ProDreamUSA is delighted to announce the appointment of former Scottish Golf National Girls Coach Karyn Dallas to the role of Regional Associate for Scotland, to support the growth of the company’s client base in The Home of Golf.
Dallas, who competed on the Ladies European Tour between 1988 and 1991, is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s leading coaches for females and juniors and is based at Forfar Golf Club, where she currently works with more than a hundred youngsters in her successful junior programme. She is also coaching some of the best young female golfers and counts the likes of Freya Russell (Royal Troon), Kirsten Miller (Strathmore), Robyn Fowlie (Forfar) and sisters Jodie and Katy Graham (Hamilton) among her current stable of clients.
With an undoubted passion and energy for developing talented young golfers, Dallas was instrumental in the success enjoyed by a few of Scotland’s current Ladies European Tour stars in the early days of their careers, most notably Kelsey Macdonald, Michelle Thomson and Carly Booth, helping lead them to the Girls Home Internationals title back in 2005.
“Winning the Girls Home Internationals with that group of girls was one of the highlights of my coaching career. The team also featured Sally Watson, Krystal Caithness and Roseanne Niven, who all enjoyed great success as amateurs, and having worked with the squad since they were young, it was very rewarding to see them all come through the ranks and do so well as a team. They were like a group of little pros, pushed themselves eally hard and were phenomenal to work with. We didn’t just win it, they won it in style with convincing victories against England, Ireland and Wales, so it really was the perfect week.”
The success of that team reflects Dallas’s ethos of continuous development, planting the seeds, nurturing them and helping players blossom. She is also a great believer in structure, setting goals, and positive productive practice.
“I learned from my own time playing on the Tour that I didn’t keep setting goals or setting my bar higher. I set out with the ambition of getting down to scratch then turning professional and competing on the Tour. But once I was there, I didn’t push my goals further, and that's something I now promote with their players I'm coaching."
Dallas is excited by the current crop of young female golfers coming through in Scotland and is keen to ensure they are fully aware of the opportunities available to them, whether that be moving out to the USA or staying in Scotland and going to Stirling University.
“My son went out to the States on a golf scholarship, so I have first had experience of the process and the challenges and decisions players, and their families, have to face. I want to pass on that experience to the youngsters I am working with and make sure they have as much information as possible to help make the right decision. There’s much more support available now and ProDreamUSA are great at giving families athe right information and guiding them through the whole journey.”
Having been involved in women’s golf in a professional capacity for more than three decades, Dallas believes that the growing influence of social media is having a positive influence on the number of girls playing the game.
“Numbers seem to be growing and I think social media channels such as Instagram have helped make golf more attractive for young girls. They see it as more glamourous with fantastic young role models coming through on the LPGA and Ladies European Tours. They’re athletic, they have great swings, and they make golf look fun. It also helps to highlight the hard work you need to put into your game in gym and particularly on your short game, and I think that is rubbing off on the young players I am seeing.”
We are excited to have Karyn as part of #TeamProDream and look forward to sharing her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm among new and existing clients in Scotland.
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