Sunshine Matters

Carling Nolan, VISIT FLORIDA’s Golf Insider, proves again she’s an expert.  She’s headed to the Kia Classic, a women’s professional tournament on the LPGA Tour.  The event takes place March 27-30 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.

Carling, who has been writing about Sunshine State golf for VISIT FLORIDA since late 2013, plays on the LPGA Symetra Tour.  That status allows her to play in Symetra events or to qualify into LPGA events.  This week, Carling shot 1 under 71 to qualify for the Kia.

Carling’s golf career growing up in Middletown, Ohio, included short summers and heavy layers in the winter.  She now resides in West Palm Beach.

“I, of all people, appreciate the good weather we have here in the Sunshine State,” she said.  “The great weather in West Palm has really elevated my off-season practice this year, and my game has never felt better.  I can’t wait to play in the Kia Classic!”

After winning the high school state championship, she signed on to become an Ohio State Buckeye.  In college she was not only ranked second in the Big Ten, but worked as a journalist to boot – as media assistant to then-football Coach Jim Tressel.  She wrote daily articles and did sideline reporting for Ohio State Football.

After college, Carling went to the LPGA qualifying school and claimed her professional card.  She traveled the country playing tournaments, all while filming the video blog series Life on Tour for GolfChannel.com.  Soon after, she was chosen to be a contestant on Golf Channel’s Big Break, which she went on to win in 2010.

Winning Big Break opened doors to many new opportunities for Carling, including playing on the LPGA, Symetra and European Tours, and traveling to such places as Dubai and Guadalajara.

And now, the Kia Classic.

“My husband will be caddying for me this week,” she said, “so we hope to sink a few birdies and just have a great time!”

Carling also co-hosts a Fox Sports TV show called 18 Holes with Jimmy & Carling, in which she showcases the best resorts all over the country, including those in Florida.  For VISIT FLORIDA, she has quickly shown her expertise and ability to engage audiences with blogs and videos, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Carling Nolan, professional golfer, television host, and your VISIT FLORIDA Insider to the best golf courses in the Sunshine State.  As she’s fond of saying, hit ‘em straight.