Q&A with Tara Watt, Head Coach of the St. Anselm College Women’s Golf Program

Written By Sabrina Xiaorui Wu

Coach Tara Watt with her trophy after winning the 2022 New Hampshire Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. (Photo courtesy of Tara Watt)

Unlike the majority of collegiate coaches for women’s golf today who have inherited their program from a predecessor, Coach Tara Watt has built her entire women’s golf program at Saint Anselm College from the ground up. As the first coach in the program’s history, she has already doubled the size of her team since its inception. A graduate of Gardner-Webb University (where she played collegiate golf), Coach Watt has long been a student athlete, an experience which gave her a deep understanding of the game that she now uses to guide her players. In addition to coaching, she remains active in competition, continuing her career as an amateur golfer and attaining incredible results. Just last summer, Coach Watt captured her fourth New Hampshire Women’s Mid-Amateur title, proving that she truly leads by example. I had the privilege of speaking with her regarding her personal journey and her perspective on the experience of women golfers.

WU: I understand that you were a three sport athlete in high school, so I was wondering, what first got you interested in learning golf? And why did you choose golf as the sport to pursue in college?

WATT: So funny thing, nobody in my family plays golf. Or ever did. But my mom had a friend who was a golfer, and he saw that I was very athletic, and he was like, Tara should play golf because there’s lots of opportunities for females for golf. 

I remember I was in eighth grade, and he took me to the driving range, and I was a big softball player, and we got a bucket of balls, and I think I whiffed on half of them. I was so frustrated, and I was like, “I'm not playing this sport”, 'cause every sport I played, I picked up, and I was pretty decent at, and I was just not good at golf. But the person that I am, I went home and I was stewing over it, and I was like, all right, I got to figure this out. So, I kind of just started playing for fun when I was in eighth grade. My Sophomore year, they started the golf team. So I was like I guess I'll try my hand at golf. I played Sophomore through Senior year and I was on varsity all three years, and I was kind of okay with it. And then I ended up, you know, when I was trying to make my decision on where I wanted to go to college, I had a couple offers to play basketball somewhere, and my mom was like, "You should really consider golf.” And I didn't want to. I don't know why. I think I was just really in love with basketball. I was a big basketball person, but, like, oh, you got to listen to your mom. Your mom's always right. I ended up going down to North Carolina and I played four years of golf and it was the best decision I ever made. 

WU: As the first head coach in the history of Saint Anselm College women's golf program, how did you originally think this program was going to work out when you started coaching? And then did the reality align with your expectations?

WATT: Prior to Saint Anselm I coached at Southern New Hampshire University for four years as an assistant, and during COVID, the program kind of shut down, and a lot of the girls decided not to come back. They only had, I think, two girls, and then I'm not really sure what the reason is, but they decided to discontinue the women's program, which was very unfortunate, but it just so happened [that] the same exact day that I was on a conference call with everybody at SNHU, letting us know that the women's program was done with, I had an interview in person at Saint Anselm for the women's job. 

I'm like a big believer in things happening for a reason, so I actually took the job on the spot and I had no idea what to expect, honestly. I knew it was going to be a challenge because I had a brand new program and trying to recruit females to come to Saint Anselm, I kind of had to go off of their reputation for academics, and I was looking for girls at Catholic high schools that play golf and I knew that if I was to get five players year one, that that was a big victory, and I was able to do that. So, having your own program, there's pros and cons to it, and, you know, building it from scratch because it's all me, and I'm not coming in and taking over from someone with stuff that was in the past and having to deal with that. So me having my own program from scratch, I couldn't have asked for anything better and definitely have had our struggles with trying to get players, but I would say that this year was our spring board year where I had six freshmen in this incoming class and they're all really good players. So we're finally, you know, making a turn to setting some standards and guidelines for the program. It's super exciting to watch it grow from absolutely nothing to where we are now.

WU: Based on your experiences, are there any common misconceptions about coaching women’s golf?

WATT: I don't think there's much. The one thing that you don't see, there's not a lot of female head coaches. So I am very proud. Actually, last year was the first year that there was another female in the Northeast-10*, but the first four years prior, I was the only head female coach…It was all men. So, it's kind of fun to pave the way and be that pioneer, and show young girls that you can do this. Golf has always been a male dominant sport, and from when I started playing years ago to watch where it's at now, there's a lot of really good young players and veteran players. It means a lot to me to be that mentor that I once looked up to when I was a kid, to be that person to show girls that this is a female sport, too, so you can do whatever you want as long as you put your mind to it and the opportunity's there. It's been very rewarding for me, and I am not intimidated by it at all. I love going out there and looking around and being the only female. It's very empowering, so I like that.

*A NCAA Division II athletic conference founded in 1980 that is based in the northeastern U.S.

WU: I think you have touched on this a little already, but what do you find most rewarding about working with female golfers?

