Lottie Woad, Charley Hull take part in England training camp at FSU

Charley Hull never went to college but found herself grinding on campus recently at Florida State University. After the LPGA’s regular season came to an end at the CME Group Tour Championship, 29-year-old Hull headed north from Naples, Florida, to Tallahassee to join Seminole sensation Lottie Woad for an England Golf training camp.

Woad, 21, said it was at England Golf camps she first learned how to properly practice. The time spent with national coaches set the baseline for how she’d grow as a player and now, as a newly-minted LPGA professional, she’s already giving back.

“I felt like I was still on the team … sort of,” said Woad with a laugh.

England Golf gathered men’s and women’s college players together during Thanksgiving break for a chance to work at Florida State’s exceptional practice facility. Former Florida State player and major champion Karen Stupples said when she was going to college in the U.S., English players were basically out of sight, out of mind during that time. Now, however, the national program comes to them, integrating the college golf calendar with their training.

Big changes started to occur, she noted, when the governing bodies for men’s and women’s amateur golf merged in 2012, forming England Golf. The addition of pros at training camps, Stupples continued, is invaluable. It was at the CME, Stupples said, that Hull asked whether she could join the group after hearing about it from her putting coach, Nick Soto, who works with the national team.

Woad still lives in the same apartment with her roommates from college. Her lease runs out in August. This marked the first time Woad and Hull – future Solheim Cup teammates – have had the chance to spend a good amount of time together.

“She’s just really funny,” said Woad, “very laid back.”

Both Woad and Hull return to Naples this week for the third edition of the Grant Thornton Invitational, an unofficial mixed-team event that's co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour. Hull will team up with Michael Brennan while Woad debuts with another Florida State standout, Luke Clanton. Both Woad and Clanton were the No. 1 amateurs in the world during their time at FSU.

With the men’s and women’s teams at Florida State sharing assistant coaches and practice time, there’s been plenty of overlap between Woad and Clanton over the years.

“We probably know each other the most out of all the teams out there,” said Woad.

After the England practice session, Woad’s personal swing coach, Luke Bone, worked with her in rainy and chilly Tallahassee prior to her final start of the year. The pair took a deep dive into her stats over the past six months.

A strong approach player, Woad was quite pleased with her progress but would like to see improvements from 175-plus. That being said, “You’ve gotta keep your strengths your strengths,” she noted. Woad is extremely lethal from 150 yards and in and wants to maintain that advantage, while incrementally getting better from longer yardages.

Her scrambling stats for the past 6 months were at 57 percent, which she says is OK, but she’d like to get them up to around 65 percent. They spent a good deal of time last week on short game.

And while the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur champion has made strides on the greens, she knows making more putts from 10 to 15 feet is critical.

Stupples looks at Woad’s game and doesn’t see any weaknesses. In fact, she believes Woad has the potential to be the No. 1 player in the world. Woad has a no-nonsense, methodical way that she goes about her business, with no fear of setting high goals.

“There’s no real emotional component to victories or losses for her,” said Stupples. “It’s just a win or a loss, and then she moves on. … There’s no baggage or drama that travels with her.”

Stupples points to how well Woad handled taking a backseat to teammate Mirabel Ting during her last year of college golf. Ting became the No. 1 player on FSU’s team in 2025 and won The Annika Award for the best player in college golf while Woad was still the No. 1 amateur player in the world. Woad was happy for Ting but stuck to her own path, not letting dropping to No. 2 distract her.

“That’s the mentality that world No. 1s have,” said Stupples. “It’s unlike anybody that I’ve really seen in women’s golf. Her outside influences are a lot less. Whatever she is doing, it is literally off her own back.”

While all that’s left for the promising Woad in 2025 is one silly season event, there is one major test still on the docket. When she returns from the Grant Thornton, Woad will take her driving test. She has already passed the written test in the U.S. and recently practiced on an automatic car for the first time and said it went fine.

When she returns to Tallahassee after the holiday break, Woad plans to finally buy a car. She made $831,443 this season after turning professional in July and promptly winning her first start.

Asked what kind of car she’s considering, Woad said, “I’ve been told not to think ahead.”