The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FROM swinging the golf club at the tender age of six to competing in the collegiate and the professional ranks, Georgette Rolle-Harris continues to move up the ladder in the golfing community.

The former junior and senior national team player has now been promoted from first assistant golf professional, a position she held from 2018 until March 2021, to the head golf pro at Baha Mar.

“The responsibilities are rather similar, however, I am more away from the guest experience, as there are more office procedures and duties to handle,” Rolle said.

“I love every part of the golf industry, and I am happy to be able to learn more about it.”

Under the direction of our director of golf, Andy Deiro, Rolle-Harris was able to learn more about the industry and what it takes to be an effective head golf pro.

“I continue to research ways to learn more about teaching and changes in the industry to keep myself ahead of the curve, or more importantly, in a position to drive the curve,” she said.

When asked how she felt about being appointed to the position, Rolle-Harris said it was one of her goals since she returned home from Houston, Texas, in 2014.

The 2002 graduate of St Augustine’s College went on to Texas Southern University where she earned magna cum laude in 2007 and was a biology pre-med, securing her masters of science degree in biology in 2010 and masters of business administration in 2013.

Her head pro golf job is just another feather in her cap. “I am honoured to have attained this title, and I will continue to push the limits of golf here in The Bahamas. I feel that I have earned it through being consistent at giving my best, and outworking my best self,” she said.

“I have always believed in working hard and persevering towards even what I could not see. I have many goals, and continue to work towards achieving them all. I am happy to be able to check this one off of the list.”

The position is not just an historic one in the Bahamas, but Rolle-Harris is the first female in the Caribbean to attain such a prestigious post at any golf club, a feat she boldly holds for women in general.

“It says that women can pursue a sports related career, understanding that you don’t have to be a physical competitor to succeed. For the many young girls that are playing golf, and sports in general, I hope to be a part of influencing their futures,” she said.

“I want to be a part of making a difference in their lives, and if I can do that through golf, then I will continue to push until it happens. Women can advance to the highest levels in sport and continue to practice within the field they love.”

Having founded the Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy with her husband David in 2014 for junior golfers in the country, Rolle-Harris now has an added responsibility of getting more of the local golfing community from the Bahamas Golf Federation integrated into the property.

“Baha Mar has been amazing and extremely supportive of junior golf. Bahamian junior golf would not have been what it is today without their generosity with rounds of golf, lots of donated equipment, and other items which the junior golfers are always in need of,” Rolle-Harris said.

“With their support, I have been working for the last few years on growing the junior golf community. That’s my way to contribute to getting the Bahamian golfing community involved at Baha Mar.”

Although she signed her contract in early March, Rolle-Harris will not officially assume her role until Monday, March 29 and already she has some lofty goals to accomplish her job.

“I want to develop golf in a modern and systematic way, not only for hotel guests to appreciate the course, but also have a better experience,” she stated.

“The guest experience here at Baha mar is already great, as we continue to give all guests an equal experience through service and paying attention to their needs. As Baha Mar continues to keep its standard of excellence in all things, I will continue to learn and do my part towards success for all.”

As for her Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy, Rolle-Harris said her new role will only enhance her programme.

“It definitely enhances the junior programme,” she said. “Baha Mar has been a jump starter for the junior programme and I aim to continue to build on that.

“Growing the junior programme is a part of my purpose in life. I began believing that more and more a few years ago. When I look back, I truly thought my purpose was to inspire the youth by playing on the LPGA Tour, as I have been teaching junior golf since 2004.”

In 2013 when she thought she was playing really great golf, it wasn’t the case when she made her debut on the LPGA Futures Tour. That changed her direction in the sport. “It was a big pill to swallow back then, but I continued to persevere playing but also teaching junior golf,” she recalled.

“As the years went by, I began to realise that maybe I was not supposed to go in that direction, and began to pour as much of myself into developing the youth.

“I knew that I loved the game, I knew that I loved kids and I knew that I wanted to give back to the game of golf as it had changed my life in so many ways. I joined the BGF to see how I could assist with the future of junior golf.”

Rolle-Harris, however, is no longer an executive of the BGF, but she was pleased to have served for two consecutive two-year terms as the secretary general.

In her spare time, when she’s not focusing on her marriage to David Harris, Rolle-Harris provides voluntary assistance whenever she is able, considering the tremendous work load that she has ahead of her.

The 36-year-old Rolle-Harris has represented The Bahamas in a few Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship junior and senior tournaments and the LPGA Pure Silk Tournament.

But she admitted that there’s no more rewarding a feeling than serving as an administrator and giving back to the sport that has helped her.

“I was not a very good junior golfer. My game really turned around when I got an unexpected chance to represent The Bahamas in St Croix. I remember finishing second to last in that event with approximately 112 players,” she remembered.

“It was a moment I will never forget, as I cried my way in to the clubhouse. After that event, I made every effort to work on my golf game which ultimately led me to successfully competing for the Bahamas on future teams, and earning a college golf scholarship.”

Dr Cornel Collins, the executive and life coach of Lignum Institute, said he’s very proud of his protégé’s achievement so far.

“She’s taken it to three-four levels to what it used to be back in the day when I first came here,” said Collins, a Canadian native who has resided in the Bahamas for the past 30 years and has always worked in the BGF as a coach.

“When she came back from college, she took over and she took the junior programme to another level. She’s taken on a leadership role where everybody says ‘go see Georgette,’ for whatever problem they need solved.”

By becoming a point leader, Collins said Rolle-Harris gained the respect of her peers and it made her job so easy by the results she has been able to achieve.

“People in the USA are now affiliating our programme with their own and that in itself is a giant quantum leap,” he said.

“She’s also taken golf into the schools. We’ve never had a golf programme in the schools until she introduced it. It’s the fastest growing sport in the coronavirus pandemic because you can practice the social distance and it’s a game that is synonymous with life, teaching you integrity, honesty and self-satisfaction. It builds character.”

Collins said Rolle-Harris is an excellent role model for more of the young golfers to emulate and she has made history as the first female golfer to head a golf club in the Bahamas.