Interview: Author Christina Ricci

January 24th 2008

She achieved a five handicap in five years. Her current USGA handicap index is 6.1 as she works on some swing changes. She graduated from Boston University, started her own branding firm, and also found the time to win the 2007 and 2006 Florida State Amateur Championship Handicap Flight 4-day Match Play event. When she saw that there wasn’t a book that offered an on-course,
friendly, full-color appeal tailored for women, she not only decided to take on the project, but did the concept, production and design of the book herself.

Author Christina Ricci’s book “A Girl’s On-Course Survival Guide to Golf” is the culmination of that effort. It’s an insightful read, filled with solid fundamentals that women entering the game (and most men for that matter) should seek to learn. The book is well written and laid out, with descriptive photographs and text to help you understand a wide range of topics from grips and uphill slope shots, to golf etiquette to bad shot fixes. Key points that you should remember are highlighted with icons, and the book has a polished feel that many books don’t have until their 5th or 6th edition.

While this book won’t replace the pro at your club (the book makes very sure to point this out at the beginning) it will improve your learning of the fundamentals, and can be used on the course and at home.

I had an opportunity to speak with Christina and discuss what the beginning women’s golfer should know and why she decided to write this book.

JR: Tell me about a solid fundamental that most women golfers should know.

CR: Setup as it relates to the legs. A lot of women don’t have a solid base from which to turn to create the leverage for the down swing. So I like to focus on the hips, the legs, making sure the feet are grounded, making sure your ball position is correct. If your setup is correct, then you can just basically turn and fire. That is number one.

JR: Why did you decide to write this book?

CR: I wrote this book because I needed this book when I was learning. I immersed myself in the game for five years. I took hundreds and hundreds of lessons. spent countless hours on the range. I would help my mother and her friends on the course, she was a beginner golfer, and they started to improve, and I thought maybe I can help other women. I have a design and marketing background so this book was right up my alley. So I produced the book, and said this is fantastic, this is my path, golf is my passion and I’m able to give a voice to it. I feel fortunate that I can help women all over the world play better golf and have more fun.

JR: Do you think more women are coming to the game?

CR: Oh yes, the market is exploding. Not just here in the US, but also Asia. In Korea alone there are four million golfers, and 30% of them are women, it’s phenomenal. I think this book is in the right place at the right time. It’s exciting!

“A Girl’s On-Course Survival Guide to Golf” is available for pre-order now. For more fundementals, tips, and other information about the book, please visit the author’s site. Christina was kind enough to give us a signed copy of her book, which we’ll be giving away to one lucky reader in the first week of February. Stay tuned!

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