This June, O’Connell joined up with Kayleigh Trappe and Ailbhe Garrihy to begin their journey as part of ‘The First Tee – Journey to Carton House.’
The trio have spent the last two months getting a crash course in golf before they take part in the KPMG Women’s Irish Open Pro-Am on 28 August.
“I’m dreading it,” joked O’Connell.
“I was talking to Valerie Wheeler recently, actually, and she was saying get up there and just do it.
“I’ve got all these people being like, we were watching the Olympics a lot and saying, you’ve just got to back yourself and I’m not the sort of person who would be able to back herself.”
Hazel Kavanagh has coached O’Connell throughout her journey and she has noticed the progression from the frontline, and while the gruelling first tee looms large on the horizon, O’Connell is confident she has found a new sport for life.
“I absolutely love doing new things and this is something I always would have done anyway,” said O’Connell.
“A lot of friends are kind of like, let’s start doing this now because it is such fun and it’s a great way to go out and spend time with your friends and I’m hoping that it will be something that I will keep on doing, it certainly feels like it would be.
“There’s a few of them that have collected their golf clubs from home and are ready to go and then I am terrible at being a joiner, but I have talked to a few gangs that kind of get together and golf, so I’d hope that it’s not too late to make some new golf friends.
“I think I will keep it up.”