Age: 40
Turned pro: 2000
Home club: Matfen Hall
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Multiple pro am wins, two seasons on the EuroPro Tour
What have you been up to?
“It’s been a busy winter, particularly on the England and Northumberland squad coaching side. I look after the North Region U16 girls’ squad and the Futures squad for developing players, and we’ve spent a lot of time together in the last few months improving technically, mentally and physically to hit the ground running in April. I’ve also been out to the US with Jim Hardy and Chris O’Connell – two mentors of mine. We spent a week working on Jim and Chris’ Plane Truth philosophy, learning from other pros and getting to spend some time with Matt Kuchar, which was incredible. I’ve got a lot of notes and videos to work through still. I’ve also got my players fine tuning things over the winter, from elite players through to club golfers, so it’s as busy as ever!”
How did you get into the game?
“My parents weren’t golfers but we visited my uncle on Jersey when I was nine, he was a big golfer and took me for a lesson with the local pro. I came home and joined Heworth Golf Club, about 50 yards from our house, and never looked back. By the time I was 12 I was pretty good, I won the club championship at 16 and played to a decent standard. I was always fascinated by technique and was reading loads of golf books as a teenager so I was destined to go into coaching pretty early on.”
What does the future hold?
“Coaching mainly. I’ve got a great setup at Matfen with a really diverse mix of players – from England internationals like Caitlin Whitehead through to the club’s junior academy – which has had a lot of success over the years and has some really good players in. I want to play more this season. I hit a lot of balls but I want to enter some pro events. I’ve missed playing the last few years.”
