PGA work under way now....

Hello once more, this is perhaps the biggest gap i've had in writing this blog but quite a bit has been happening.

I've now been on my PGA Residential Year One Course. It was a very good week and I came away feeling good although two of the lectures were a bit rubbish.

My favourite part of the week was the swing coaching day, in which it felt like i'd tripled my knowledge about the golf swing and gave me some stuff I knew I could use when I start teaching (which should be very soon hopefully!).

The Business lecture was interesting but didnt focus enough on the assignment we've been given. The Retail Assignment Brief was, to say the least, ambiguous and its been tough to get the work right. Considering the word limit was 2000 words and I ended up writing 3500, I had a job on my hands to chop this down but fortunately got there in the end.

I didnt enjoy the Club Repairs Lecture or the Sports Science lectures. No offence to either of the facilitators but I'm just not remotely interested in focusing my career on either of those areas.
I've been thinking a whole lot about my career and stuff recently (in the winter the mind wanders), and it has really come clear in my mind that playing and teaching are my areas of complete interest. Its quite frustrating that we still have to cover the other areas of the PGA Programme, but I know and accept that it is compulsory.

I am itching to get the next golf season underway, it cannot come soon enough! From January onwards I am going to undertake a strict and organised programme of practise, especially on those areas of weakness in my game so that when April comes, I am ready to go. Sometimes I wonder if the people around me truly know how passionate I am about playing this game as it goes way beyond what is probably perceived.

I know how hard it is to make a career out of playing golf, which is also why I am interested in developing my teaching skills. Thats why I got into golf, playing and teaching. If it ever became apparent that either of these two areas were being overshadowed, i'd have to rethink some things. But playing professional golf tournaments, and learning to teach other people to play golf are where I feel I'm headed, down the line. I'm extremely fortunate to have a job that gives me the freedom and flexibility to do this.

I'm soon going to begin cutting my teeth as a golf coach and have some major confidence issues to deal with, that I must overcome before I start doing this. I'm very lucky to have the boss where I am. He is extrememly pro-active and very passionate about teaching and is really trying to push me into getting involved with this. I know I can learn a lot from him as he has all the good communicational qualities that I feel I need to work on, and he knows how to get the best out of people. I've just got to start getting involved, and observing lessons. I feel my practical knowledge is good and that I know what I'm talking about, the problem is 'will they know what i'm talking about?'.

Anyways, i've got lots coming up to look forward to. Christmas is always fun and and exciting, especially with my little nephew Maxy around. I enjoy family times like this and have seen a lot of him, my brother and his partner recently as they have moved nearer to us, which is great.

For the new year, I'm off with my lady to Edinburgh for a right good knees-up. I'm informed that the hogmannay (correct spelling??) celebration is awesome so this should be a new year to remember. We've been together over four years now, so all credit to her for perseverence!

I'm also off to Bulgaria in March for a week of skiing and a final breather before I get my first full season as a professional golfer under. I am excited about the challenges ahead and can't wait to see how I fare.
Till next time......