Bronte Law: ‘It can be a struggle to make money in the women’s game’

Bronte Law celebrates victory at the Aramco Team Series.

Exclusive: Solheim Cup star Bronte Law on mental strength, equality and what golf can learn from tennis

Bronte Law is one of the most opinionated and eloquent golfers in the women’s game right now. Her words pack a real punch whenever she feels strongly about something – and there are a lot of things she wants to get off her chest. She doesn’t care for platitudes and is especially keen to set the record straight about the Saudi influence on the LET, as well as the mental health struggles she and many of her peers face in today’s game.

We spent 20 minutes on a Zoom call with the two-time LET winner ahead of the Aramco Team Series in Sotogrande and no subject was off limits.

You’ve probably been responsible for the biggest ‘mic drop’ moment this season when you holed a 55ft putt for eagle to win the Aramco Team Series – London event at Centurion Club. Be honest, you would have been happy with a two-putt, right?

Yeah, I would be telling fibs if I said I knew I was going to do that! I’ve actually had people come up to me who you wouldn’t expect to be watching golf and they’ve said, “I saw you make that really long putt”. It’s nice to see people recognising you and showing interest because that’s what we’re trying hard to achieve.

The Aramco Team Series is unique – the first event of its kind. When you heard about the concept and the idea of professionals playing alongside amateurs and competing for a team and individual prize, what were your initial impressions?

Before I had experienced it myself, I wasn’t really sure how it would work, but it’s pretty straightforward. I mean, you still play your own ball. But instead of feeling like you’re out there playing for yourself, it fosters a kind of camaraderie and you end up cheering each other on and giving fist bumps.

That dynamic is quite different, but it’s a really cool aspect and not something we’re used to because we’re usually competing against each other. It creates quite a fun atmosphere because you’re giving amateurs a really cool experience.

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There is another side to it because like LIV Golf, the LET is coming under scrutiny because of the Saudi-backed investment from Aramco. What are your thoughts on the matter?

You are comparing apples to oranges. The LET wasn’t in a particularly strong position before COVID anyway. Aramco has stepped in to provide opportunities for women – which is one of the main things they [Saudi Arabia] are criticised for – and has added $5 million to the prize fund for the year.

All I’ve seen is a willingness to put money on the line and help women play professional golf. And I don’t see many other big brands stepping in and doing that. There are girls who have earned more money in the Aramco Team Series than they have in their whole career on the LET.

The LPGA appears open to the idea of discussing a women’s equivalent of LIV Golf, which would see the men’s and women’s events running side by side. Do you think that’s a good way to grow the game?

I have no idea about stuff that is being spoken about, but putting men and women on the same stage – just like in tennis – is ultimately the only way people are actually going to respect women for their capabilities and what they can do.

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How tough is it to make a living in the women’s game, particularly on the LET where the prize funds are nowhere near as lucrative as they are on the LPGA Tour?

For the year, my expenses are around £100,000. If you don’t have that money in the bank, or you don’t have backing, then you need to take out a loan. There are girls hiring cars and driving across many countries to get from one place to the other to take out the cost of flights.

When you’ve got a purse that is €300,000, unless you’re finishing in the top 10 you are struggling to make money. And if you do have a caddie, they’re not cheap either. I know a lot of girls who have a second job in the winter so they can pay their way at the start of next season. It’s a very real thing. I think that people underestimate how much it costs to do this job. The vast majority of girls are checking their bank accounts every other week to make sure they’ve got enough money to get by.

Slow play has been a hot topic in the women’s game for a while. Just how bad is it?

I don’t think it’s just a problem in the women’s game, the men got berated for how slow they played at The Open [several rounds exceeded six hours on the first day].

I think anytime it happens in the women’s game, it’s like all anyone talks about. I don’t think the women are slower than the men. I think it is talked about more on the women’s side but because of poor course setup. Ultimately, if you want us to play quicker, set the course up in a way that helps with that.

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Following on from Muirfield this year, which course would you like to see added to the Women’s Open rotation?

I’d like to see more links courses in the south make it on the schedule. Generally speaking, you get better weather there that time of the year so it’d be cool to see some courses down there, just to showcase how different the golf is there versus playing links golf in Scotland. It is different. We tend to play a lot in Scotland and in the northwest, at least that’s what I’ve experienced, and we kind of do that loop.

We are going to play Walton Heath next year which is obviously in the south of the country. I’m not so sure it’s a links-style golf course, but it’s a good golf course nonetheless and that’ll be cool with its vicinity close to London. Hopefully, it will get a good turnout as well.

If you were given the opportunity to host a tournament on the LET, which course would you bring it to and why?

