Golf Vic Vol 60 No 3 2019

Teenager Trinity Francis had only one thought as she stood over a six-metre birdie putt on Victoria’s tough 16th hole during the 2019 Victorian Women’s Pennant final. “I just didn’t want to have to play the next hole,” she said, then giggled. “But I was pretty nervous.” And why not? Playing for Huntingdale, she was dormie three-up in her match against Commonwealth’s Laura Griffin but had just watched her opponent hole an unlikely 10-metre birdie putt to give herself a glimmer of hope. The need to match it would have tested the nerve of the best of golfers, let alone a 15-year- old of obvious talent but limited experience. What happened next was, said one of her supporters, amazing. “She just stood up and knocked it in. Cool as you like.” Trinity’s victory there, not to mention her six out of seven wins during the season, helped Huntingdale win the flag and avenge a loss to Commonwealth in the 2018 final. For Trinity, though, it was two flags in a row because last year she played in Huntingdale’s flag- winning Friday pennant team. That she is a rising star comes as no surprise, for she is passionate about the game and fervently hopes it will take her to places she can only dream of. Certainly she is well on the way, and the fact she stands almost 178 centimetres tall is no hindrance. Trinity, who was born in England, was barely of school age when she arrived in Australia with her parents Nigel and Caroline in 2010. Her father was a first-class cricketer who played for Trinidad and Tobago through the 1990s and was selected in a handful of matches for West Indies A. Funnily enough, it was Trinity’s younger brother Kobe who indirectly steered her in the direction of golf. He became involved in Huntingdale’s junior program and as often as not Trinity would tag along to watch him practise. She laughed. “I got sick of watching and decided to give it a go myself.” Kate Dunn, a much-travelled, highly experienced junior coach who is now based at Carbrook Golf Club in Queensland, was back then in charge of the youngsters at Huntingdale and she struck a chord with the already tall, loose-limbed 11-year-old. “Kate was my first coach and she really pushed me,” Trinity said. “It’s hard to explain; she just seems to understand everyone’s way of thinking. She really connected with me.” “Kate was a really good teacher, a good swing teacher” says Heather Gellatly, a revered five-time champion at Huntingdale. “She really set Trinity on the path. I remember Kate telling me that all Trinity wanted for her 12th birthday was a junior membership here (at Huntingdale).” Naturally Gellatly has kept a close eye on Trinity’s progress. “She’s a really good kid; has a good temperament, is quietly confident and very determined. And she loves the game.” She also cited Trinity’s mum and dad as having a positive influence. “Nigel and Caroline are good sporting parents. They support and enable her, but they don’t push her.” Trinity, who is currently being mentored by Victorian- based high-performance coach Paul Skinner, hopes to one day play on the US LPGA Tour – isn’t it the dream of every budding female golfer? – but her more-immediate goal is to play college golf in the USA. “I’d love to do that.” To that end Kate Dunn has invited her to play in a tournament at Carbrook in July, where there are likely to be US college coaches in attendance. And given her English background, it is perhaps only fitting that at the end of July Trinity will head back ‘home’ to play in the English Girls’ Open Championship at the quaintly named Gog Magog Golf Club in Cambridgeshire. Trinity Francis in action for Huntingdale in the women’s pennant final. In our regular column highlighting some of the brightest young talent in Victorian golf, BRIAN MELDRUM profiles Star On The Rise, Trinity Francis. star on the rise by Brian Meldrum ON THE RISE Golf Victoria 45