Alex is a professional golfer currently chasing her dream of making it to the LPGA. She has also competed in long drive and is currently top 10 in the world. She works out consistently to help support her health and her golf game and shares a lot of her workouts s well as her journey on her social medial so make sure to give her a follow at the links below.
Most of my career I have trained mostly male athletes but I recently started working with some junior female athletes. For that reason, along with being a father of a 6 y.o. daughter it was great to get some insight from a female athlete with her experience and level of talent and success.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up getting into golf?
I learned to play golf at a young age, it was something fun to do with my dad on the weekends. But, I was in Olympic level training for gymnastics in the fourth grade so obviously most of my time was spent in the gym rather than on the range. I really didn’t take golf seriously until I got into high school, but it paid for my college education with a full ride scholarship and that was the biggest goal for my golf game when I was younger.
2. Did you play any other sports growing up and if so how do you feel they helped your golf skills?
Gymnastics really built a strong base for me, and that’s why I’ve always been a long hitter even though I’m barely 5’6”. The two sports are also extremely individual, so I never had a problem practicing for hours by myself without a team. College was actually weird to have other girls around to practice with because I had rarely had that before.
3. Take us a little bit about each level of your golfing career in golf starting as a junior and to where you are now?
Junior golf in Nevada was kind of small when I was in junior golf, so thankfully my parents and extended family were very supportive. In the summer my mom would drive me over to California a few times a month to compete on the junior tours in Northern CA where there was much more and much better competition. We usually signed up for tournaments near one of my aunts’ houses so I could visit cousins as well as not have to pay for hotels...especially in junior golf having a low cost of travel is important because you can’t win anything back.
I then went to Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo for college. I loved every minute. But I had to have another knee surgery during my second year and took longer to recover than I would have wanted. So I ended up mostly giving up playing after graduation.
I coached a college team for a season, then went back to juniors. I had a real job at a local news station as well, I wanted to get into broadcasting. But then I found Long Drive, or rather Long Drive found me. I started competing in 2015 and am currently ranked in the Top 10 in the World.
Now I am transitioning back to playing golf, I miss it too much to not play. So I am trying for the LPGA Tour (I’m actually right in the middle of Q School right now!).
4. What, if any, are the biggest limitations or barriers that may exist in women’s golf at each of these levels compared to men’s? What do you think can be done to remedy these?
Biggest thing is that there’s not enough ladies, even in high school we struggled to fill a team a lot of the time. In coaching I see a lot of young girls give up too early. I know it looks easy on the outside, but it is a HARD sport. And it is going to take A LOT of time to get good at it. So don’t give up too early!
5. You are very active on social media with your fitness routines, when did you start taking fitness seriously and how has helped you and your game?
I’ve always been interested in fitness. I think that comes from starting as a gymnast at a young age. And then in high school I worked with my sister’s volleyball team’s trainer. I couldn’t afford a personal trainer, but they made quite a bit of my workouts golf specific rather than volleyball and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am fitness wise without those trainers
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The most important part of my fitness regimen is staying healthy. I played in 7 tournaments, and had 4 charity appearances inside of 13 weeks this summer at one point. Staying on a strict fitness and nutrition plan is the only why my body could recover and continue to work correctly for that long and strenuous of a time.
6. What advice would you give to the female junior golfers out there who have aspirations of playing at the high school, college and professional levels?
HIT IT HARDER. Learn to hit it hard, we can straighten it out later. But too many young girls don’t learn to hit the ball hard enough and once they get into college and professional golf they just can’t compete. Length is a HUGE advantage in ladie’s golf.
7. I understand you may have competed in some long drive competitions. How did you get into this area of golf?
I actually was hitting balls at the PGA Show in 2015 next to the 2013 World Champion and Heather talked me into competing that year. I haven’t competed now since April 2018, but I’m still ranked in the Top 10 in the World.
8. Is there anything else you want to add for the readers out there?
Big thing for the dad’s out there...don’t force golf on your daughters. Introduce them and then let them choose it. If you choose golf for them, they’ll likely quit as soon as they can. I’ve seen it happen too many times. But as long as you introduce them at a young age, they’ll have the basics down and likely will want to keep improving at it.
But I have gotten some amazing experiences through this game since I chose to take it seriously. I’ve played so many amazing courses with great company, from touching the Atlantic Ocean off a par five in New Hampshire, to hugging Gary Player and Patty Sheehan on the 18th green at Pebble Beach. Golf can give you some of the best memories in the world.
9. Where can people find out more about you and follow you on your golf journey?
My social media accounts - Instagram @aphilaphil, Facebook @swinglikeagirl and Twitter: @aphilaphil are a great way to follow my daily journey. And I’m working on keeping my website - swinglikeagirlgolf.com - updated as best as I can.