After leading her state in several Australian Interstate Teams Matches and becoming the first woman Captain of her beloved Ulverstone Golf Club, Sarah Johnstone has been a household name in the Tasmanian golf scene since she was a teenager.

It is in her latest role that the former amateur star hopes to make her mark as the first woman President of Ulverstone Golf Club.

A sonographer by trade, and with a young baby, 33-year-old Johnstone has been kept busy in her first year as President, but says she is coming into her own.

“It is a lot different to the Captain’s role,” said Johnstone.

“Being President has got new, different challenges, but I’ve found my feet now so that’s good.”

Late last year, Kim Hastie made headlines as the first woman President of Metropolitan Golf Club on the famed Melbourne Sandbelt. She noted at the time how encouraging the sport’s momentum towards gender equity was developing.

“There’s a definite shift,” said Hastie. “It’s for the good, and it’s for the right reasons.

“They’re not just being picked just because they feel that they have to pick women. Maybe it’s a slight correction that needed to happen. We needed to get some more women into these leadership roles. I think that’s how it should be seen.”

Johnstone experienced the same endorsement from Ulverstone in her ascension to the role and feels supported by the 400 members she now heads up.

“I would say my club’s very accepting of me. Well, I have pretty tough skin, so they don’t really get a choice,” Johnstone laughed.

“When I first got into the role, everyone was pretty encouraging. They were happy to see me do it.”

As a player, Johnstone first represented her state as a 14-year-old. She won the Tasmanian Amateur Championship as recently as 2023 but says the competitive golf has taken a bit of a back seat… for now.

“I played the last season of pennant, but I haven’t played much since having my baby. They don’t let me play too much at the moment, but that’s OK,” she added.

Ulverstone is a proud club, and rightly so, playing host to past Australian Junior championships and Tasmanian Opens.

Under her leadership, Johnstone has already helped the club secure a state grant of $495,000 for a new irrigation system. Onwards, she hopes to continue to grow the club’s legacy and to further establish Northern Tasmania on the golfing map.

To find out more about Ulverstone Golf Club, CLICK HERE.