Golf GameBook has a brand new ambassador on board and we are super stoked to introduce her to all of you! Perhaps you’ve already come across @golfergirl_gmoney on Instagram or on the #GGB app. Geena is an avid golfer with over 65k followers on Instagram, sharing her golfing adventures and amazing style. We sat down with her to chat about golf, life and her plans for the summer.
Geena, @golfergirl_gmoney on Instagram, we are super excited to have you on board as an Ambassador of Golf Gamebook. Tell us a little about yourself.
I live in Southern California 🌴 I’m a 42 year old Vietnamese American and I picked up the game of golf three years ago because of my career; being able to, you know, kind of start having networking meetings on the course. Golf is great for having meetings and networking with my clientele, which are investors and founders of their own companies.
So I picked up the game of golf three years ago, and like everyone else, I got addicted to just becoming a better golfer. And so it went from being a very business-driven, kind of fun activity, to just like constantly wanting to play golf (even on my own) at new courses. I want to get my handicap down (and get my scores down) and just have fun while I’m doing it.
Wow! Even your Instagram bio says that you’ve started golf in 2020 and you’re obsessed with the sport as you just mentioned.
So how did you first start golf? And who inspired you to start golfing?
I’ll give him credit, where credit is due. His name is Josh Walters, and he’s a friend of mine, and he started this annual golf tournament. And he invited me. He knew that I didn’t play golf, but he thought it would be a really great networking opportunity for me to bring people together in my foursome. The people that I wanted to get in front of, whether it was like a partner, a client or a prospect. And that was in November 2019.
Then of course, as we all know, the pandemic hit in March 2020. Josh reached out to me again in May 2020, and asked if I wanted to go golf and basically that was like it. I never looked back. And so I started playing golf once a week and then increased to twice a week. Then I started purchasing a better golf bag; I went from a beginners set to Taylormade SIM 2 and Stealth, and started buying golf outfits. Now half of my closet is for golf outfits and hats. It’s actually really funny how things changed – I truly became a golfer. So that’s kind of the journey of how I picked it up.
What’s been your best golf moment/ most unique golf memory so far?
Definitely St Andrews.
I took a girls trip and we went to London. We also went to Paris, and we went to Edinburgh and then we went to Dublin. I told myself that I have to get to St Andrews somehow. So when we got to Edinburgh, I Ubered to St Andrews… but I couldn’t get a tee time from either course. I had tried booking for two months, and then just went there, but I didn’t manage to get a tee time on the Old Course or on the New Course… However, I walked around and had a lovely chat with the greenskeeper. I basically interviewed him! It was the 150th Open a few months later. I bought a lot of merchandise at the pro shop… Too much probably cus now, I have like dangling medallions all over my golf bag 😂
The whole trip was amazing, and I did have a tee time booked at Kingsbarns Golf Links, which is just 7 miles away from St Andrews. I love Kingsbarns, it’s actually one of my top 5 favorite golf courses in the world. When I golfed at Kingsbarns the weather was decent, and it was actually funny because I was able to experience like four seasons in the four hours of golf. And this is also a lovely addition to the story, I got paired up with three friends who were celebrating their 60th birthday and it was their annual golf trip. I also had a caddy giving me local advice on the course, which was really cool. The entire trip was just a magical experience; first being at St Andrews and then going to Kingsbarns Golf Links. It was such a different golfing experience than what I had experienced earlier. Especially with the links style courses and the caddy ⛳️
Oh and, when I continued the trip to Dublin, I played Royal Dublin and Portmarnock Links. Wow, what a trip, I must say! And you will not believe this, guess who I got paired up with at Royal Dublin? Another three guys that were celebrating their 60th birthday. Haha, what are the odds, right?
How did you discover Golf GameBook?
Through a good friend of mine, Patrick!
He’s obviously a talented photographer and we became friends really fast, because he’s so easy to get along with, and he’s such a funny guy. He is doing the RGV Tour 2.0 at the moment, and he asked me to be a part of it as well. Then I met Teemu and Mikko from Golf GameBook, and we also became good friends really fast. It’s just so easy to connect with them, because we’re all very chill and easy to get along with, similar vibes. And that’s how I learned about the Golf GameBook app. It all made a lot of sense to me, digital scorecard with social elements, really cool!
