Title
Marina Bobeldijk Oral History Summary
Subject
Marina Bobeldijk
Description
Summary of an Oral History Recording with interviewee Marina Bobeldijk
Creator
Michael Romyn
Publisher
Kent's Sporting Memories
Date
2 December, 2019
Contributor
Marina Bobeldijk; Michael Romyn
Rights
Kent's Sporting Memories
Relation
Marina Bobeldijk Oral History Recording
Format
Microsoft Word Document
Language
English
Type
Typed Summary
Identifier
Marina Bobeldijk
Text
Kent’s Sporting Memories Oral History Summary
Interviewee: Marina Bobeldijk
Interviewer: Michael Romyn
Date: 25 November, 2019
Location: Littlestone Golf Club, Kent
0:00 Name, place and date of birth (Marina Bobeldijk; Helsinki, Finland; December 1960); Marina lived much of her life in Helsinki and Finland, until she moved with her English husband to England in 1998; she then took up golf in 2003 (her first lesson was on 3 June, 2003) - she says of her four children, ‘they all say they haven’t seen me since!’; Marina talks about her first sport, swimming, which she participated in competitively until the age of 19 at a national level; she played squash, badminton and tennis at university; she describes the rise of golf in Finland; her parents limited involvement in sport; her lack of interest in, or knowledge of golf while in Finland.
4:25 Marina recollects her first visit to England – to Hastings – as a fifteen-year-old exchange student; Marina’s language studies at university and her start in business upon leaving university; Marina explains how she grew up speaking Swedish as her first language, and her proficiency in English and other languages, including French and German; her first job in business, selling timber, for a company which was male-dominated and which she found to be chauvinistic; moving on to work in the tourism industry, where she organised and sold holiday packages for a Finnish company; her role teaching marketing at university in Finland, and organising work placements for foreign students.
14:50 The importance of golf to Marina in terms of keeping active and building a social life in England in the context of her retirement; settling in Dorset upon moving to England, where she raised her children and pursued her interest in gardening; resituating in Kent – in Tenterden – to be closer to the airport, and where she finds life to be ‘more international’.
18:15 Marina describes how she got started in golf, when her neighbors challenged her and her husband to a game; playing with her husband and children at Tenterden, where she joined as a member in 2003 – ‘it was such good fun, great memories from that time’; joining Littlestone Golf Club in 2006, and also Chart Hills Golf Club in Biddenden.
21:35 Memories of her first lesson – ‘I remember that he gave this club and said “try to hit this ball”!’ – and her instructor’s emphasis on ‘natural teaching’; her first day playing on the course – ‘I was so excited, I can’t tell you…I was so nervous’; playing her first competitive golf matches, practicing and improving, and her swift ascent to representing the club; Marina explains that she has had roughly 15 coaches, and her shift in 2017 in her approach to the game under the guidance of Gary Nicol, who she visits in Scotland for lessons; her involvement with a company called ‘The Mind Factor’, which Marina credits with improving her wellbeing and mental approach to golf.
33:20 Marina explains her pre and post-match routine; dropping her handicap by five strokes to seven in 2016 – ‘it was absolutely one of my best years ever’; the mental aspect of golf – ‘it’s probably about 70 per cent mental and 30 per cent physical’.
37:35 Joining Littlestone in 2006, partly because of the typically dry conditions of the course; Marina describes a memorable round at Littlestone in 2016, during which she made a hole in one on the fourteenth, and a further hole in one she recorded on the sixth hole in 2017; what she likes most about the course at Littlestone – ‘the favourite thing is that it’s different everyday…you have to use your imagination every time’; she explains that the course is playable all year round because of the sandy course and the excellent drainage; how she enjoys and feels energized by the often windy seaside conditions, including hailstone ‘facials’ – ‘it can be very tough’; Marina talks about the wildlife on the course – ‘the seagulls remind me of the summer cottage back in Finland…it reminds me of home’ – and the changing colours with the seasons.
43:00 How the ‘tough conditions’ on the course has meant the standard among players at Littlestone is often high, including among the women – ‘any wimps would not survive here’; the social nature of the club, and the positive intermixing of men and women both socially and golf-wise; the progress Littlestone has made in terms of promoting gender equality in the club, and the work Marina put towards this in her role as Ladies Captain in 2016.
46:55 What being a captain involves at Littlestone, and her gung-ho approach to captaincy in 2016, including sitting on numerous committees; Marina describes her contribution to the ‘Wow Factor’ committee, which was tasked with improving the course and raising the club’s profile within the constraints of a budget; what representing the club as ladies’ captain meant to Marina – ‘it was a proud, proud feeling…I absolutely loved it’.
59:10 Marina explains how she became involved – and continues to be involved - with Kent County golf, and what it means to her to play for the county - ‘it is such an honour’; becoming a Kent ladies golf committee member in 2018, in order to give back to the county; what being a committee member involves; why Marina decided to turn down the Kent captaincy; being a part of the greens committee at Littlestone, and representing the ladies at the club; doing some coaching both at the club and for the Kent side.
1:09:35 Marina talks about the 2019 Kent senior championships at Kings Hill, and various other Kent championships, matches and tournaments in which she has taken part and performed well in recent years - ‘it’s really nice because it’s outside your club and you get to know all these people.’
1:14:15 Marina counts playing golf with her family, becoming club captain in 2016, playing in the Kent Championships, and playing with Derek Underwood as being some of the highlights of her golf career so far; Marina describes the captaincy ceremony at Littlewood in which she took part in 2016.