I’m going to contradict myself because I’d probably have it in the north west just because that’s where I’m from. I think there are a lot of fantastic golf courses in that area. You’ve got that stretch around Birkdale, Hillside, Formby, Southport & Ainsdale. I actually used to be a member at Hillside when I was younger. It would probably be one of them because the quality of golf in that area is absolutely amazing.

Hillside’s back nine is one of my favourites and I just think links golf is the ultimate test. You’ve got to have so many shots in your bag. It’s not just about hitting it straight, it’s about being able to control ball flight, be able to work it right to left and chip around the greens with various clubs. I think the kid in me appreciates the imaginative side because it makes it more fun.

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Before your victory at the Aramco, your World Ranking had fallen below 100. Do you pay attention to things like that or does it not bother you? 

Maybe a little bit, but not really. Ultimately, I think you can find yourself chasing the unknown if you look too much at rankings, I’ve had weeks where I’ve finished better than I’ve had two years before, and my rankings got worse. it’s not really important in terms of how I set my goals.

How do you quantify success on the golf course?

By how often I pull off shots I am trying to hit. Often it comes down to a mental thing of did I commit to that shot? Did I hit it how I wanted to, yes or no? It’s almost like ticking a box. A lot of the time you have to look at the small things to claim victories as most of the time you are not winning.

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Have you ever struggled with the mental side of things?

Anyone who says they haven’t struggled mentally out here either hasn’t been out here long enough or they haven’t realised they have been struggling. It’s a brutal game and a lot of it is mental because you’ve got to be able to walk around a golf course for five hours with your own thoughts. It’s not that easy, especially when your mind wants to tell you that you didn’t do it well enough and you could have done that better. You just have to be mentally strong in order to do this job. I know there’s been people that have walked away from the game for certain periods of time in order to get themselves in a better headspace because doing it week in, week out, can leave a mental strain on you.

Does more need to be done to support the mental health of players?

I think the more conversations we have about the well-being of athletes the better, because we put ourselves at the mercy of journalists and everyone watching. We are always expected to be on form and performing, no matter what we’re going through. It’s important to recognise that we are human and it can get too much at times. And that’s why the breaks we have throughout the season are so important in terms of giving yourself some time off so you can reset.

Do you have a psychologist to help you deal with the pressure of competitive golf?

My dad has honestly been a big help with me with that side of the game. He reads a lot of psychology books and he’s only ever a phone call away. I think the mental side, talking about my thoughts and feelings on the golf course, is just as important as the physio stuff.  A lot of people don’t realise that it’s a huge part of our game. In other sports, you don’t have as much time to think about what you’re doing, whereas in golf you have plenty of time to talk yourself into a hole.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

When I was a rookie, I was looking at what people were doing on the range and trying to learn as much as I could from the best players in the world. But every golfer out here does things differently. You shouldn’t do something just because the best player in the world is doing it. You have to do it because it’s right for you.

What’s the one piece of advice you would give every amateur golfer?

Spend more time on the putting green. I always see amateurs on the range and then walking straight to the first tee. It’s like, how do you expect to putt well when you’ve not spent any time on the practice green? When you look at the scorecard at the end of a round, around 50% of the shots were hit on the putting green. So, if you want to play good golf, spend the hours there as opposed to the hours on the range.

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In that case, is there a putting drill you can recommend?

There’s a great spiral T-drill that I’ve done from a very young age that came from the England Golf setup where you putt from 2ft, 3ft, 4ft, 5ft and all the way up to 9ft. You spiral it around the hole and you try and do it in one go. I’ve stood there for like three hours before trying to complete this drill. Anytime you can challenge yourself at the end of a practice day and have a sense of achievement is really great.

Bronte Law was speaking to us ahead of the latest Aramco Team Series event this week at Reserva Club de Sotogrande. Nelly and Jessica Korda will also be part of a field which features fellow Solheim Cup stars Anna Nordqvist, Sophia Popov and Carlota Ciganda.

What is the Aramco Team Series?

A series of five LET-sanctioned tournaments, taking place across three continents, where the world’s best players team up with amateur golfers to compete for a $1 million purse each time. It is believed to be the first team event series of its kind on any professional tour.

In a twist on the usual stroke-play format, professionals compete over 54 holes in an individual and team format side by side. Using a unique draft system, a group of team captains pick one pro teammate, before being allocated a third via a random draw. Each team is then assigned an amateur to complete their line-up.

The best two of four scores count on each hole and determine the winner of the team event after 36 holes on Friday. All pros must complete every hole, however, and their scores count towards the individual competition, which is settled with a final round on Saturday. 

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