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Jennifer Sräga is both rare and remarkable. Rare, because as a woman who plays golf with a low single figure golf handicap, she can count herself in the top one per cent of all female golfers in the world. Remarkable, because she achieved national team recognition in her home country of Germany before the age of seventeen.
Starting golf aged six with her older sister Steffi, at that age Jennifer found it a bit boring “just putting” but she and Steffi enjoyed it when they were allowed sometimes to drive the golf cart for a few yards.
When one day Jennifer started to show more interest in the game itself, Parents Sonja and Uwe were quick to recognise her potential to enjoy golf. They arranged for Graham Pottage, a trainer at their home club of Ulm, on the border of Bavaria in Germany, to help coach Jennifer and it wasn’t long before she started to improve her golf skills.
Jennifer was born with Achondroplasia, which is commonly called short stature, and today aged 26 she is highly motivated to help others to understand about her disability, while demonstrating through her play that golf can be so beneficial physically and mentally for anyone who tries the game.
Meet her and you are soon struck by her intelligence, mental toughness but also her keen sense of humour, an overall package that would see her go all the way to the biggest stage in golf, the Old Course at St Andrews, competing during a historic week for the sport. This was 2022 at The 150th Open, a million miles from the six-year-old German girl who was just starting to show glimpses of her potential.
Jennifer said: “When I was younger and started thinking properly and practising, I realised that I could beat others. I had to learn to believe in myself, and then I could reach my goals. If you find a sport like golf, you have only to keep doing it and never mind what the others say. It’s your hobby, and don’t let the others stop you playing.”
The two sisters spurred each other on, and so it is no surprise that both have low handicaps; Jennifer plays off a Handicap Index of 4.5, although Steffi is slightly ahead just now.
Dad Uwe is a physiotherapist by profession. “It is good that Dad is a physio, especially when I have to have rehab, like when I had my legs straightened,” said Jennifer. Four operations over a short period to correct her ankles were necessary, but with the help of her family, she soon got back to competing.
Jennifer knows in which areas she needs to develop her game. “In my swing, the radius is shorter so I can’t hit the ball that far, so I have to concentrate more on putting and chipping. Physically, I have to get stronger and optimise everything so that I don’t make too many mistakes.
“I’ve learned lots. I have to keep concentrating, to just stay focused and then you can reach your goals.”
It is not only at golf where Jennifer excels: she graduated well from high school and is now studying for a degree in Sport Business Management at the IST University of Management, Dusseldorf. College friends simply treat her as they would anyone else, but that was not always the case with visitors to her school, or others who meet Jennifer for the first time. “They always look, and I can tell they are thinking, ‘Oh, there’s someone different’, but I can handle it, it’s quite normal for me.
“When they look different at me, I can think, yeah, I’m special, this makes me feel more outstanding. Of course, the alternative way to look at it is not nice, especially if they look at me like I’m some sort of attraction.
“I think one reason why people with disability get separated from the others is those non-disabled people don’t think they can ask someone about their disability. Perhaps they feel it is too direct or too personal? I think this barrier could be an artificial problem. If we people with disability are more open and simply say, ‘Hello, my name is Jennie, I saw that you looked a little strange at me, do you have any questions?’”
Jennifer has advice for others living with any disability. “Just live your life. We can’t change it – we have to accept it and so stay strong. Believe in yourself, after all that’s what makes us all human.”
This mindset was perfectly in tune with her sharp golf game when in 2022, Jennifer was invited to play a special part in The 150th Open at St Andrews, the most eagerly awaited Open Championship for decades. Staged against a backdrop of 290,000 spectators from all over the world, millions more golfers and non golfers were experiencing the tournament on their screens and phones.
On the Monday practice day, The R&A hosted the ‘Celebration of Champions’, a unique four-hole team match now established during Open Championship week whenever the event is played at this historic golf venue; the fans saying thank you to the likes of Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Laura Davies, Gary Player, Georgia Hall, Nick Faldo, Bob Charles and more – all played out on the iconic golfing acres of the first, second, 17th and 18th holes on the Old Course.
This unique gathering included an international quartet of G4D (golfers with disability) players: Monique Kalkman of Holland, Juan Postigo Arce of Spain, Kipp Popert of England and Jennifer herself were able to meet, talk with, compare swing tips, practise alongside, and then play in the Celebration with these legendary golfers.
Some of the former champions showed a few nerves on the day, but Jennifer Sräga appeared comfortable and confident as she teed off on the first alongside Henrik Stenson and Mark O’Meara.
“I didn’t feel nervous on the first tee as there was just a sea of faces really,” explained Jennifer.
“I have learned that I have to trust myself and test myself, so this felt like a wonderful moment, not a scary one.”
Later, as the crowds lining the 18th hole cheered Jennifer, she drilled her second shot over the ‘Valley of Sin’ and onto the green. A lovely lag putt earned a closing par but the statement of Jennifer, Monique, Kipp and Juan to people watching around the world resounded clearly: golf can be a game that all of us can play, a sport that can include everyone.
In the days that followed the four golfers signed hundreds of autographs with spectators when walking around St Andrews they were consistently stopped by interested people wanting to ask questions about their golf games.
For the rest of Open week Jennifer returned the support she received from The R&A in attending the championship by taking part in golf activities to grow the game staged in the R&A Swing Zone in the Spectator Village at St Andrews.
Jennifer was with her Mum, Sonja, for the week and both of them helped the UK charity the Golf Foundation and EDGA to create a great vibe for boys and girls new to golf; Jennifer’s sense of humour and her hand-eye skill saw her playing ‘keepy-uppy’ in against-the-clock challenges and putting games before signing golf balls and caps for the youngsters.
Helping to make golf more inclusive is important to Jennifer, as is the competitive side. Jennifer represented Germany in the European Golf Association’s European Team Championship when she was 17, and has won G4D events, playing in many countries. In 2025, Jennifer came second to world number one Daphne van Houten in The G4D Open at Woburn, the prestigious international Championship staged by The R&A in partnership with the DP World Tour, supported by EDGA. At the time of writing Jennifer was fourth overall in the female World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD).
For Jennifer, every aspect of the game has value and can help change our lives for the better. She concluded: “It’s all about trying the game and seeing if you like it. If we have inspired one person with a disability that golf could be great for them it is all very much worthwhile.”
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