Anastasya tees up for tilt at series three-peat

FIVE years after getting her first set of golf clubs, Anastasya Macauley has established herself as a two-time state champion.

The 10-year-old from Sebastopol late last year clinched the 2025 edition of the TeeMates Nine Hole Series, making it back-to-back wins following her victory in 2024.

She joined a select group of players to have won the series twice since its inception.

Anastasya has immediately taken aim at a third series win, a feat that has been achieved only once before.

It follows a triumphant 2025 in which she was crowned both the gross winner and player of the series.

Anastasya, who was introduced to the sport by her father Stuart Macauley and started taking golf lessons at age seven, had to overcome multiple setbacks during the year, including being involved in a car crash and fracturing her wrist.

It meant golf was put on the back burner for a few months, limiting her lessons and appearances in the TeeMates series.

“It was pretty chaotic for me,” Anastasya said.

“Around the time those two things happened there was at least four competitions from the TeeMates series that I had to miss.

“It had Dad and I worried – but we managed our way through that.

“Luckily, I got player of the year as well as winning the gross award.”

 

The TeeMates series – previously known as the Rookie series – offers junior golfers (under 18) accessible, affordable and competitive golf experiences, including nine-hole and 18-hole events with different formats for various handicaps, including stroke and stableford events.

Back-to-back TeeMates wins capped a big golfing year for Anastasya, a student at Ballarat Christian College, who was the recipient of scholarships from the Ballarat Golf Club and Golf Australia.

Such was her dominance of the series, Anastasya had the player of the year award already secured before the final round at her favourite course, The Furrows at Kingston Heath, and despite missing four rounds through her injuries.

Once back in the swing of things, she won four of the final six rounds, giving her an astonishing 10 tournament wins overall for the calendar year and two each seconds, thirds and fourths.

Complementing her own hard work and practice, Anastasya has developed her game immensely under the tutorship of former Ballarat Golf Club associate professional Travis Tatt.

“Tatt Golf is a great supporter of Anastasya and so is Ballarat Golf Club,” her proud father said.

“They encourage her to hang around the club a lot to see other parts of what golf is about – it’s not just about playing.

“She is always eager to learn about other aspects of the sport.

“It’s a great course, Ballarat … a great course for youngsters to learn on.”

After a few weeks’ break, Anastasya returned to competitive action this week in the Ballarat Junior Golf Open at Buninyong.

She will then launch into the defence of her TeeMates title at 13th Beach in Barwon Heads on 26 January.

 

With a bright future and years of golf ahead, Anastasya will resist the jump to 18-hole golf this year, preferring to continue honing her game on the nine-hole circuit.

She will, however, play up to four 18-hole tournaments this year, handpicking some of Australia’s best golf courses, including The Pines and Royal Melbourne.

Her tournament schedule will include upwards of 35 tournaments this year, a majority of them in Melbourne.

They will be complemented by trips to places such as Tocumwal, Rye and the Western District.

Anastasya praised her father and her mother Juliette for sacrificing plenty of their own time to allow her to follow her golfing passion, doing everything from driving her to tournaments across Victoria to ensuring she is properly attired and has the right clubs.

There are no prizes for guessing what the talented 10-year-old wants most from her golf in 2026.

“[I’d like to] win TeeMates again – three in a row would be pretty special,” Anastasya said.

“I really like the competitive side of golf and making friends and I’ve been lucky to make some really nice friends.”

But golf is not her only passion.

Anastasya is an avid dancer with the Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts, and has been selected to be part of a special musical theatre class.