Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Spring / Summer 2011 | Page 10

Jessica’s a star in the making
By David Newbery
For Brisbane-based Korean national
Jessica Park, “practice makes perfect”.
When it comes to work ethic, the talented
young amateur is proving she is no
different from her fellow countrywomen.
It’s a well-known fact that Korean women
golfers have an insatiable appetite for
practice. Hard work is in their DNA.
You only have to look at the women’s
world rankings to see that 10 of the
world’s top-25 professionals are Korean.
There are three in the top-10.
Now, you don’t get there unless you are
prepared to spend long days honing your
skills on the practice fairway. While it’s
still early days in the career of Jessica
Park, all indications are she will one day
make it in the tough play-for-pay ranks.
At least her Indooroopilly Golf Club-based
coach Garry Calder thinks so. Calder
is a two-time recipient of Queensland
teaching professional of the year and can
spot talent at a distance.
“I’d be very surprised if she didn’t make it
as a professional,” he said.
“She’s a clever thinker, is pretty smart
when it comes to shot-selection and

doesn’t get ahead of herself.
“She makes enough birdies now and
is working hard and getting physically
stronger so distance isn’t an issue.
“Jessica’s driven, but in a nice way. She’s
not the arrogant type and she treats
people very well and is a good kid with it.”
Jessica first picked up a golf club five years
ago and a short time later joined the
“practice makes perfect” club.
The 18-year-old says golf is a tough game
and to succeed one has to put in the hard
yards.
“If you don’t practice for a few days you’ll
lose form,” she said. “So, if you want to
improve you have to practice every day
and that’s what I do.”
Well, all the hard work is starting to
pay off. Recently Jessica, who plays
off a scratch handicap, captured her
third successive Australian School Girls’
Championship at the challenging Tea Tree
Gully golf course in Adelaide.
The Kelvin Grove State College student
carded rounds of 71-67 for a 138 total to
win by 10 shots from team-mate Annie
Choi.
In 2009 and 2010, Jessica captured
the Queensland Junior Amateur Girls’

10 Q Golf Online Spring / Summer 2011

www.golfqueensland.org.au

Championship, but rues not having the
opportunity to defend her title this year.
“This year I was going for my third title,
which I really wanted to win,” Jessica said.
“Unfortunately, because of the floods the
tournament was postponed to the middle
of the year and by then I was too old to
compete because my birthday was in
February.