Coulter hopes experience will help in bid to end 40-year Curtis Cup drought
Beth Coulter hopes her experience will be a bonus for Great Britain and Ireland in their bid to win the Curtis Cup on US soil for the first time in 40 years.
The Co Down star is the lone Irishwoman in a GB&I side at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, looking to follow in the footsteps of the 1986 team, who shocked the USA at Prairie Dunes in Kansas with Ireland's Mary McKenna, Claire Dowling (nee Hourihane) and Lillian Behan in the side.
The Kirkistown Castle and Arizona State University star (22) is one of two returning members of the GB&I side that clinched a heart-stopping one-point win at Sunningdale two years ago, and she admits that winning on US soil would be special.
"To do it once is pretty good, but to do it twice would be incredible," said Coulter, who plans to turn professional later this summer.
"To be able to get this done on American soil would be pretty cool… It would be amazing to win going into the pro ranks."
Great Britain & Ireland ended a three-match losing streak at Sunningdale, but winning on US soil will be a massive challenge, as Behan recently recalled.
"It was 110 degrees, and we were weighed in every day," she said. "Then I got sunstroke before the singles, and I was playing with towels around my neck, drinking lots of water, the whole lot.
"The heat! Oh, my God. But the whole week was memorable. I even raised the (Irish) flag as well."
Coulter could not have asked for a better debut two years ago, when she was joined in the winning side by Aine Donegan and Sara Byrne, who are now on the Ladies European Tour.
She's hoping her experience will stand to her and her teammates, though it will be difficult with the US side boasting three players who made the cut in last week's US Women's Open at Riviera — world number one Kiara Romero (tied sixth), Asterisk Talley (tied 22nd) and Farah O'Keefe (tied 34th).
"I've definitely been passing on tips," she said. "It's a tough week. It's overwhelming, it's long, and, of course, it's very, very fun.
"But I think being able to take that familiarity from last year into this year and pass it on even to the younger girls, like Charlotte (Naughton) coming up, she's a good bit younger than us, and putting an arm around her is important.
"I know that's what Mimi (Rhodes), Sara (Byrne), Aine (Donegan) and Lottie (Woad) and those older girls did for us, and obviously having Catriona and (assistants) Kathryn (Imrie) and Karen (Stupples) back is pretty cool, it's pretty special.
"They're pretty good at getting us riled up and instilling that belief in us."
As for the course, she admits that Bel-Air Country Club will require lots of strategy.
"I think it's probably a little different than what it was in November [when we visited as a group], but it's been great to be back here, really nice over the last couple of days to practice and really get ready.
"I think the greens are probably a little different to what I've played at college, a little firmer. I think it's probably a little bit trickier, even from the front to the back is a little different.
"The back's a little bit more intricate; you can't really stand up and smash drivers. There are a couple more wedges to use on the front, but the course is absolutely insane. The greens are really fast, even today, and we're really excited."
Captain Matthew will be key for the visitors, and Coulter knows she can be a difference-maker for them.
"I think it's just the way Catriona talks, it's her positivity," she said. "It's the belief that she instils in you. It's so cool to be around someone like her, and she's so good at passing it on. I think that was one of the things that happened at Sunningdale.
"We all came in a little bit timid, and the Americans on paper were a lot better. I think our belief grew and grew as the week went on, and I think there's a little bit of that this week."
Coulter plans to play in "a couple of pro events" as an amateur and then return to the team fold by competing in the European Ladies' Team Championship at PGA National Slieve Russell in Co Cavan in July:
"To play in the European teams in Ireland is going to be pretty special," she said. "To get to do this this week, obviously in a year where I'm turning pro, and then doing that in Ireland is cool.
"I'll then hopefully turn pro just before the Women's Irish Open [in August]. You look at the Irish girls out on the Ladies European Tour right now, they're all kind of travelling together, and that's the girls I grew up with.
"I grew up playing team sports, so it's something that I've always kind of held close to me, being around people. So, I think weeks like this are my most favourite. I'm really looking forward to it this week."
The Curtis Cup gets underway on Friday with morning fourballs, followed by afternoon foursomes on Friday and Saturday before the singles on Sunday.
