Shots, Shanks and Shocks
In my last post, I’d decided to quit education and pursue golf, despite lacking both the ability and the knowledge required. My golfing career started humbly at Twickenham Golf Club, a modest 9-hole course chosen for its driving range and bus accessibility.
For the next two years, starting around my 17th birthday, my routine consisted of taking the bus to the course each morning, hitting balls, playing 18-36 holes, hitting more balls, and then returning home to work in the pub for the evening. This was a seven-day-a-week mission.
About a year later, I upgraded to Stockley Park, a club that had recently hosted a European tour event. The main advantage of Stockley was its community of members and junior members. This was my first experience of the benefits of both competition and camaraderie.
At Stockley, there was always someone to play with: other members, guys from the pro shop, or even greenkeepers. This competitive environment elevated my performance and focus. The junior members offered banter, rivalry, and fun, making practice sessions much more enjoyable. As with CrossFit, there was always someone better at something, which inspired and motivated me.
My time at Stockley was the peak of my golfing enjoyment, coinciding with my prime improvement years. It was a truly fun time!
This changed when I reached a single-figure handicap of eight. I met a girl, decided I needed a real career, and moved out. I sent my CV to the top 10 golf clubs in the area and received an offer from Buckinghamshire Golf Club, a prestigious club with excellent practice facilities and a beautiful course. I believed this would allow me to continue pursuing my dream of being a tour pro while having a career to support me.
In reality, I worked all the hours I could have been playing golf, often on minimum wage. I started in the pro shop and as a barman, but quickly transitioned to the maintenance team. My days consisted of either 12-hour shifts in the pro shop, usually alone, or split shifts between the shop and fixing things (with no prior knowledge or skills I remember getting more than one electric shock during some very dicey repairs!), cleaning, painting, unblocking toilets, and general maintenance.
Even with these long days, I still found time to practice, either at the end of a shift or during a split shift. On my day off, I’d still come in to play or practice.
These were incredibly long days with little time off, resulting in my relationship ending promptly (another recurring theme!). But at the time, my only goal was to become the best golfer I could be.
Looking back, there were many lessons to learn from this period, though I didn’t truly take them on board until at least 15 years later. All of these I’ve kept front of mind when running CrossFit Chiltern:
- Cherish community: Moving from a supportive group to a club lacking in that aspect was a significant loss.
- Competition motivates: Having people to compete and train alongside is a great motivator for improvement.
- Prioritise personal time: Block out time each week to spend with people you care about.
- Facilities and people are equally important: Great facilities only work with great people.
- Embrace the process: Golf taught me that hard work doesn’t always bring the desired results in the expected timeframe. If you don’t enjoy the process and only focus on the result, you’ll want to quit as soon as things get tough.
I also recognised during this time that I can learn to do almost anything, even with mistakes along the way.
Stay tuned for the next post. I’m enjoying this trip down memory lane!