Can you imagine bogeying the first and being six over-par for your round?
It is the stuff of dreams for most club golfers, or nightmares for those with a plus handicap.
Thankfully, for City of Newcastle’s Phil Ridden, it doesn’t happen that often. In a fascinating interview, England’s lowest handicapper tells us about his experience as a pro, and why he decided to return to the amateur ranks – a move which has paid dividends.
Unfortunately, one of our European Tour players, Chris Paisley, is having a tough time of it at the moment, as you will read in his searingly honest column on page 31. It reveals just how tough life can be for golfers much better than most of us when their form slips. Still, as he recognises himself, I am sure many of us would happily swap places with him.
Among those who could make the move in the future are juniors Jack Ainscough and Jack Hermeston, two of the North East’s most promising young player, both of whom have high aspirations but their feet firmly planted on the ground.
Their stories are among a number to feature juniors in this edition, alongside efforts by a number of clubs to encourage more young people to take up the sport so many of us love.
Yorkshireman Danny Willett’s Augusta triumph has created a real buzz and it is important clubs capatlise on this.
In this issue we also look ahead to some of the big events taking place in the region and suggest who to watch on the EuroPro tour. We also review two great courses in Crook and Skipton, and we take a trip around Northumberland.
Finally, we end this month’s note with a plea to lady golfers. Following our popular men’s Match Play Pairs competition, we were approached organise an event for the many female golfers in the region.
Last year’s inaugural Ladies Greensomes event proved a great success, so we repeated the format. However, entries have been a little slow coming in so we have extended the deadline to the end of this month. It is only £10 to enter and there are great prizes on offer thanks to Matfen Hall.
You have to be in it to win it so turn to page 51 and give it a crack.