A relative newcomer to the game, Jade Cope, aged 17, and a member of Weston Golf Club, has made phenomenal progress.

A RELATIVE newcomer to the game, Jade Cope, aged 17, and a member of Weston Golf Club, has made phenomenal progress.

Jade, who is currently studying sports and exercise science at Weston College, has reduced her handicap from 36 to eight under the watchful eye of coaching professional Mike LaBand.

Jade joined the club’s teaching academy in 2010 and shortly afterwards went on to win the juniors’ Kelly Cup. She also won the award for the most improved junior girl player in 2011.

This was then followed by integration into the ladies section of the club, where Jade won two trophies in the ladies’ championships last year.

This year, after much dedication and practice with LaBand, Jade has won four trophies to date, including the Betty Butler Cup for the best three accumulative nett scores in the ladies’ section between October 2011 and March 2012.

In the ladies section closed meeting in April, Jade won the Jenny Carter toast rack for best silver division nett score, plus the Margaret Buckley Cup for best silver gross score on the same day.

Jade also competed recently at the Marriot St Pierre golf course in Chepstow, South Wales, in the fourth round of the national Mail on Sunday competition, together with a team of other low handicap Weston ladies.

Jade is now a regular member of the ladies first team playing in the Bristol & District Alliance matches and is now ranked number two in the section.

Players of this calibre are promoted quickly to the county rankings and Jade has already been selected by second team county captain Annya Patten to play in practice matches against other counties.

Jade has a busy schedule of matches throughout the coming golf season including selection for the junior first team county squad in the South West Inter-Counties Matchplay Championships at Launceston, Cornwall in August.

She recently entered the Somerset Ladies County Championship at Saltford Golf Club qualifying in the top 16 and went through to the quarter-finals where she played a match against Hannah Grant (a scratch handicap player) and only lost on the 15th hole.

Somerset Ladies County president Sally Irlam and Weston captain Carol Harris are both hugely supportive of Jade’s talent, giving both support and encouragement.