Recently we at KYMIRA Golf had the chance to sit down with Jane Turner to explore the ways our KYMIRA Golf Infrared Technology has helped with injury prevention, recovery, and performance. Jane has had a number of experiences across her career that many would have fallen to, but Jane just keeps going and shows that quality we see in our Ambassadors: Determination (Maybe even stubbornness!)
This interview covers Jane's break into the career, the importance of the right golf coach, a talk about Epilepsy and golf, and a conversation about how KYMIRA burst onto the scene and began to chip away at some of the problems Jane had been facing.
Introducing: Jane Turner
Jane welcome, welcome, do you want to start by telling our readers more about yourself and your Golf?
I started playing golf when I was 8, alongside my dad and my brother, although I wasn't allowed to join a golf club until I was 10. Not like now, when they're getting kids involved in golf as young as 4 or 5, which I think is fantastic and great for a sport that was originally considered to be for old, retired men!
By the time I was 14 I was in Scotland squads and in 2008 I got a full scholarship to Gray's School of Art at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. In my first year of competing, I was the British Universities Champion and won the trophy again the following year. My successes meant I was chosen to play in the British Team at the World Universities Golf Championships in 2010.
[Jane has her own website, designed with help from her Graphic Design degree, which gives deeper insight into her array of accomplishments and can be found here ]
The importance of your golf coach
With so much progress in your career up to then, what was the first big setback in your amateur career?
As an amateur, I believe that your greatest honour is to represent your country, which I was chosen to do for the Home Internationals and the European Team Championships from 2009 until I turned professional.
Although this tournament had been the best experience of my amateur career so far, it was in a season that was putting me through the worst pain I had ever experienced, all because of a wrist injury. Despite the help of a multitude of consultants, doctors and physios, no one could explain the cause of the pain or how to heal my wrist. I was at breaking point... do I keep playing? Or is it time to stop competing at this level?
As it turned out, all I needed was a new coach. It was the simplest answer, and I couldn't believe that no one had picked up on it, perhaps it was because it was so simple! Gregor Monks, who is still my coach now, told me that it was all because of my swing. It was just a repetitive strain injury, because I was "scooping" the ball after impact, so for the non-golfers reading this... it's quite literally flipping your left hand back into your wrist, which is the wrist's most uncomfortable direction of movement. Since this injury had been hassling me for over 15 months, it sounds so ridiculous to say that after 2 months of working with Gregor, the pain was pretty much gone. Though it made it very helpful (although painful) to pick up if I was falling back into bad habits with my swing.
And in all that time do you think you had a best year or moment?
I can tell you that my greatest year was definitely in 2012 when I was Scottish Ladies Strokeplay Champion, East of Scotland Ladies Champion and 2nd in the Scottish Ladies Order of Merit.
Golfing and Epilepsy
2012 was my most successful season as an amateur, but what many didn't know at that time, was that my family and I had a terrifying experience in July 2012. I had an epileptic seizure, fortunately it happened in my own home with my family there. After getting MRI scans, it became clear that this seizure was due to a brain tumour called a DNET, though thankfully it is benign and not cancerous. We were told that this tumour has been there since I was born, so there's no explanation as to why my epilepsy suddenly started when I was 21 rather than when I was a child. Epilepsy is not a very well know or understood condition, I myself had no idea what it was and so I was too embarrassed to tell anyone other than my family and close friends. I am unconditionally and forever grateful for their support and love, and quite honestly, without it I would never have had the strength to turn professional in 2013. After competing in Ladies European Tour Qualifying School in December 2012, I got my card to play on LET Access Series for my rookie year.
By 2014, I was comfortable with the fact that I have epilepsy, I had a far better understanding of the condition and I had managed to get mine under full control through medication, so when I was approached by the charity Epilepsy Scotland because they wanted to publicise my epilepsy for Purple Day (the Epilepsy Awareness Day) I was more than happy to do this and become their ambassador. So, it was in papers and on the radio that "Golfer brings epilepsy to the fore", rather cheesy but I didn't care because I just wanted to prove that it's ok to have epilepsy, it shouldn't hold anyone back, I hadn't let it hold me back in my dreams of become a professional golfer.
