles, your key muscle groups,things of that nature, so that
you're, you're stronger overall,but without bulking up? Is that
a fair assessment?
Liesbeth Pauwels (25:37):
Yes, yes, it's a definitely a part of it. I
mean, physical development, whenyou're at that Junior age,
really depends not on yourchronological age, but on the
biological age. So indeed,referring back to Ana, when now
she's still growing. I mean,there's there definitely has to
(26:01):
be taking account of that. Eventhough Yeah, you know, we're not
the growth and the rate of thejunior growing needs to be taken
into account. And it helps thento create a program that aligns
(26:24):
with how fast they're growing,or if they stopped growing. And
of course, it also is verydifferent girls versus boys.
It's a big, big, big difference.
And in terms of actual training,that could be different,
practicing different sportsskills that easily transferred
(26:44):
to golf, such as you know,hockey or throw throwing skills,
kicking skills, those are super,super important. We're talking
about bodyweight movements, pushups, press ups, Turkish get ups,
but also conditioning with thespeed rope, jump rope. Things
(27:06):
like that, to also keep itlight, fun. And yeah, that's
some of my key elements in jrtraining is being aware of the
state that they're in of theirbody in the growth, while also
keeping them engaged, becausethey need to have fun with it.
Because they need they want, youwant them to be able to do this
(27:28):
for the rest of their life. Soand then from there, it's
gradually adding more resistanceand resistance doesn't always
mean adding weights, it could bein different settings. So yeah.
Douglas Maida (27:42):
Right. Well, thank you for that. We're gonna
take a short commercial break.
And when we return, we're goingto spend some time now chatting
with the players about theirjourneys in golf and how they
came to be in competitive golf,and their future plans. And just
go down that road because Ithink it's quite fascinating.
Because I follow a lot of juniorgolf as well. And I've been
(28:05):
watching all over and I'mnoticing the your players in
your program and the Netherlandsis quietly going about in the
background and is competing afair bit and challenging a lot
for your tournaments and whatnotat the at the amateur level that
these two players are playingat. So I think that's
fascinating. And that's whatwe'll discuss when we come back.
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Douglas Maida (28:41):
Alright, welcome back. And thank you for staying
with us. We're going to move nowinto the second segment of our
show. We're going to talk withthe players a little bit about
their experiences in golf, howthey've came to playcompetitive
golf, and what their experienceshave been, like developing as
players in the Netherlands andcompeting for the Netherlands on
(29:01):
European stage.
So the first question I'd liketo ask the two of you is, how
did you get into competitivegolf? Anne did you want to
start?
Anne-Sterre (29:11):
Yes, so one of my earlier coaches, he was like,
Yeah, why don't you just try goto a competition. And that was
turned out to beat a nationalchampionship under 12. Which is
also where I met Noa because wewere in the same flight. And it
(29:34):
was a lot of fun, and I reallyliked it. And then I just
continued and a couple weekslater, I joined a federation,
the national team and then itjust started playing
competitions and basically neverstopped.
Douglas Maida (29:48):
How old were you when you first started to play
golf?
Anne-Sterre (29:51):
I wasnine but I've only really been training for
about six years. So since I was11.
Douglas Maida (29:59):
Who got you into the game who introduced you to
golf?
Anne-Sterre (30:02):
My dad, he was, he would just be trading and
hitting shots from the bunker.
And I would be sitting therewith a little shovel and just
going about my day. And, andthen a coach from the local
club. He was like, you know,there's a lesson that kids lives
in, if you want, you can join.
(30:24):
And I joined. And he was like,Well, you know, why don't you
just come every week and a windevery week? and kept training?
Douglas Maida (30:34):
And that's where you are today?
Anne-Sterre (30:35):
Yes.
Douglas Maida (30:38):
How about you Noa? how did you get into golf?
Who? Who's the first person thatput a golf club in your hands
and got you playing this game?
And? And how did you make thedecision to come into
competitive golf?
Noa van Beek (30:49):
Um, yeah, so it all started with my parents and
my dad is now, so obsessed withthe game. He loves it more than
anything. So he brought me andmy sister to the golf course
when he was playing with somefriends or for Im style. And me
and my sister and like the flopthat was even longer than
(31:11):
ourselves. So, but yeah, wehave some shots. And it was just
for fun, because at that time, Ialso did other sports, I played
tennis, and I did gymnastics aswell, well, so it was just a
little extra stress.
