Florida in January, that will be great, the weather is bound to be better than in the UK. That’s what I thought when I headed to Orlando for the PGA Golf Show last week. Yes, I’d looked at the weather app beforehand, I knew it wasn’t going to be baking hot, but I never dreamt it would be so cold and wet.

 This is the week when the golf industry comes together across 1.1 million square feet of the Orange County Convention Centre. In fact, more than 33,000 golf industry professionals from 94 countries and 50 US states attended the show with over 1,100 participating brands. It was the largest show since 2009, so this makes for a positive outlook for the $102 billion golf industry. It's nigh on impossible to see everything in just a few days, I probably only managed to see about a third of the latest fashion, equipment, technology and accessories on display.

 The show begins with the outdoor demo day at an expansive circular range, where PGA professionals and media like myself can test the latest equipment. Thanks to Cobra Puma, the brand organised an interview with Lexi Thompson and it’s easy to see why she is one of the most popular players on the LPGA Tour. I have used the word ‘is’ rather than ‘was’ even though she announced her retirement last year because it’s definitely only semi-retirement as she’s already signed up for the first two women’s Majors of the year.

 Of course, as news broke recently of her engagement to boyfriend Max Provost, I couldn’t wait to take a closer look at her ring, and as you would imagine, it is a stunning sparkler. It certainly broke the ice (literally) when we began our chat as she explained how it was a bit loose due to the cold weather. It was such a shame because rain also stopped play for Lexi’s demo and my second interviewee, golf channel presenter Blair O’Neal was told not to bother attending demo day as it was so wet and cold. I think you’ve got the picture - home from home! 

 That said, I was very fortunate to sneak in two rounds of golf and even more lucky that on those days, although I needed to wear a thermal vest, plenty of layers and a woolly hat, at least it was dry. It was such a treat to watch the ball bouncing down the fairways with plenty of roll and putting on slick greens amongst an abundance of wildlife. 

 I’ve chatted a lot lately about trying to find motivation to get golfing, well it was easy to find it across the pond. I’ve also been inspired by Jess Ratcliffe’s latest article for Golf Monthly on how she has fixed her ingrained swing fault. It clearly took a lot of patience to keep going, but she’s done it and now she’s set up for success come the spring. 

 I’m raring to go, I might be traipsing through mud and swinging in the rain, but let’s go for it! 

Alison Root 

Women's Editor

Golf Monthly