WATT: It's great being a female coach, 'cause I've been on both sides of it where I was an assistant to a male, and I feel like the girls are very close with me. Like, they feel like they can tell me anything. I appreciate that so much, because there's a lot that goes on outside of golf. If something's going on, as a player, if you're not in the right mental state, your game is not going to be good. So it's super rewarding that these girls, they text me on the side to let me know what's going on. They call me, if they need anything, and it's just being that, like, adult figure for them, and I'm more than a coach, and that, I think, means more to me than anything. And then just watching them succeed. I'm kind of sad my first class, my freshman class, the first class I ever recruited, they’re graduating this year, and it's kind of like, they're my kids and they're leaving in a couple months and all of us are like, let's not talk about it. We're not talking about it until it's here, because it really did fly by and to see who they were freshman year on day one and where they are now, they have all just grown so much, and it's so fun to watch, and I can't wait to see what they do. They're all really great kids and going off into the real world and starting careers. You can learn a lot from the game of golf and the integrity piece just makes you a better person. It's been such a fun journey watching these girls and I'm going to be sad when they leave.

WU: What are some common traits you have observed in successful female golfers?

WATT: I think confidence. I feel like you gain a lot of confidence on the golf course, whether that be with yourself improving your game. As you know, as a golfer, you have the shot that's been so difficult, and then one day you hit it, and it's just, you needed that. You're like, okay, I can do this. And it's just the confidence that it gives these girls and there's things that happen in golf that aren't great and you have to stand up for what's right and do the right thing. And I think it just builds the character too. So like I said, I've seen these girls from day one, four years ago to where they are now and they're completely different and better. I think it [golf] just builds on who they are and helps with their confidence and their character.

WU: For anyone who may be lacking these traits, how would you recommend they best improve themselves? Are there any mental exercises or is it really just getting more experience?

WATT: I think the experience for sure, but I always stress positive affirmations. I do this myself. I still compete, and I'm on the golf course, and I could be having a terrible round going, but I still try it. I'm like, okay, you're okay, you can recover, you have this shot, you are good, you deserve to be here, you got this. So just talking positive to yourself. It's not only your mental mindset, but your body language. And if you're tense standing over a shot, your swing is going to be different, and it's not going to be the swing that you normally swing, so you're gonna hit a bad shot. You just have to mentally stay in it and just be positive. And you know what? Sometimes the game may not turn around, but it is what it is, and I always tell the girls, I was like, "We're not professionals. We're not relying on a paycheck after this round. We're out here doing what we love and we're having fun. So, you know, don't stress over it.” I know it can get very frustrating and I always have a five second rule. You're allowed to get angry for five seconds and then after that, we're moving on. It helps a lot. I mean, you're gonna get angry out there and that's okay. I mean, it happens. You get a bad shot and you're just like, “oh, gosh, what was that?” And then it's like, okay, we're over it. That's in the past. We're on to the next shot.

WU: How would you like to be remembered as a golf coach? What lasting impact do you hope to leave on the Saint Anselm College women's golf program?

WATT: I hope these girls can look back and say that they had a fantastic time. I'm a competitor, I really am, and I want to win, but I also want them to have fun. Like this is the whole experience. I've had actually a couple girls from the previous program at SNHU send me texts and tell me that they appreciate me so much. It's like, I could be the worst golfer in the world, but if these girls leave here and they remember me and they continue a relationship with me, like, I know some of my girls that are graduating this year, I'll stay in touch with them for forever, I hope. But I’m more than just a coach. Like, I'm a mentor and I'm somebody that they can reach out to and I just really would love for them to look back and tell people that I was great. Not necessarily a great golfer, but like a great person. So, I mean, the golf is just extra. 

WU: Looking back, how have you seen women’s golf evolve throughout your career?

WATT: It's definitely come a long way. It's definitely grown, which is great. Golf is such a hard sport because you can't just go do it for 30 minutes. It's a commitment, and a lot of people just don't have the time, and families that have multiple kids, if not all of their children are in golf, it's hard to have that one kid gone for six hours in a day playing golf. So I definitely have seen a lot of younger players come through and even with my program, I struggled really hard to get five girls freshman year, and I think if everybody comes back next year, we're gonna have north of 12 players. So I've doubled my team and it's awesome. I think I'm going to get to the point where I'm gonna have to have tryouts so the interest is there. It's definitely growing. And like I said, when I was in high school I played with the boys all the time. There was no all girls teams and I'm hearing of some schools that have all girls teams, which is phenomenal, so I think we still have a long way to go, but I think we're getting there.

WU: What do you think is the motivating factor that is fueling this growth in women’s golf?