I started taking group lessonswith golfers my age at the golf
(31:33):
course nearby. And I actuallyreally liked it. And I also went
every week with the same group.
So I made my friends over there,I really started to like the
game because I saw theimprovement. And I tried this
out for small competitions on myhome club club. And, yeah, when
I first really started to playthose events, and I saw you were
(31:59):
able to win prizes andeverything and see the
improvements. And I reallystarted to get motivated to
practice more and get evenbetter and and sign me up from
your tournament. So that's kindof the route that I've been
following. And and now I'm stilldoing it.
Douglas Maida (32:22):
So it was a little bit of the promise of a
reward that got you into it. Andit's like, the carrot and the
stick kind of thing. You had thecarrot there. Well, that's it. I
don't know if it's, yeah, it wasnice. I saw they motivated me to
get even better and better.
Noa van Beek (32:38):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (32:41):
Let me ask you both something else right now,
on the LPGA. There is atremendous amount of collegial
conduct, like a collegiality,like, the players seem to be
very supportive of each other,they go out and compete hard.
They tried to beat each other.
But it never seemed to cross theline. And it becomes more of a,
(33:05):
well, I give it my best I didthe best I possibly can and the
other person won, andcongratulations type of thing.
Do you find the two of you inparticular having grown up a
fair bit together? And like Annasaid, playing in the same flight
from the start and whatnot? Doyou find that playing against
(33:29):
each other and growing uptogether has been a good way of
helping you practice and developyour games? And and how
important would you say thatkind of friendly rivalry, if you
will, or friendly competitionhas been and I see friendly,
because I know the two of youwhen you probably play
individually, you want to win.
And you want to have the bestfinish you can. But I've noticed
that you play very well togetheras well on the team events when
(33:51):
you're competing for theNetherlands against say Germany
like you were last year or someof the other other events. Noa,
did you want to start?
Noa van Beek (34:01):
Yeah, so I think we really know each other for a
really long time. And practiceso many hours together, and we
have seen each other men orwomen face. So it really helps
us as well, because you get abetter friendship, on and off
the golf course you get to knoweach other better. And you can
(34:22):
also help each other with goseckas someone who's better at the
other part and someone who'sbetter at some something else on
that golf game. So I feel likeyou can also support each other
on that. And when you playagainst each other one on one
makes plays or in a stroke, orplays and you're forced to beat
each other. That's just howcompetitions work. So and then I
(34:48):
feel like when you're playing ina team, it's different because
you have to work together andthen after your fingers three
championships. You're usuallykind of find a different
relationship than when you'replaying in this video. So, yeah,
we've experienced all kinds ofthings together.
Douglas Maida (35:10):
And how about yourself, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (35:14):
Yes, so I don't have any brothers or sisters.
And so just going to the golfcourse every week and seeing
everybody really helped me to tolike push myself because I want
it to be as good as them. Andwhen I first joined, because I
never really trained a lot. Iwas just going to the course of
(35:38):
my dad, playing for fun, andthen we'll see how it goes. And
then I joined the Federation, itwas like, okay, you know, we're
gonna train we're gonna do thisand this, and I was like, oh,
wow, you know, this is howyou're supposed to. And to just
grow up with these girls. Yeah,really helped me to push myself
(35:58):
and be like, you know, oh, Iwant to beat them next time or I
want to be better at them thanthan a distant them. And so
yeah, I think it's reallyimportant to somebody to Yeah,
just, yeah, compare yourselfwith almost, but just really
help you push yourself.
Douglas Maida (36:20):
Liesbeth let me jump in and ask you a question.
You've been working with theyounger athletes for a while
now. And obviously not Anne, butsurely you must have a degree of
satisfaction to see how theyoung players are coming along
and, and the development of themand, and while you have that
close connection working withNoa and her sister, it must be
(36:42):
very satisfying, just to see thework that the young ladies are
putting in and the way that thegame is going and and the way
they're developing his players?
