What Rianna Hills lacks in size, she makes up for in drive.
The eight-year-old Gold Coast girl practises as often as she can; on weekends and after school, even as the sun starts to drop below the horizon, Rianna is at her local golf course.
“Every time I hit the ball, every week it’s going further,” she said.
Rianna Hills’s drive is one of the strongest parts of the eight-year-old’s game. (ABC News: Mark Rigby)
“I can feel it when it’s solid, and when it’s straight. And sometimes before I know it, I’ll just hit it straight down the middle.“
Rianna played her first golf tournament in 2025.
Later this month, with her dad, Gavin Hills, as caddy, she’ll travel to North Carolina in the United States to compete in the invitation-only US Kids Golf World Championship.
“Within a year, to be able to do that … it’s quite unbelievable,” he said.
“I’m very happy.”
Rianna Hills’s dad, Gavin, acts as her caddy during practice and tournaments. (ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby)
His daughter is one of many girls and young women taking female representation in golf well above the historical par.
Professional golfer-turned WPGA Australasia chief executive Karen Lunn said women were taking up golf nearly twice as fast as men in Australia.
“We know that in the last couple of years, 60 per cent of the people taking up golf are women,” Ms Lunn said.
“It’s amazing [because] I grew up at a time when I was the only junior girl at the golf club.”
Golf Australia figures show one in four adult Australians has played some form of golf in the past two years.
Karen Lunn says women and girls in particular are getting involved with the sport through driving ranges, mini-golf centres and golf simulators. (ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby)
Including golf simulators, mini-golf and driving ranges within the definition of golf has boosted participation numbers, but it has also given women and girls a new way into the sport, according to Ms Lunn.
“Those places don’t have some of the challenges they [women and girls] might have at a traditional club where they may not feel as welcome,” she said.
“They can wear what they want, do what they want, and just go and have fun at some of these other facilities.”
It’s not only “off-course” golfing that is changing, but junior players like Rianna are chipping away at years of tradition to be welcomed onto fairways at clubs around the country.
Regular access to a golf course has meant Rianna Hills’s skill level has improved quickly. (ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby)
According to Golf Australia, junior membership at golf clubs increased more than 18 per cent in 2025, and under-18 memberships grew 112 per cent over the past five years.
“Golf clubs are realising that junior boys and girls are the future of their clubs,” Ms Lunn said.
“If they don’t give them the opportunity to play on the course and open the course up to them, they won’t have a golf club in 20 or 30 years.“
Mr Hills believed his daughter’s regular access to Helensvale Golf Club had helped hone her skills and achieve early success on the competitive circuit.
Rianna Hills practises as often as she can at her local golf course. (ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby)
“I don’t think a lot of kids get the chance or the opportunity to play … and obviously golf is an expensive sport,” Mr Hills said.
“It’s not something a lot of parents can afford to do, and we’re not in that situation either, but we’re just trying to do what we can to give her the head start.”
With the cost of equipment and travel to play in tournaments in mind, Mr Hills said he tried to instil in his daughter the importance of playing her own game with the gear that she has.
“I always try and tell her, ‘It doesn’t matter what anybody else has; it’s you against the course, so you’ve got to try and beat it,'” he said.
Battling a setting sun during after-school training is a challenge for Rianna. (ABC News: Glenn Mullane)
As Rianna squeezes in as much after-school practice as possible before setting off for North Carolina, she has found a downside to golf.
It was not blisters, not the pressure of an upcoming tournament. It was battling the early-setting winter sun and the nasties that came out at dusk.
“Especially the mozzies,” she said.
