Gloucestershire’s Jenny Clink has accepted the nomination to become President Elect of England Golf for 2018 with a view to becoming President in 2019.
“This is the most incredible honour and I am very proud to be able to repay some of the good things that the game has given me,” said Jenny, who is a member at Lilley Brook Golf Club in Cheltenham.
She first started playing golf with her mother as a young girl at Tenby, met her late husband, Mike, in a bunker at Pinner Hill and has shared her love of the game throughout her life, inspiring new players and taking on a host of roles at club, county and national level.
Jenny’s commitment to the sport was recognised five years ago when she received England’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her services to golf.
At county level Jenny has been Gloucestershire’s county captain and president. She also helped to found the Gloucestershire County Golf Partnership to promote the grass roots game and encourage more people to play golf and join clubs.
At national level, she chaired the English Women’s Golf Association (EWGA), which later merged with the English Golf Union to form England Golf. She also represented the association on the executive of the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU).
As well as her administrative roles, Jenny has had close involvement with championship golf, both as a sought-after referee and as an England captain. She steered teams to victory in two women’s Home Internationals and to two bronze medals in European team championships.
Jenny was also manager of an England side which won the gold medal at the European girls’ team championship – and which included Mel Reid and Jodi Ewart, who both played in Europe’s 2017 Solheim Cup team.
She’s a great enthusiast for club golf and is proudly supporting the Lilley Brook team which has reached the last 16 in the women’s Daily Mail Foursomes competition. “I’m chief supporter and bottle carrier, I like to get back to basics!” said Jenny. She will also be at Felixstowe Ferry later this month to support Gloucestershire, the 2016 champions, in the English Women’s County Finals.
Jenny will be supported in her new role by her family and she’s delighted to report that her three sons and her seven grandchildren “can all swing a club.” Her eldest and youngest sons, John and Adam, are both in the Royal Navy while her middle son, Tim, is the family’s top golfer and former Gloucestershire county captain.
England Golf www.englandgof.org