Charley Hull is set to compete in her seventh Solheim Cup.
Getty Images
It goes to this year Solheim CupThe 28-year-old British Charlie Hull is arguably playing the best golf of anyone on the European Solheim Cup team. She must have run away more viral this year. She’s also about as gutsy as LPGA golfers get – a useful quality ahead of this week’s showdown in Virginia.
So why did Hull get “ruined” the first time they qualified for the European team? Read on. This interview originally appeared in the September issue of GOLF magazine.
***
Scene: Hull is calling from Foxhills CC in Surrey, England, wrapping up a practice session.
Dylan Dethier: You grew up in a small town a few hours north of London. What is your first golf memory?
Charlie Hull: When I was three years old, I played with my dad at his golf course, Kettering Golf Club. I just went with it at first. Then we would play.
DD: Did you play other sports or was it always golf?
CH: I played (soccer) and stuff like that, but I spent every day on the golf course.
DD: And were you good at the game right away?
CH: Yes. Everyone said I always had that “natural talent”.
DD: What’s the first time you remember being clearly good in a way that was different from everyone else?
CH: When I was seven, I beat a 17-year-old boy, and I think that’s when people started saying, “Oh, she’s so good.”
DD: What was his reaction?
CH: He was crazy. After being beaten, he simply said, “F-girl.”
DD: Did you really enjoy the game or was it just, you know, part of your life?
CH: I liked it. It was all I knew, really, so I didn’t think about it. But I just loved being on the golf course.
DD: You’ve been a professional for over a decade now. Do you have the same relationship with the sport as when you started?
CH: I don’t know. It’s something that’s been in my life – well, I’m 28, so for 26 years. So I’m very used to it. It’s my routine. When I don’t have it, I feel lost.
DD: When you made the 2013 Solheim Cup team, you were the youngest Cupper in history. What do you remember from that week?
CH: So my first Solheim Cup came when I was 17, and in singles I played Paula Creamer, who was one of my idols, and I beat her 5 and 4 and I got her autograph afterwards. I wasn’t trying to say, “Oh, I got the autograph of the golfer I could.” My friend had asked me to take it and so I did.
DD: Do you remember Solheim feeling different from a typical event?
CH: I wasn’t nervous. The truth is – it’s the funniest thing – I was selected for the team at the 2013 British Open in St. Andrews and I remember hearing the news and being upset. I had my friend’s birthday party which was the same week as Solheim. So when I was selected for the team, I was absolutely gutted. I said, “Oh, I can’t go to my friend’s birthday party!” Looking back now it seems silly, but I didn’t realize how big the Cup is.
Honestly, your friends only turn 17 once, 18 once. It feels like the whole world. And growing up playing golf, I missed out on a lot of things – normal things that most kids would do as part of their childhood. So I was really sad to miss him. But I think, in the end, it worked out pretty well.
DD: Now that you’ve been on six of these teams, what’s different about the Solheim Cup? What makes it a special event compared to the rest of the calendar?
CH: It brings everyone together. I mean, I play for my country every week, but it’s different the way we play for Europe. It’s just a fun event, a week to get out there and laugh with your friends. I’m not really worried about Solheim, but I’m looking forward to it. And hopefully I’ll be paired with Georgia Hall this year. She’s a good friend, and we’re going to go out there and have fun.
I actually kind of prefer playing the Solheim Cup in America. I like it when the crowd is against you a little bit.”
DD: That sounds really cool. I mean, do you ever get nervous there?
CH: I’m weird. For example, I get more nervous when I play pro-am, when we play with amateurs who expect you to be incredible. And then if you don’t hit a good shot, they judge you. But when I’m on a golf course in a tournament, I never get nervous.
DD: So far, you’ve seen it all at Solheim. Is there anything about this in 2024, down in Virginia, that you think will feel different?
CH: It will mostly be more of the same, which is good. But I actually kind of prefer playing the Solheim Cup in America. I like it when the crowd is a little against you. I don’t understand when people say, “Oh, you have the upper hand on home soil.” I play better when people are against me because I want to prove them wrong.
DD: Obviously, you’ve been a really popular golfer for a long time, but this summer you experienced a new wave of popularity. You competed in some big events, you found yourself in the limelight.
CH: I’ve been playing really good golf this year. I’ve had a couple of really strong weeks, top 25 in the majors, apart from Evian, where I got hurt. It’s been a fun year; I can’t wait for the end of summer and fall.
Getty Images
DD: You’ve also had some viral moments, the most memorable images of you smoking at the US Women’s Open. But you said you were leaving social media a few months ago. Is that still the case?
CH: Oh, yes. I haven’t been on social media now since March. I just thought about it and I know if I wasn’t a golfer I would never have social media. A few years ago, I went a whole month without a phone and loved it. So I have a few people who do all my social media stuff for me. I’ll just send them some rocking videos or pictures every day to put on my Instagram or some stuff to post on my story. I just thought, If I don’t have to watch anything, why do it?
DD: And for people who are getting to know you for the first time, what do you want them to know about you?
CH: Hmm. I just live life as best I can. Like, just enjoy it. Enjoy every minute. You are not promised tomorrow. Just get out there and have fun. Just literally get the most out of life. (Background noise) Sorry, I met some friends.
DD: Go live. Last thing: How would your friends describe you?
CH: Let me ask. (Back to a friend.) “Funny,” says one. “Smart and caring and a little crazy.” I think that’s about right.