WATT: I think we're doing a lot of good things with the LPGA. I just think that there's more golf programs out there, which is great, because there's a lot of colleges when I was looking at schools that didn't have women's golf programs. And then the junior programs are growing. I know our junior program in New Hampshire, we have like the junior tour, and it's really great. It's very cheap, so it's affordable. But I don't really know what the exact thing is. I couldn't pin it down to say what is growing the game, but I just think that, you know, it's out there and I feel like way back in the day, golf was, again, a male dominant sport and women didn't play. So now that we’re seeing we have these great players like Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson to look up to, I think the younger generation’s getting into it [golf], which is great.

WU: Tying into what you mentioned about golf being a male dominated sport, have you observed any prejudices in this sport that place female golfers at a disadvantage? And if so, what are they?

WATT: I personally have. I can remember years ago when I joined the club that I was at. I didn't know anybody, and I just went up by myself as a single, and they were like, yeah, I could head out to the first tee and just join a group, and there were men that were like, yeah, we're not playing with you, because I was a female. I loved it when I would just, because I can hit the ball really far, purposely like hit into them and be like, “oh, I'm sorry”. It's like you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You gotta teach them a lesson. But, you know, not all men are like that. It does happen sometimes, but there's still some country clubs that don't let women play until after 10 a.m. So we definitely have broken some barriers, but I still think that there's a ways to go.

WU: What do you have to say to people who still enforce gendered stereotypes in golf?

WATT: I just like to kind of educate people. I'm a big supporter of people playing the tees that best fit your game. Like, we're not calling them men's tees anymore or women's tees or ladies or seniors. I like to look at them like play this color. And there's actually a couple golf courses around here that have a sign right on the first tee that says, if you hit your drive like 100 to 125, play these tees, and so forth, which I think is great. I'm going to say this. Especially guys, like, they're not going to go up and play the red tees because they think they're the “ladies' tees”. So I think we need to get away from that. I think there are a lot of stereotypes out there about women playing slow and I just think that that's from old school days and I think we are kind of getting past that, hopefully. But yeah, I'm all about playing the tees that best fit your game. 

WU: And what is your take on situations right now in junior golf, such as how for high school golf, the boys often get a better course to play on compared to the girls?

WATT: Yeah, that is very unfortunate. I don't know who does the scheduling and whatnot, but I don't know why. It shouldn't be that way. We should be able to get just as good courses as the men. I mean, I think the Women’s Amateur at Augusta, that was huge, that they introduced a few years ago, because, you know, women have never been able to play Augusta. I would love to see one day the LPGA have a major at Augusta. Is it gonna happen? I don't know. We're getting there, but I don't really know the rhyme or reason. I know I am on the board of directors for New Hampshire Golf Association, so I know there's a really hard time getting courses because with COVID, golf like exploded and everybody's playing now. So the courses are really, really hard to book. I will say this, like, I'm on the board and we are very fair to everybody. They do a very good job.

I will say, a couple years ago, I had a junior golfer [and] she’s actually in college now, but the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) had Boys Golf, and that's what it was called, but there were girls playing on the boys team. So she wrote a letter and she sent it to the NHIAA, and they ended up changing Boys Golf to Co-ed Golf. So I was very proud of her for that, because she had a very valid point. It's like, “We don't have enough girls to have girls teams, and why is it called Boys Golf when there's girls?” I love that she came to me and had me read her letter, and I was like, "You go, girl” and she made it happen. So I think that's awesome.

WU: What encouragement would you give to any female golfer who is facing gender discrimination in this sport, either from male opponents, coaches, or from the system in general? 

WATT: I think that you need to just stand up for yourself. If you don't say anything, no one's gonna know. So stand up, say something, write the letter, send the email, and keep doing it until somebody notices you or recognizes you. And if there's somebody higher up that you can talk to or if there's a female higher up, go to the female and have a conversation, and she's the one that's going to be able to help you, but definitely be heard. Use your voice. It can be scary, but without saying anything, nothing's going to change. 

WU: On a final note, what message do you have for young girls who are considering whether or not to take up golf?

WATT: Oh, man. I would say just stick with it. It's very difficult. I've played every sport and I'm very athletically gifted, I can say that. I was very good at every sport I played and golf was so hard, but I'm so glad that I stuck with it. It's opened up so many doors for me. I got to go to so many places, I've traveled across the US, just playing in golf tournaments. 

I have a full-time job. I'm in sales, and I've taken clients out on the golf course and closed business deals on the golf course. It's such a great tool and I really hope -- knock on wood -- that I'm playing until I'm 90 years old, because it's such a great game and I've met so many amazing people. It's unreal the amount of people that I have met that have helped me with other things in life. 

It's just such a great game. You can play with your mom, your dad, your grandpa, your neighbor. I've met so many people from playing in tournaments and stuff, and it's just an amazing game and you just gotta have patience. Just stick with it, and again, I'm a one handicap, and I still get lessons, because there’s always something you gotta work on. I think that's why I love the game so much, because there's always something that you can learn or do better.