Those goals of being a successful professional golfer and all my hard work proved worthy when I won my first professional tournament, Bossey Ladies Championship 2017 on the LET Access Series. My next 2 professional wins came from the Sunshine Ladies Tour in South Africa, the SuperSport Ladies Challenge 2019 and the South African Womens Masters 2020.
Discovering KYMIRA Infrared Technology
Amazing achievements! And how did this then lead you to using KYMIRA?
After flying home from South Africa in March 2020, we were in full lockdown only 2 days after I landed! A slight pain in my back that I picked up in South Africa seemed to increase significantly when working out from home and since I couldn't see my physio until after August because of our lockdown rules, this created serious problems for me...oh how I wish I had Kymira back then!
Kymira Golf came into my team at the same time as my new physio Alex MacQueen from Movement Solutions and a new golf specific fitness trainer Andy Watson. It was all three of those that got my back sorted out and ready just in time for going back out to South Africa for this year's Sunshine Ladies Tour season. It's a long flight from Edinburgh to Johannesburg, a total of 19 hours spent in airports and on planes but having my Kymira leggings on meant I had absolutely no swelling in my ankles and feet when I arrived in South Africa!
My 2021 season that started in South Africa was going very well, from there it was straight to Italy to play in a Ladies European Tour event, then from there it was straight to Evian in France. After flying home from Evian, I decided that my golf bag should go in the garage for at least 1 week, since I had played 8 tournaments back-to-back with barely any rest days.
The first day my clubs were back in action was for practicing at an indoor golf centre, this was going great until I jumped down into the bunker, oblivious to the fact there was barely even 5mm of sand, so my first shot meant that my clubhead ricocheted off solid wood and sent pain all the way up my arm into my shoulder. After 2 weeks of the pain not clearing, it was time for MRI scans, which revealed that I had stress fractures and bone bruising and all that could be done, even with a steroid injection, was to rest my arm/shoulder.
And that was that, no more golf, gym work, pretty much anything, for the next 9 weeks!
I couldn't have been happier when I was able to start practicing again, it was a very slow and gradual process, starting with some putting, then chipping, irons at 70% power and then up to full pace & power with all the clubs in my bag after 6 weeks of rehab work.
Because I haven't been able to compete on the Ladies European Tour or LET Access Series this year, it means that I am having to go back to Qualifying School in December this year, not just final stage, but pre-qualifying too. Including practice rounds and pro-ams, it means I will have a total of 14 days golf back-to-back without any rest days!!
Maintaining performance and recovery
Wow what a career…That's a lot of golf played over just 14 days. We know you had a shoulder injury last year; how will that hold up through so much golf?
I'm sure you can understand that this is a big ask for anyone, never mind someone who's just coming out of a shoulder injury... but I'm confident I will make it work. That is why I've been playing golf for at least 5 days a week, walking a minimum of 12,000 steps per day (which my dog loves!) whilst also doing HIIT workouts with explosive movements to try to raise my clubhead speed and get the ball going further and further.
That is all prep work, but once I'm out in Spain it's just going to be me, my caddie, the golf course...and my Kymira Golf clothing!
Are you using any techniques to reduce the chance of injury?
I'll be making sure to get my Kymira base layers on once I come off the golf course, whilst also doing all the stretching and recovery work that my physio has planned out for me.
Keeping on top of my hydration and diet whilst out on the course is also very important, especially because of my epilepsy, for which my personal requirements as similar to an athlete with diabetes.
Is KYMIRA Golf working? What differences have you noticed?
I'm 100% sure than Kymira Golf works for me, not just when getting my base layers on after coming off the course, but on the golf course too. Since I've been back on the golf course, especially when it's been a minimum of 5 x 18 holes per week, I've noticed that there is not nearly the same amount of tiring in either my arms or legs. I've also not picked up on any pain in creeping back into my shoulder or my back.
Who do you think can benefit more from KYMIRA Golf?
I don't think that you have to be someone coming back from an injury, or someone older that struggles playing 18 holes, especially more than one day in a row. It doesn't matter if you're a professional or a club golfer, I think that it can help absolutely all golfers out there.
I would recommend everyone to get some Kymira Golf clothing into their wardrobe; it can reduce your chances of an injury, stop an injury from reoccurring, and just make you feel better and fitter, so there's every reason to purchase their apparel.
It is Christmas soon...perhaps Santa can deliver some fabulous Kymira items for you!