I have played tournament golf since I was 17.  The first big events I played were the British Boys and Carris Trophy, and later on all the big UK Amateur tournaments including the English and British Amateur Championships, St Andrews Links Trophy and the Brabazon Trophy.  Since turning pro in 1998 I have regularly played various Mini Tour events, Europro and Challenge Tour, British Open Qualifying and European Tour Qualifying Schools.  I havn't been as successful as I would have liked up to now, but I'm still playing, playing better than ever, and enjoying my golf more than I ever have done.

I love teaching, but like most golf pro's, I started playing golf to compete and to see how good I can be.  The two areas of the game compliment each other.  Teaching helps me understand my golf swing more fully, while playing tournaments tests the mental side of my game and means I can understand what my students are going through when they are playing.  I couldn't teach this game if I was just stood on a driving range all day and never played a tournament. 

The golf swing is only one part of the game of golf.  The body and the mind are totally interconnected.  Unless you know how pressure affects the body and the golf swing, you can't really understand or teach the whole game.  As Ben Hogan said, 'Golf and tournament golf are as different as tennis and ice hockey'.

The trouble for the average player, is that most Tour Pro's these days don't teach the game.  They don't need to, as the money they make from playing is massive compared to 30 years ago.  There has been a divergence, with golf professionals specialising as either teachers or players.  This doesn't mean that there aren't teaching pro's who are good players, it's just that there aren't many of them.  If you do find a teacher who can really play the game, and can communicate the thoughts and feelings he has when he plays to you in a lesson, then you will have a big advantage over the lesson from the teacher who has learned his trade purely from a teaching manual or at training conferences. 

I will be playing Europro Tour and Jamega Tour in 2009.  I am intending to blog from the tournaments on these pages.

I play in lots of Pro Ams throughout the season, both in the UK and abroad.  The format is usually a team of three amateurs with one professional. The amateurs play off their club handicaps. The team  takes the two best scores from the four players on each hole to give an 18 hole total.  These events are always great fun and are a chance for the club golfer to see at close quarters how the professionals get round a golf course. If you would like  to play with me in any of the events listed in the Tournament Schedule, please either call me or send me an email.