I write this having decided a few months ago that I will no longer pursue my dream of being a Touring Professional. Having had over a decade of playing on both the Challenge Tour and European Tour, chasing my goals, now is the time to try and conquer another career that I am extremely passionate about. For a number of reasons, I can now sit here, accepting of this decision and very excited by what the future can bring. At first, the raw emotion of ending something you have given so much to, without achieving your ambitions, made it hard to see what a possible future career would look like. 

After the dust had settled, a calmness of thought allowed me to brainstorm what new avenues might be available for me to walk down. In doing this, I had to evaluate everything my decade as a Tour Pro had taught me and start to pick out my strengths amongst what felt like a mountain of weaknesses in the world I was now entering. In many ways, my obsessive pursuit of my dream sheltered me from many aspects that will be important to my future. Something as simple as a CV had never been a consideration to me before. This process of reflection and projection now started to shape what my next step needed to be. The more I analysed the possible options, the clearer it became that Coaching was now my next step. I believe I have a somewhat unique experience of this great game and a passion to help others, which combined together, will hopefully result in many a success story. 

As a player, I will always look back on my career with regrets and disappointment that I failed to fulfil what I felt my potential would be. Decisions I made and routes I went down certainly didn’t help the trajectory of my career at times. However, I take pride in the way I tried to always show dedication, passion, determination and hard work throughout my career and it is with these attributes that I will attack my life as a Coach. The many ups and downs I suffered have given me a balanced position to help others, whether that is on their own journey to the elite level or attempting to break 100. The lessons I have learned and the knowledge I’ve been able to gain from the sport’s greatest players and coaches, mixed with my lived experiences, will certainly play a pivotal role in my approach to helping others succeed. 

The world of golf coaching is ever-changing, whether that is swing methodology or technology advancements. Like others, I have my own philosophies but the greatest attribute I have witnessed a Coach give to a player is the true, simplistic understanding of what they, as an individual need to do to achieve their own success. I will endeavour to achieve such clarity with everyone I work with and to ensure this, I will offer a more than just a golf lesson. Availability for communication between lessons will be integral to the relationship in order to maintain that clarity throughout the time we are not together. For anyone who wishes to join me on a journey to better golf, then I promise to be a true Coach to the best of my ability and not just a teacher of a golf swing philosophy.