Delaney Nadeau has been golfing for as long as she can remember, and she isn’t planning on leaving the game anytime soon. She started golfing competitively through PGA Jr League, Drive, Chip and Putt, and the NHGA Junior Tour. Although she loved playing competitively, she noticed a problem. “Growing up competing in these events, there were always more boys than girls. I also knew the girl’s golf group in New Hampshire was small.” Delaney needed a way to both connect with female golfers her age in her area and inspire more girls to get involved with golf.
At just 10 years old she created NHGolferGal, a blog Delaney is using not only to connect her to other golfers her age in the area but also to grow the girl’s golf community. She used the Arnold Palmer Invitational to get her blog off the ground in 2017. She was headed to the event with her family and decided to write to Morning Drive asking if she could interview the hosts, Cara Robinson and Lauren Thompson, for her blog. “I was shocked. I initially thought there was no way they would let me do that, I didn’t even expect them to answer. They ended up saying yes, we watched them tape the show, I interviewed them, and it was awesome!” link to morning drive interview. Although the interview was a once in a lifetime experience, that was not the highlight of her day. As she was leaving the set, Gary Williams asked if she wanted to meet Annika Sorenstam, Delaney’s favorite golfer!
During quarantine, Delaney has kept engaged with her followers by doing an interview series. Young, local golfers submit questions for her and some of her other girl’s golf friends to answer. She is looking forward to the end of quarantine and the next chapter of her blog, high school golf! Delaney will be a freshman this fall at Oyster River High School in NH. “Right now my biggest concern is if we will have a season.” While she might be worried, she is excited and preparing for tryouts. “I am really excited to be on a team, my middle school didn’t have a team. I am mostly looking forward to new experiences.” After her first year on the team, Delaney wants to lower her handicap and be one of the top scorers on the team.
Delaney is playing high school golf for comradery, new experiences, a chance to qualify for the National Invitational, but she is always looking towards the bigger picture. Her ultimate goal is to become a professional golfer. If being a professional golfer doesn’t work out, she wants to become a teaching professional or coach. When asked about her aspirations, she always came back to the same point, growing the girl’s golf community. Delaney wants to grow the game and inspire girls to play golf throughout her entire career. NHGolferGal is just the start of Delany’s campaign and commitment to engaging girls in golf no matter their age or skill level.