MacDonald proud to represent Nairn Dunbar Golf Club
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Kelsey MacDonald has reflected on her time growing up yards from the Nairn Dunbar links and junior golf with Russell Knox as she encourages more women and girls to join the club.
That is a key target for Nairn Dunbar, with honorary member and Ladies European Tour (LET) professional MacDonald a great ambassador for the club.
The 30-year-old, a former Scottish Women’s champion, has highlighted starting out in golf over the Dunbar links and her sustained passion for the venue, recently named 2021 Environmental Golf Course of the Year.
“I lived only a pitch away from Nairn Dunbar’s 18th green,” said MacDonald, who is preparing for the start of the new LET season.
“I joined when I was eight years old. My dad plays and he took my twin brother, Craig, and I out in the evenings, learning the rules and the game.
“Junior team events were great fun. Playing nearby clubs got the competitive edge in us going, and we also enjoyed the social scene in the junior room, playing on the pool table.
“Playing Nairn Dunbar most days after school and during school holidays, I look back now and realise how fortunate we were to have such an amazing course right on our doorstep.”
MacDonald and fellow honorary member Knox, a tour winner in Europe and America, have enjoyed impressive careers – with the pair even junior team-mates together at Nairn Dunbar.
“It’s such an honour to be recognised by the club, the members who have all supported me during my career and it means a lot,” added Kelsey.
“Russell and I were juniors at the same time.
“I played a lot of junior competitions with him and we were also team mates in the Nairn Dunbar Junior Team.
“As a club, we were encouraged to play and had great support from the members, who were always positively keeping us in line.
“We had a thriving and talented junior membership at Nairn Dunbar and the professional was David Torrance, who is one of the top coaches in Scotland.
“I believe all of the above contributed in some way to Russell and I choosing our career paths. After enjoying my junior years, I’m more than happy to encourage any junior to pick up a club and to enjoy it.
“Nairn Dunbar will always be my home course and I’m proud to represent it. Wherever I am in the world, someone will know someone from Nairn, so I consider myself an ambassador.”
