Olivia Jackson is the type of golf professional who makes you want to pick up a club, even if you have not swung one in years. Born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, she grew up surrounded by sport and quickly found her competitive edge through golf. By her early teens she was already playing international events, proving she had both the talent and the mindset to go further than most. That drive eventually took her to collegiate golf in the United States, where early mornings, gym sessions, and endless practice shaped her into the disciplined athlete she is today.
Now based in the UAE, Jackson has become one of Dubai’s most influential coaches as an LPGA teaching professional and Head of Instruction at Five Iron Dubai. She is not just building better golfers, she is building a community. She also continues to live like an athlete away from the range, often cycling with a group several times a week, showing that her passion for sport stretches far beyond the fairways.
Jackson has also made history as the first female winer on the UAE PGA Tour, the UAE’s leading professional circuit featuring many of the region’s top club professionals, teaching pros, and competitive tournament players. It is not the DP World Tour, but it is a serious proving ground played on championship venues, where winning means beating experienced professionals who do this for a living.
Q: Could you share a little about your early life and upbringing, and how it shaped who you are today?
A: I was born in Harrogate, in Yorkshire. It is a fairly quiet town, very safe, very nice, with some good golf courses around there. My dad got me into golf when I was 11 years old, and I was naturally a very sporty person, so making contact with the ball was not an issue when I first started. I played my first international event when I was 13, played for Yorkshire, and participated in various international events. I went to college in the States, in Oklahoma, and then moved to Dubai when I was 22.
Q: What was a defining moment in your childhood or teenage years that made you realize golf could be more than just a hobby?
A: I was playing quite well. I think I was down to about a seven handicap when I was 12 years old. One of the girls at my golf club had just been to America, her first year in Miami, and I was listening to her life and what she had achieved. She played for England, and I was like, I really want to do that. I really want to have that experience, travel, play sport, and meet lots of interesting people.
Once I had gone, right, this is what I want to do, I put my mind to it. The next year I was playing internationally and finished in the top 10 in the English Girls when I was 13. I was playing off scratch when I was 14, so I was on that trajectory. Once I put my mind to it, I knew that is what I was going to do.
Q: Competing in golf from a young age often comes with highs and lows. Can you share a challenge early on that taught you resilience?
A: What a lot of people do not talk about is that county and England golf is hard to get into. Sometimes, even though your golf is good, your face might not particularly fit. That was always a struggle for me, the politics. I just had to keep grafting.
Even when I was not being chosen for county or England golf, I knew I was still going to succeed in what I was doing. It was about overcoming that and realizing it is not personal. You just have to keep in your lane and keep doing what you need to do.
Q: What is a lesson from your time as a collegiate athlete in the U.S. that still impacts how you train or coach today?
A: When I went to the States, I was amazed by the intensity of the training. Your time management skills have to be on point. If you are behind, it is hard work. You are up at 5:30 every morning, training in the gym, then you are at class, then training for another five or six hours. You might be doing classwork or homework in the evening.
One thing I really took from playing collegiate golf was learning to manage my time well and prioritize the things that are important in life.
Q: Winning on the UAE PGA Tour as the first woman must have been memorable. What did that moment teach you about breaking barriers?
A: I did not actually know I had done it until afterwards. I thought I would be miles off. When I came in and they were like, you have won, I thought, no I have not. Then they said, you are the first woman to do it.
After that, it was the aftermath of it, the young girls who came to me and said it was really inspiring. You have played with all of these professional male golfers, and you have beaten them all on that day. I think it just shows that women are as capable as men, and that we do have a place in the industry.
Women are often sidelined, especially if you look at the LPGA versus the PGA. The LPGA is definitely secondary, and there is a lot to be said about the quality of golf on the LPGA Tour that is not highlighted enough. For women to see that it is possible, I think it is very exciting.
Q: How do you approach coaching differently now that you have been a player yourself at such a high level?
A: I see it mostly in the kids, because I teach a lot of children, and they take it so seriously. It feels like life and death when you are in that moment, like your life depends on these results and these tournaments.
At the end of the day, you are going to get to 28, like I am now, and you are going to realise that the round you played at Westlakes Golf Club when you were 15 had absolutely zero impact on your life to this moment. Yes, it was part of the journey, but sometimes the failures teach you more than the wins. The failures teach you resilience, to then push harder and work harder. Stop stressing. It is easier said than done though.
Q: What is one misconception people often have about learning golf, and how do you address it with your students?
A: Most people think that they are going to get it in about five minutes. Sometimes you can get someone hitting the ball better in a short period of time, but it is not going to be instantaneous. Sometimes they are going to have to put the graft in, put the reps in, and do the drills they are given. It is not going to come overnight.
It is like going to the gym. If you want big biceps, you are not going to get them by doing one session a week. You are going to get big biceps by doing it consistently, every single day of the week.
Q: For young women in the UAE or elsewhere wanting to get into golf, what advice would you give about pursuing it seriously?
A: Play as much as you possibly can, and enter as many tournaments as you can. Surround yourself with good people, surround yourself with a good team. Your coach is the most important person in your career, so listen to your coach and take on as much information as you can. Work as hard as you can, because if you are not out there, someone else is.
Q: How has living and working in Dubai shaped your perspective on golf, culture, and personal growth?
A: The UAE, for me, is the epicenter of European golf. Coming here, I had always watched the Desert Classic growing up. Even in the five or six years that I have been here, the tournaments have gotten bigger and better every single time, and that has had a positive impact on the golfing community here.
Dubai and the UAE are so forward thinking. They want to be the best in the world, and I genuinely believe they are. For facilities, golf coaches, tournaments, tourism, it just gets bigger and better every year. It is exciting to be part of something that is on that constant upward growth.
Q: Who are the women in golf, past or present, who inspire you, and why?
A: It has to be Annika Sorenstam. There are parallels between myself and her in the sense that she went and played on the men’s tour, played against the men. That takes a lot of guts. She showed she could go out, compete against the men, and still play very well. Same with Michelle Wie. The fact that she was just one shot off making the cut in that PGA Tour event shows the level of female golf. Currently, Nelly Korda. She is doing some fantastic things for the game, is a fantastic ambassador, very positive, and it helps that she has got such a beautiful golf swing, which I am very envious of.
Q: Looking ahead, what is your vision for women in golf in the UAE and globally, and how do you hope to play a role in it?
A: My vision in the UAE is to keep growing the women’s game here. If you can get the social side right, that naturally brings everyone together. People then want to play, develop, and improve. It is about raising awareness and creating spaces where people can come and enjoy their golf.
I genuinely believe 5 Iron can be a huge part of that. It is there for serious golfers, but it is also welcoming for people who are new to the game and can benefit from the technology, learning their swing and understanding the numbers. It is less daunting. More social groups and social events will really help. I get a big kick out of bringing people together and seeing people feel comfortable in an environment where they know they are going to develop and improve.
