Laura to star for Australia in World Deaf Golf games

5 October 2022

A FORMER Teconnaught woman is teeing off for Australia at this month’s World Deaf Golf Championships at one of the world’s most spectacular courses.

Laura Burns (30) heads to the stunning Wailua course in Hawaii for the prestigious tournament and will be rubbing shoulders with competitors from across the globe when the action gets underway on October 15.

She emigrated to the suburbs of Melbourne 13 years ago with her parents, Paul and Maureen, sister Ciara and brother Michael, and is carving out quite a reputation for her golfing skills.

Playing off 15, Laura loves her golf and is delighted to have been selected for the Australian women’s team heading to Hawaii for what will be the 13th World Deaf Golf Championships.

The tournament was scheduled to take place in Birmingham two years ago, but was cancelled due to Covid.

Laura, who is due to meet up with the rest of the team next Monday, is looking forward to the trip.

A member of Deaf Golf Victoria, Laura has the added incentive to do well as the 2024 world championships are being held at the prestigious Royal Pines Gold resort in Queensland in her adopted country.

And as the countdown to the Hawaii trip continues, Laura’s dad, Paul, said the family is very proud of her and wishes her well.

Up against golfers from 12 countries including England, Finland, Sweden, the USA and Japan, she is looking forward to the challenge in what promises to be an unforgettable experience.

Paul said Laura qualified to get on the plane to Hawaii and also qualified for the aborted tournament in England after booking her place at a qualifying tournament in Tasmania.

“There have been a few tournaments since the cancellation of the Birmingham event and Laura has consistently kept herself in contention for the worlds with her performances,” he said.

The former Teconnaught woman has been playing golf for six years and her dad, who plays off 18, is also a keen golfer and played the challenging Ardglass course for five or six years when the family lived locally.

“Laura will be travelling with the team to Hawaii,” he revealed. “She is well travelled and knows what she is doing and meets up with her team mates next Monday for her flight. Competing in the world championships will be an amazing experience for her and one that she will really enjoy.”

Laura will be playing in a stableford format and her family hopes the Aussie golfing team will be successful and return home as world champions.

“She is really delighted to be going and when you plan a big trip like this it sort of seems miles away and all of a sudden it just creeps up on you.

“In just over a week’s time she will in Hawaii and her and I have been playing some golf to help with her preparation, but she is much better than me.”

The father and daughter play regularly and are frequent visitors to regional courses with the proud dad not afraid to admit that Laura leaves him in her wake.

He continued: “Laura is better than me and leaves me well behind. In addition to playing local courses, she also spends time on the driving range and has really honed her game. She is well prepared for the challenge that awaits in Hawaii and can’t wait to get there.

“Laura has worked very hard to reach the level she is at and will go to Hawaii and do her best.”

Paul revealed that the Burns family moved Down Under after he visited his brother at Christmas in 2006.

“We went for a holiday and I said that Australia would be a great place for the children to grow up as they were young at that stage,” he explained.

“When we came back home we had a think about things and applied for our visas to come and live here and arrived on October 1, 2009.”

Laura’s sister Ciara is an emergency department nurse at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, while brother Michael, who is in his last year at university, plays Australian rules football.

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