Liesbeth Pauwels (36:50):
Absolutely. I mean, for me as a as a coach,
this is I mean, I get my, I feelfulfilled when I'm on the Corps,
and I'm at a tournament,watching them play. And seeing
everything integrate, I mean,not even being there to actually
coach but just observing themand doing their own thing. Like,
(37:14):
a couple of months ago, in June,when they had the opportunity,
for example, to play at theplayers experience on the Le t
here in the Netherlands, whichalso has been a huge
development, by the way, talkingabout golf development here in
Holland.
(37:34):
But yeah, just to observe andsee how they're doing and see
how they, their game is theirswing is but also their
demeanor, their vibe, theirenergy on the course to me that
that gives me all thefulfillment because I put my
Yeah, not just my job is mypassion. And my knowledge is,
(37:56):
you know, I try to bring thatforth in my coaching, but it's
also kind of your it puttingyour heart and your soul into
your coaching. And yeah, whenyou see they, they're having
fun, and they're doing what youhave, you know, kind of
instilled in them. It's to me,it's absolutely, yeah, the most
(38:22):
fulfilling thing as a coach, nomatter what, you know, the
scores are that. Yeah, to seethem grow and develop. Yeah,
very satisfying. And fill youwith a little bit of pride.
Yeah, yeah. But as well, I justknow, they, I mean, I put in the
(38:42):
I put in a lot of effort, butit's their work. They're putting
in the the hours as well.
They're putting in continuouseffort, they asked me to
questions, they stay openminded, they, you know, come
back to me with more questionsor when they're doubting, and
that's the thing that makes themgrow. And I'm just there to, to
guide them to support them,mentor them, or advise whatever
(39:04):
it's most needed at that time.
So.
Douglas Maida (39:12):
Right, Let's chat a little bit about and I'll ask
you first, Anne. How would youdescribe your life and routine
as a elite player? Specifically,like, how do you practice? Do
you have a practice schedule? Imean, if let's say you have
(39:35):
another girl that comes up toyou on the golf course and says,
What's it like to play on thenational team? What's it like to
play at the levels you're doing?
I mean, what's life like foryou? What would you tell them?
Anne-Sterre (39:46):
Well, for me, besides golf, academics has
always been important. So Ispend a lot of time on that as
well. But I'd say just thetraining is every weekend. And
that's with the national team.
And then through the week, I'mvery lucky to have a golf
course, walking distance. And sothat's just you're out of
(40:10):
school, you go to the golfcourse, then you come back home
and you do your homework. Andthen you either contact your
coaches, or maybe you dosomething for yourself, and then
you get sleep, and it's just dayto day life.
And then if there's atournament, you work towards
that you adjust your schedule,from just doing technical
(40:32):
training to also more likeadding the competition part into
it. And challenging yourself andgetting yourself in the right
mindset to be able to play in atournament. And then after that,
it's reflection and immediatelyjust go on to the next
tournament. And just, that'slike day to day your, your daily
(40:54):
business.
Douglas Maida (40:56):
How about yourself Noa?, how would you
describe your day? And what kindof advice would you give to some
someone else that came up andasked you at the golf course?
Noa van Beek (41:04):
Um, yeah, so I would say your schedule every
week, It changes also, becauseof the tournament, you play.
You have early mornings, and Iwas in a school that had golf
practices in the morning. Sofirst, I have to travel one and
a half hour an hour towards mytraining, and then it starts at
8 (41:26):
30. And I practice all morning, I go to class, and I
throw my back home. And then youdo your homework. And sometimes
you have also your strength andconditioning training after all.
So you have really busy days,and you want to get your rest as
well. So you go to bed early.
And if you live in like, fromMonday to Friday, you don't
(41:50):
really have much time tosocialize with your friends
because of the travelingpractice your schoolwork as
well. Well. That's the kind ofdecisions you have to make at
this high level with withperformance and everything. And
yeah, the guy Wait where I like,I feel like it's what everyone's
(42:11):
different. I liked I like goingmore on the technical part in
the winter season. So theoffseason, and more on the
skills and performance part areduring the season. So it really
depends. When and what kind ofseason you have with tournament,
and to start off with ourtournament, but I would say,
(42:33):
Yeah, you're really busyschedule.