On the #GGB app you can even follow your friends golfing in different countries, which is exciting. Also if you’re a competitive golfer, like Patrick, then you can have a fun round with your friends. And the best is you can see if your friends are playing good or bad – and then trash talk on the Game Feed. That’s the best! You can seriously chat with each other in real time, and say: “oh, I bet you’re not gonna get that…” Haha, I love it!
What’s your favorite feature on the app?
It’s definitely the Game Feed, for sure!
And then on to a question more about golf in general, how do you see the sport evolving and what do you think is most important in order to attract more people to golf, especially young people, like teenagers?
And where do you see the direction of golf heading towards?
So funny you asked me this, Susanna, because I literally just got off a podcast and I was interviewed by a guy named Don Saladino. And Don is a celebrity fitness trainer. And we met and he was really enthralled and excited about what I’m doing with the game. And so he asked me the same question, you know, where do you see it going and how do you see it evolving? And so I gave Golf GameBook a shoutout, by the way 😎
So I definitely feel that it’s evolving into something bigger and better. It’s definitely a trend. It’s definitely hip to play golf now.
The people that have played golf for ages perhaps feel like the world is taking over golf… I think, as long as there’s respect for the game, then it’s all good! You still have golf etiquette, and you still understand that there are rules to stay in place.
But I say just have fun with it at the same time. Don’t take it too seriously because you’re anyways going to hit very well sometimes and other times you’re gonna get a very bad shot. And if you’re like me, you have to control your language a bit haha. So I have to stop and remind myself not to scream a curse word when I’m doing a really bad shot 🙊
To answer your question, I think the game of golf is definitely evolving.
Obviously LIV Golf and everything happening around that is also changing the sport. There are tons of different golf clubs and it’s a non-biased sport. Anyone can start playing golf. You can be of any age, ethnicity, gender… The game is extremely non-prejudice and I think people are starting to realize that. You just have to know how to swing a golf club, enjoy it with your friends or leverage golf as part of your business.
Simply said, I think it’s an AMAZING sport!
So talking about goals, what’s your goal in golf for the summer and what are you most looking forward to this season? ☀️
Oh my gosh. I mean seriously, I’m fully booked up already, it’s crazy!
I’m really excited for Tobacco Road! I’ve never been to the Carolinas, so I’m super excited to go. To just learn about a new region, to golf in a new region and obviously to be reunited with the guys from Golf GameBook and Patrick!
It’s like you’re following Patrick on Golf GameBook and you know that he’s like golfing on course 220. But at the same time, I wanna dig into his head and know where he is at mentally, you know, is he drained? He tells me all the time that he’s having a blast but it’s sometimes like 2 rounds a day and that takes a toll. You know, it is super intense but he’s a trooper and obviously this is a world record. He’s taking it very seriously.
This summer, I also got invited to play a Celebrity Golf Tournament with a lot of former athletes that I have been a fan of watching, you know, Chris Webber, Matt Barnes, Andre Iguodala, like a lot of former athletes that have turned into golfers. So that’ll be fun too!!
Have you made a hole-in-one, or have you been close to making one?
So I have not made a hole in one, but I’ve been pretty close. I guess you should be recording every par three that you hit, just in case 😉
And finally, what’s your #1 golf course of the courses you’ve played so far?
Can I give you my top five? 😇
- Kingsbarns Golf Links, Scotland – because you basically have a view of the coast on every hole. It’s amazing, and I love links courses.
- Royal Hawaiian, Oahu, Hawai’i – the Jurassic Park golf course of Hawai’i (they actually filmed part of the movie on that course…)
- Bluejack National, Houston, Texas – Designed by Tiger Woods.
- The Links at Spanish Bay, California – I’m a huge fan of it!
- Bethpage Black Course, Long Island, New York – that’s a hard one!
Which courses are still on your bucket list?
- Pebble Beach
- Bandon Dunes
- Augusta National
… and of course, the Old Course at St Andrews!
Follow Geena’s golf experiences through Golf GameBook (Geena) and send her some likes and comments when she’s out on the course!
