A whizz-kid on and off the golf course, Canice Screene recently completed a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology and is now obsessed with CrossFit training which she feels has changed her life completely and she is reaping the benefits both on and off the golf course. Having improved her fitness and mentality she is excited to see what a season on the LET Access brings as she bids to win back her Ladies European Tour card for next year.
For the first time in about five years, I can focus fully on my golf. Education has always been a big part of my life and for so long I have combined it with golf. I submitted my dissertation for my Masters in developmental psychology, so I am just golfing this year with no focus on education.
Initially I expected to feel like something was missing, but I have seen a few better results and that could be down to not having split focus for the first time. I am excited to see how that pans out for the rest of the season as I give my all to golf.
My new replacement, or passion you could call it, is CrossFit! I’m obsessed with it and it has changed my life in every way. I’ve always gone to the gym and been big into weightlifting and stuff like that, but I just hated cardio. I simply did not want to do it, but one of my best friends has been doing CrossFit for five years and we went away to Tenerife together last year for some warm-weather training and I took my first class then. I was so obsessed with it straight away and joined her gym when we got home and I have been full time doing it since last November.
The benefits to all parts of my life have been huge – I just can’t recommend it enough. You are genuinely fitter, because the classes are short but highly intensive. They can be cardio-based or weight-based. My brain capacity has improved, I can concentrate for longer, I can play 36 holes now and not suffer mental fatigue as quickly as I would have in the past.
The community aspect is huge too, and I have made so many new friends. Now, I love going to the gym and that’s another thing that makes me happier in general life.
I love that you turn up, do your workout, and every single person gives 100% and we are all exhausted by the end of it. Nobody cares how sweaty you are, or how dishevelled you look, it’s about pushing yourself as hard as you can in that workout and I think that is what I was missing before.
I am very excited to get into the summer season now after a very progressive winter and spring period on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in South Africa and on the Justin Rose Ladies Series. After losing my card on the LET and playing LET Access Series last year, I feel now that I am playing the most consistent golf of my career so far, and that has been coupled with the best ball-striking in a good while, so hopefully my game is trending in the right direction and can stay there for when the bulk of the season really gets going.
I’m really excited for the season ahead. My goal is to get back on the Ladies European Tour full time and the best way to do that is to commit to the LET Access Series events, and if I can finish in the top seven on the Order of Merit, that would get me back on the main tour for next season.
It is possible that I will get starts on the LET too, but I will have to weigh up whether it is worth playing one-off weeks and missing points on LET Access Series events because I need to rack up as many points as I can. The KPMG Women’s Irish Open of course would be the exception!
As well as the golf, the warm-up for the new season has been so fun and South Africa was the highlight so far.
South Africa is my favourite place in the whole world. I absolutely love it there. I went there for the first time last year and loved it. It was the same this year, the Sunshine Ladies Tour is a really good place to play, and it helped that the cost of living over there is so cheap, so, expense-wise it is a very nice way to start the season. The courses are unbelievable as well, so I just love it.
I even went to see some of the LIV event in South Africa. I never watch it on TV or anything, but I do enjoy watching golf. I was lucky enough that the coach of one of the girls who I travelled with also coaches one of the LIV players, so we were able to get tickets. It was an unbelievable experience, and the weather was so good. We got great seats next to the 14th green, so we just sat there all day and watched the groups come through.
It is a bit of a weird experience being at an event like that because it is like a concert – there was an actual concert after as well, which was unbelievable – but we really had a great time.
There were so many spectators there, and having a South African team definitely made a difference because there were a lot of fans with posters and signs. It was an unbelievable experience and there were a lot of people who had travelled from far away to come and see it too.
So, it has been a very busy winter and spring period. But I can’t wait to play regular events and I’m going to give my absolute all on and off the course this year.
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