Pyke receives College Golf advice from Tour pro

Northamptonshire teenage golfer Baylie Pyke had the opportunity to tap into the knowledge of Ladies European Tour pro Meghan MacLaren when the pair took part in a live Progress Junior Golf Podcast on US College Golf last week.

With Overstone Park’s Pyke set to go to Iowa Western College in August, the hour-long show gave the 17-year-old the opportunity to find out more about what to expect whilst studying and playing golf on the other side of the Atlantic.

The former County Girls champion said: “I’m so excited to go, and I’m really looking forward to the experience. But it’s a mixed of excitement and fear because my family is here in Northamptonshire and I will be 12 hours away – I will miss my cat.

“Iowa Western College did a tour of the place on Zoom, so I got a chance to see what everything will look like.

“The practice facilities was a big thing for me but they were about the same at most colleges that asked to speak to me, but the coach at Iowa made a real commitment to organise a bunch of meetings with me on Skype or Zoom – he even sent a Merry Christmas email, which was really nice.

“In comparison to the other coaches, who just had one call and that was it, that made a huge difference for me.”

Wellingborough’s MacLaren, who graduated with a degree in English from Florida International University before joining the professional ranks in 2016, even admitted being a little envious of Pyke’s new adventure.

She said: “It’s really cool to hear that Baylie’s so excited to go. Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive all that because, and it’s a bit of a cliché, it is some of the best years of your life.”