SHE’S one of the icons of the women’s professional game in Australia.
Yet these days Rachel Hetherington rarely picks up a golf club.
And as the eight-time LPGA winner in the US is happy to admit … she’s probably living her life ‘in reverse’ these days.
That’s because Hetherington, married to former Australian Test cricketer Greg Ritchie, is busy studying, working hard at a day-time job and giving golf not much more than a passing thought.
And that thought usually revolves around her 11-year-old daughter Annie, who is only now falling in love with the game and can usually talk Mum into maybe caddying or hitting a half dozen balls – just to see if she’s still ‘got it’.
And Rachel wouldn’t have it any other way.
The 51-year-old had a stellar career winning eight LPGA events, three Ladies European Tour titles and a World Cup of Golf with Karrie Webb.
And then there were the narrow major misses – runner-up in the 2004 British Open and the 2001 Kraft Nabisco – while travelling a million miles to ply her trade over the years.
And it took a fractured ankle and some months out of the game for her to realise she didn’t miss it as much as she thought she might.
And maybe it was time to try something different in life.
So, while she still loves watching the game and takes a keen interest in it, these days there are other priorities in life.
“I am a PA for a solicitor,” she told Inside Golf. “I’m actually studying law. Ultimately, I thought I might try to build a CV in the real world, after retiring from golf.
“My first job was with Mantra in guest services – I had been in travel and travelled and was familiar with all that stuff and there were not too many things I hadn’t experienced with travel.
“Then Covid-19 hit and I thought this could happen again so I decided to try and get my foot in with a law firm. I had been studying since 2018.
“So, I began as a receptionist in a firm in Southport and I’m now a PA and I’m a few months – maybe four, from graduating.
“It’s a very different world, for sure.
“I have a good friend in the US who is a defense lawyer and he said, ‘Rachel, you’re going about this the wrong way. We work all our lives to be able to find time to play golf when we retire. You’re doing it the wrong way around’.”
Hetherington said she fractured her ankle in late 2009 and didn’t miss golf in the 13 weeks in rehab.
“I had a double fracture so there were screws and plates and things. Rehab was good, but I didn’t miss golf,” she said.
“I was wondering would I perform better when I got older.
“I was still enjoying golf, but not all the things that go with it – discipline, working out and things like that.
“I didn’t want to do it as much as I had, so I decided it might be time to retire.
“In 2010 I played a few events after I recovered but realised I was quite happy not playing. I was 38 then.
“The discipline goes. When you’re younger you’re willing to give it 110 per cent.
“I was lucky, I was so disciplined when I did play and had given it 110 per cent for a long time.
“I started playing when I was 14. But when you think about it, that’s a long time and a lot of travel. As you get into your 30s you start thinking ‘what else is there’?
“My nieces and nephews were all growing up and I always thought I’d come back to Australia and retire here.”
Hetherington plays about once a year in a mixed foursomes championship.
“I wasn’t practicing so my husband Greg and I agreed if I wasn’t practicing there wasn’t much point in playing.
“The opportunity came up to work full-time, so I was grateful for that opportunity. Plus, there is another 20 or so hours studying a week.
“Annie is only just starting to want to play. She goes and plays with the ladies at Sanctuary Cove, where we now live.
“She’s a junior member. Maybe every couple of weeks I might hit a couple of balls with her. Maybe 10 or so … and that’s enough.
“When I do hit the ball, I enjoy it. These days I’d only be a nine-hole golfer, to be honest.”
Rachel says she doesn’t really miss that much about the pro game.
“I maybe just miss being younger and being able to do what I want,” she laughed.
“Many times, you look back and realise how fortunate I was and many of the great people I have met – most of them volunteers, and I often think of the effort they made to be part of the LPGA. They’re probably the thing I think about most.
“You meet people who say they loved watching you play – or even hit balls.
“It makes you realise how much people received just out of being a small part of the LPGA. It’s actually quite humbling to remember the efforts people went to just to be part of the events.”
Is there any round or shot she’d love to have over?
“One thing I’d love to have done was jump into Poppys Pond at the Nabisco,” she said. “That would be one round I’d like over – just to have that opportunity to jump into that pond.
“I finished second so I guess I would love the chance to do that.”