Douglas Maida (42:38):
So Anne, you're planning to attend Wake Forest
in September 2022. Correct?
Anne-Sterre (42:43):
Yes.
Douglas Maida (42:45):
What are your plans? In terms of golf and
universities that your focus isgoing to be on education? Is it
going to be on both golf andeducation and see what happens?
And possibly a future careerprofessionally? What are your
plans and your goals at thisstage?
Anne-Sterre (43:02):
Well, my goal is definitely to plan the LPGA.
That's just always been a dreamof mine. And but yeah, from my
family, it's just beeneducation. I do want to get a
degree. And because you know,the chances of making it to the
PGA is so small. That you know,in a small van, it doesn't work.
(43:27):
And so I have something to fallback on. So, for me, I'm
definitely going to be focusingon both golf and education.
Maybe a bit more on golf. Butyeah, definitely both.
Douglas Maida (43:40):
Do you have a career path in mind for a
university? Like what you'd liketo study?
Anne-Sterre (43:45):
I yes. So it's probably going to be either
biology or biochemistry. Andwhich I is, of course, very
hard. But I just don't get anysort of satisfaction from the
economics part. So that'sdefinitely a no.
Douglas Maida (44:03):
Yeah, I was gonna say, Well, you could be another
wonderful candidate for STEM,women in STEM. There are there
are a few players out there. Youknow, somebody I know Brittany
Marchand. She was a chemicalengineer or is a chemical
engineer. She graduated from NCState. So she had that very
difficult academic career pathas well as playing golf and, and
(44:24):
she's playing on the symmetrictour. And she played a year on
the LPGA as well. So yeah,interesting.
How about yourself, Noa? Areyou still planning to attend
NCAA Division One, and I seethat you're affiliated with peak
USA. Did you maybe want to sharea little bit about what that's
all about?
Noa van Beek (44:43):
Yeah. Well, I'm planning to also go to college
and finance division one forclass two, and I'm working with
Jenna for over two years now,and she's really helping me find
the right fix. She works withmany different players in
(45:04):
Europe, boys and girls. And shejust gets in touch with coaches,
informing them about playersthat she is working with that
are looking for. And eventuallyto find the right fit for
everyone. So I really like thesupport that she gives me. And
I'm really happy that she helpedme through this whole journey.
(45:28):
And many people also know that Iwas probably committed to a
university this year in Texas A& M University, and I have made
my commitment with a lot ofthings changing. So I got my
coaches at my school, andunfortunately, it didn't work
(45:51):
out I was hoping for. So Iessentially made my decision to
not go and go more and more openup my recruitment process again.
And now looking for anotherschool. That is the right fit
for me. So I feel likeeverything happens for a reason.
So we probably have to be likethis. And then I will see where
(46:14):
I yeah, what my school will be.
Yeah, I'm now speaking withteams again. Yeah, I'm excited.
Douglas Maida (46:25):
Let me ask a quick question of both you and
Anne, one of the big Juniorevents, that seems to attract a
lot of attention for recruitingis the IMG event in San Diego
every year. I think they call itthe Callaway event. Have either
of you ever looked at playingthat? Or have you played it? Or
(46:45):
is it in your plans at all?
Anne-Sterre (46:49):
No, , not for me.
No,
Noa van Beek (46:51):
No, I haven't heard for me. Also. I I do hear
about other events in the USAlike Jr or the amateur. but,
I haven't heard of this one.
Douglas Maida (47:07):
it.
No? Neither have you, Anne?
Unknown (47:10):
Know, No,
Anne-Sterre (47:11):
I haven't heard of it. I I did get the chance to
play in the junior Orange Bowl.
But that was two years ago. So Ihaven't played in America since
due to COVID. But uh,
Douglas Maida (47:24):
Yeah, the COVID sure taken a
Anne-Sterre (47:26):
It's been tough
Douglas Maida (47:27):
COVID shirt taking a bite out of all the
international competitions thatplayers like yourselves could,
could participate in. Let me askyou this. If you could in say a
short sentence, what advicewould you give to others about
choosing to play competitivegolf, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (47:41):
Go for it fully.
And you learn a lot and you geta lot of experience you wouldn't
get otherwise. You travel, Andjust give it your all?
