The only downside for Kristen Yeh (Archaeology 2023) so far has been the weather. “Adjusting to the weather has been a big transition, but I'm getting used to it now,” she says.
Kristen is a member of the Cambridge University Golf Club Ladies team, who will be seeking Varsity success this week. She has been enjoying the break from academic work during her first year at Gonville & Caius College, playing at least once a week. But golf at Cambridge is different from her native California.
“It’s been good to get away from Cambridge and academics and take a breather,” says Kristen, who has been playing golf for 13 years. “I've been doing it all my life, so it just feels like a very integral part of who I am. I really like being able to get out and be spending time outside with other people.”
Varsity with Oxford will offer a new challenge. The event, which takes place on March 20 and 21, is being played at Rye Golf Club on the East Sussex/Kent border and is a links course – where windy conditions and sand dunes make for a challenging environment for golf.
Kristen knows she will have to adjust, but her strengths lie in the subtleties of the game, reaping rewards as a +1 handicap golfer. “I’ve developed my short game to make up for my long game as I don’t hit very far,” she adds.
Home matches take place at Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club, but away matches on new courses can prove more challenging, especially as Kristen concedes shots to her opponents before even hitting a shot. Usually, because of her excellent handicap, she has to give around eight strokes away.
She says: “Recently, I played against somebody who was an eight handicap, but they performed way better. So I had a hard time trying to keep up when they were making putts that were 40 feet long or hitting it really close to the hole. And as somebody who had never played that course before, I was just struggling with keep up with them.”
Cambridge have been familiarising themselves with Rye before this week's Varsity match, when they will be glad to have Kristen on their side.