1:17:25 How Littlestone Golf Club has changed since Marina became a member in 2016 – ‘it’s more relaxed, it used to be quite strict and more maybe old traditions…a bit stiffer…it’s much more relaxed’; how the club has loosened up in terms of the formerly strict dress code, with an eye on attracting new and younger members; Marina states that the standard of the course has improved over the years, and talks about the varied and burgeoning membership at the club; what it takes to become a member at Littlestone.
Interviewee: Marina Bobeldijk
Interviewer: Michael Romyn
Date: 25 November, 2019
Location: Littlestone Golf Club, Kent
0:00 Name, place and date of birth (Marina Bobeldijk; Helsinki, Finland; December 1960); Marina lived much of her life in Helsinki and Finland, until she moved with her English husband to England in 1998; she then took up golf in 2003 (her first lesson was on 3 June, 2003) - she says of her four children, ‘they all say they haven’t seen me since!’; Marina talks about her first sport, swimming, which she participated in competitively until the age of 19 at a national level; she played squash, badminton and tennis at university; she describes the rise of golf in Finland; her parents limited involvement in sport; her lack of interest in, or knowledge of golf while in Finland.
4:25 Marina recollects her first visit to England – to Hastings – as a fifteen-year-old exchange student; Marina’s language studies at university and her start in business upon leaving university; Marina explains how she grew up speaking Swedish as her first language, and her proficiency in English and other languages, including French and German; her first job in business, selling timber, for a company which was male-dominated and which she found to be chauvinistic; moving on to work in the tourism industry, where she organised and sold holiday packages for a Finnish company; her role teaching marketing at university in Finland, and organising work placements for foreign students.
14:50 The importance of golf to Marina in terms of keeping active and building a social life in England in the context of her retirement; settling in Dorset upon moving to England, where she raised her children and pursued her interest in gardening; resituating in Kent – in Tenterden – to be closer to the airport, and where she finds life to be ‘more international’.
18:15 Marina describes how she got started in golf, when her neighbors challenged her and her husband to a game; playing with her husband and children at Tenterden, where she joined as a member in 2003 – ‘it was such good fun, great memories from that time’; joining Littlestone Golf Club in 2006, and also Chart Hills Golf Club in Biddenden.
21:35 Memories of her first lesson – ‘I remember that he gave this club and said “try to hit this ball”!’ – and her instructor’s emphasis on ‘natural teaching’; her first day playing on the course – ‘I was so excited, I can’t tell you…I was so nervous’; playing her first competitive golf matches, practicing and improving, and her swift ascent to representing the club; Marina explains that she has had roughly 15 coaches, and her shift in 2017 in her approach to the game under the guidance of Gary Nicol, who she visits in Scotland for lessons; her involvement with a company called ‘The Mind Factor’, which Marina credits with improving her wellbeing and mental approach to golf.
33:20 Marina explains her pre and post-match routine; dropping her handicap by five strokes to seven in 2016 – ‘it was absolutely one of my best years ever’; the mental aspect of golf – ‘it’s probably about 70 per cent mental and 30 per cent physical’.
37:35 Joining Littlestone in 2006, partly because of the typically dry conditions of the course; Marina describes a memorable round at Littlestone in 2016, during which she made a hole in one on the fourteenth, and a further hole in one she recorded on the sixth hole in 2017; what she likes most about the course at Littlestone – ‘the favourite thing is that it’s different everyday…you have to use your imagination every time’; she explains that the course is playable all year round because of the sandy course and the excellent drainage; how she enjoys and feels energized by the often windy seaside conditions, including hailstone ‘facials’ – ‘it can be very tough’; Marina talks about the wildlife on the course – ‘the seagulls remind me of the summer cottage back in Finland…it reminds me of home’ – and the changing colours with the seasons.
43:00 How the ‘tough conditions’ on the course has meant the standard among players at Littlestone is often high, including among the women – ‘any wimps would not survive here’; the social nature of the club, and the positive intermixing of men and women both socially and golf-wise; the progress Littlestone has made in terms of promoting gender equality in the club, and the work Marina put towards this in her role as Ladies Captain in 2016.
46:55 What being a captain involves at Littlestone, and her gung-ho approach to captaincy in 2016, including sitting on numerous committees; Marina describes her contribution to the ‘Wow Factor’ committee, which was tasked with improving the course and raising the club’s profile within the constraints of a budget; what representing the club as ladies’ captain meant to Marina – ‘it was a proud, proud feeling…I absolutely loved it’.
59:10 Marina explains how she became involved – and continues to be involved - with Kent County golf, and what it means to her to play for the county - ‘it is such an honour’; becoming a Kent ladies golf committee member in 2018, in order to give back to the county; what being a committee member involves; why Marina decided to turn down the Kent captaincy; being a part of the greens committee at Littlestone, and representing the ladies at the club; doing some coaching both at the club and for the Kent side.
1:09:35 Marina talks about the 2019 Kent senior championships at Kings Hill, and various other Kent championships, matches and tournaments in which she has taken part and performed well in recent years - ‘it’s really nice because it’s outside your club and you get to know all these people.’
1:14:15 Marina counts playing golf with her family, becoming club captain in 2016, playing in the Kent Championships, and playing with Derek Underwood as being some of the highlights of her golf career so far; Marina describes the captaincy ceremony at Littlewood in which she took part in 2016.
1:17:25 How Littlestone Golf Club has changed since Marina became a member in 2016 – ‘it’s more relaxed, it used to be quite strict and more maybe old traditions…a bit stiffer…it’s much more relaxed’; how the club has loosened up in terms of the formerly strict dress code, with an eye on attracting new and younger members; Marina states that the standard of the course has improved over the years, and talks about the varied and burgeoning membership at the club; what it takes to become a member at Littlestone.