U.S. Senior Women’s Open: Area youth golfers learn from Sörenstam

Sörenstam, of course, also had good things to say about NCR’s South Course, where she’ll tee off in the first round Thursday.

“This is a really good golf course,” she said, “and I’m not just saying that.”

The golfers also learned Sörenstam started playing in her native Sweden when she was 12 and first had to split a set of clubs with her sister. She played with the odd clubs — the 7 iron, the 9 iron, etc. — while her sister used the even clubs. Sörenstam told the kids they can have as many as 14 clubs in a bag during a tournament but to lean on the clubs that work for them.

“If you don’t like the clubs, don’t carry them around,” she said, “because to me golf is a sport between your ears, where it’s a lot about confidence, trusting your clubs.”

This was Sörenstam’s second visit to NCR Country. She also visited in May to play the course and promote the event, which will be the fourth U.S. Senior Women’s Open and fifth USGA championship held at NCR Country Club.

Sörenstam is a 10-time major champion who won 72 LPGA events in a career that stretched from 1992-2008. She took a 13-year break from competitive golf before returning on the senior circuit and won the U.S. Women’s Senior Open at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn., a year ago.

Golfers applied to participate in Sörenstam’s clinic by submitting videos talking about their love of the game. They ranged in age from 6 to 16 and were divided into four groups by age. The groups rotated between the driving range, the putting green and areas where they worked on chipping and golf fitness. Among the instructors were Jana Dalton, the head pro at Community Golf Club in Dayton, and Wyatt Wilson, an assistant pro at NCR Country Club.

Natalie Ruhl, 8, spent the last day of summer vacation at the event. She starts third grade at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Fairfield on Wednesday.

Natalie’s parents, Jennifer and Kevin Ruhl, of Hamilton, are both former college athletes who attended Fairfield High School. Jennifer played golf at Western Kentucky. Kevin played baseball at Marshall.

The Ruhls both still play golf and started Natalie in the sport at an early age.

“I’ve been playing golf before I could even walk,” Natalie said in her video. “My parents used to sit me in the golf cart basket when I was a baby to take me golfing. I even took my first steps on grass on a golf course while on vacation when I was just over a year old. I’ve always loved the beauty of a golf course.”

Sörenstam dominated golf in the 1990s and early 2000s, long before Natalie was born, but her parents made sure she was aware of Sörenstam’s history.

“She gets it,” Jennifer said. “Last night, she didn’t want to go to sleep. She was like, ‘This is going to be such a cool day tomorrow.’”