Douglas Maida (47:55):
Alright, How about yourself, Noa?
Noa van Beek (47:57):
Yeah. I agree with Anne-Sterre, I feel like
it's really for them that theyhave to know it's not easy. And
it doesn't come from granted. Soyou really have to put in all
the work. But essentially, keephaving fun. I know it can be
really hard when you have toperform and then it's not always
going the way you want. But youhave to. Yeah, having a fun in
(48:21):
the game, because you reallyneeded to perform at the highest
level. And after all, youstarted the game because you
liked it. And I feel like you'vealways need to keep the fun in
the game.
Douglas Maida (48:35):
Right. So no regrets for the path you've
chosen so far.
Noa van Beek (48:40):
No, definitely not.
Douglas Maida (48:42):
And how about you Anne? No regrets?
Anne-Sterre (48:45):
No, no, no, you miss a lot of things that so
many other things make up forit?
Douglas Maida (48:52):
Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's wonderful. I'm going to
ask Liesbeth one more questionhere before we move on.
Liesbeth, you've been in theprogram a little bit now. Is
there anything that you know,looking back so far? Is there
another focus or anything thatyou wish that you could see
developing in the Netherlandswith its golf program or, or
(49:14):
things of that nature to to helpthese athletes get to the next
level or or to continue toimprove on?
Liesbeth Pauwels (49:20):
Yes, absolutely. I mean, there's
always room for improvement.
And I think, like I shared alittle bit before, I think to
embrace the physical mentaldevelopment fully and integrated
into not just the programs butalso the budgeting is going to
help grow the game even further.
(49:48):
Especially development of youngplayers here in Holland.
Douglas Maida (49:52):
Okay. Yeah, very important. Thanks. How about you
ladies? Is there anything youwould like to suggest that could
be improved or done a little bitbetter now that you're at a
stage, you can look back alittle bit. Who wants to go
first?
Anne-Sterre (50:06):
Oh, no. I'm looking back. Yeah. I don't
really know of anything, atleast that comes to mind right
now. But I could have beenchanged. Maybe just from the
early stages on, I think women'sgolf is incredibly important.
(50:30):
And I think, because when wewere younger, there wasn't a lot
of attention to us. It's gettingbetter. But I think that's
definitely at least one of theregrets I have that just, there
hasn't been that much attentionto women's golf. I think that
could be changed.
Douglas Maida (50:47):
Okay, that's a very good point. Hopefully,
programs like this will help tocontinue to put the focus on
women's golf and, and inparticular, this episode in the
Netherlands and women's golf inthe Netherlands.
Anne-Sterre (50:57):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Douglas Maida (51:00):
How about yourself Noa?
Noa van Beek (51:04):
Yeah, I agree with Anne-Sterre, I don't really know
what I could have changed in thepast. Maybe Maybe I've always
been really competitive. Somaybe at a really young age, not
focusing too much on the scoreswhen I was like, like, 1011
years old. Sometimes I see like,the young girls might not know,
(51:25):
right? And if you're okay,you're still so young. So maybe,
yeah, I don't know anything elsethat I would have changed.
Unfortunately, golfing had abig impact on our careers, the
last few years. So, yeah, thatsaid, everyone's experiencing
the same. So it's not reallysomething I think, was in our
(51:50):
own hands.
Douglas Maida (51:51):
Right, right. So another Carpe Diem, seize the
day and enjoy you theopportunity while you got it,
because you can't take it forgranted.
Noa van Beek (51:59):
Definitely.
Douglas Maida (52:01):
One more quick question, though, you're talking
about how competitive you are,when you're younger, how much of
that was driven by the siblingrivalry in having your sister
play you? and you know, the twosisters going out of the house
had died. If you're like my twosisters, they're always
competing with each other.
Noa van Beek (52:17):
It's definitely really competitive. between us
and also off the golf course, onsome different kinds of aspects.
We really wants to beat eachother. And I feel like the
pressures were on me because I'mthe oldest one, so I can really
lose is that's what I get tohear from everyone. But it's
really competitive. But becausewe are doing so much together,
(52:41):
we also have a really closerelationship together. And we do
our best, and we hope we bothreach out. Also, we do also
support each other. But when wehave patients, we really want to
beat each other as well.
Douglas Maida (52:58):
What's next for you? What's coming up? Are you
any competitions? Anything likethatNoa?
Noa van Beek (53:03):
Um, yeah, so I do have a few tournaments left this
year, at the end of the month,I'm also going to get away
together with Anne-Sterre to theItalian girls (event). So
that's what I'm looking forwardto, because it's a big
tournament where we go regardedwith good players. AndI still
(53:24):
have a few nationalchampionships, where I am going
to play. And in the meantime,also focusing on a regular
process to find the right coach,for me so. So those are the
things that are most importantto me right now.
Douglas Maida (53:40):
Great, great. And how about you, Anne?
Anne-Sterre (53:43):
Yes, so I have a tournament in the coming days.
So that's the Dutch AmateurChampionship. And so that's an
international tournamenttournament here in the
Netherlands. And they Yeah, theItalian girls under 18.
And then there's also a nationalopen. So that's actually
(54:03):
competition with both amateursand professionals. So that's
always really fun to play. And,and then I'm probably going to
play a LET Access competition ortwo, because it's just basically
the only thing that's left thistime of year.
Douglas Maida (54:22):
Right, right. And how about yourself Liesbeth I
know you're always busy and onthe go and whatnot. So what's
happening for you in the nextwhile?
Liesbeth Pauwels (54:31):
Well, I'm always looking to onboard new
driven motivated juniors fromthe Netherlands but also
globally. And there's ... I'vegot a research paper that's
coming out pretty soon which Ihelped develop and which is
going to be huge push forwardfor golf, fitness and the
(54:53):
Netherlands hopefully, butespecially to help reduce,
reduce overuse injuries andgolfers. And I'm currently
working on hopefully launching abig international project as
well. Also, it's also going tobe a huge push forward for the
Golf, kind of golf communityglobally. And yeah, overall, I
(55:18):
can't wait to see the nextcouple of progress development
that my clients will make in thewhat's left of this year. And to
dive deep into the training thisoffseason. That's what I'm
really excited for as well.
Douglas Maida (55:39):
Yes, well, in getting to know you over the
last year, you're definitelysomebody who's always going to
be on the move and looking toimprove things. So that's
fantastic. Liesbeth, keep upthat fantastic work.
Liesbeth Pauwels (55:50):
Thank you.
Douglas Maida (55:51):
We're kind of at the end of our show. Now, while
we're not kind of we are at theend of our allotted time. So I'd
like to thank all of you fortaking the time to join us. It's
been a wonderful opportunity.
And I know we're just scratchingthe surface. But I found it
incredibly fascinating, andparticularly to hear the
examples of what's going on andand in your lives to ladies, I
mean, as the players just to seethe enthusiasm and the hard work
(56:14):
and the dedication going intoit. I think it's I think you're
making Dutch golf going to be amuch bigger force in the future.
So keep up that fantastic workand, and you to Liesbeth and
thank you all so much.
Anne-Sterre (56:27):
Yeah, thank you.
Liesbeth Pauwels (56:29):
Thank you so much for having us and having
this discussion about golf inthe Netherlands and the
development.
Douglas Maida (56:37):
Yeah, it's been fantastic. And hopefully, maybe
we can do another episode likethis in the future and just kind
of do a touch back and see whereeverybody is and how things have
improved.
Anne-Sterre (56:46):
Yeah, that would be fun. Yeah.
Liesbeth Pauwels (56:48):
Okay, love to
Douglas Maida (56:50):
Wonderful. Well, thank you very much books. And
that's our show for today. I amgoing to thank all of our
listeners for having to fortuning in and downloading and
listening to our podcast show.
Because without you, we couldn'tmake this happen. So thank you
so much for listening.
Amy (Studio) (57:07):
You are listening to we're talking golf produced
by the world of golf. The viewsexpressed by our guests are the
sole views of the guest and notof the podcast show. We're
talking golf, nor of theproducer, the world of golf nor
any of its personnel, includingthe host Douglas Mater. This
episode was recorded on Tuesday,August 10 2021. If you have an
(57:29):
idea for a future show, send usan email please include "Podcast
Show" in the subject line.
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