David Edwards

Golfing Herald met up with David Edwards, PGA Fellow Professional and International Trick Golf Show artist for our Meet the Professional series.

Aged about 9, David’s love and passion for golf ‘teed off’ on the practice ground at Catterick Garrison Golf Club by hitting balls with a putter, always attempting to break his own distance record!!

David’s father served in the forces so his family moved overseas to Hong Kong, where David became a junior member of Hong Kong Golf Club. Over the next 2 to 3 years David practised hard as playing opportunities were limited to Saturday’s only. Returning to the UK, David was runner-up in the Teesside Boys Championship and almost immediately turned Professional.

In 1976 David became Richmond Golf Club’s first-ever Professional, after serving his apprenticeship as an Assistant Professional at several clubs in the North of England. In 1980, David returned to Catterick Garrison Golf Club but this time as Head Professional.

Whilst at Catterick, David qualified for the 1981 British Open at Royal St. George’s – it is not my style to have spoiler alerts so you will have to read the full article to find out how David qualified for the Open and his experience of playing in a Major Championship.

In 1986 David became the Head Professional at Scarborough South Cliff. Whilst there, David started teaching 4 weeks a year in Cyprus. At the end of one of his Cyprus golf clinics, he started hitting shots from the top of Beer Bottles…and thus out of nowhere, the International Trick Golf Show was born!!

In 1995 David became Director of Golf at Forest Pines Golf Club, combining an array of duties at this Championship Golf complex with the ever-increasing popularity of his show and his unique on-course video commentaries (much, much more on both of these in the article), eventually leaving that post in 2006.

Since then, his International Trick Golf Show has continued to grow and grow and to date has been performed in over 65 countries, including appearances at a Ryder Cup, Solheim Cups and numerous European Tour Events. If you have not seen David perform his show live then please visit the International Trick Shot Show for information, testimonials, snippets of shows on YouTube, etc.

Throughout his career David has attempted, through initiatives such as Golf Schools, to encourage hundreds of people to have fun and play golf. David is also actively involved with various charitable organisations and causes, and for the past 3 years, he has organised a golf event to raise funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer.

David is approaching his 50th year as a Professional Golfer, with no signs of slowing down, but as he said a couple of times during our chat what makes him proudest of all is being a member of the Professional Golfers Association.

Hope you enjoy.

The First Tee

Golfing Herald (GH): In many ways, the county of Lincolnshire is the hidden gem of golf in England with a number of championship golf courses such as Woodhall Spa, Holme Hall, Elsham, Belton Park and Forest Pines…and it was at Forest Pines where I met up with David. Against the backdrop of the 9th hole, whose fairway is bordered by a stunning avenue of trees from tee to green, I started our conversation by asking David when and where his golfing journey ‘teed off’.

David Edwards (DE): My father was in the forces and we lived in Catterick Garrison. I was from a large family, 5 girls and 1 boy!! My dad played golf and I remember sitting in the car waiting for dad to finish with his pals in the clubhouse and I used to go out on the practice ground with a putter and try to whack the ball. I can always remember standing next to the posts on the practice ground at Catterick Garrison Golf Club and I used to try to hit it past another post…and then I used to try and beat my record on how far I could hit a ball with this putter!!

(GH): How old were you whilst setting these putter hitting records?

(DE): I was about 9 years of age. I really enjoyed the thrill of being outside and sort of playing golf!! My dad was a former Royal Signals White Helmet (*) and he was a great rider of a bike. But when Dad was posted to Hong Kong, as a family, we lived out there for 3 years. I remember I said to my dad that “I wanted to carry on playing golf as I really enjoyed it”. The only opportunity to play golf was on a Saturday. I was at school and dad was in the forces. But the Army had a membership at the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club (**) at Fanling which is where I used to go and play golf on a Saturday. After school, I would go and practice on the school field or just hit balls into a golf net. For nearly 3 years I would spend hours hitting balls into a net and playing golf on a Saturday.

(GH): Did you play in any junior competitions or tournaments whilst living in Hong Kong?

(DE): I was a junior member at Fanling. I played in the Boys championship and won the Under 15s category. When I left Hong Kong I was playing off a 6 handicap.

(*) The Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team are also known as the White Helmets. The Team is comprised of serving soldiers who give displays of motorcycling skills, acrobatics and stunts.

(**) The Golf Club removed the prefix ‘Royal’ in 1997 prior to the handover.

Catterick to Manchester Return

(GH): Did you immediately join a golf club when you returned to the UK?

(DE): I became a Junior Member at Catterick Garrison Golf Club as that is where we moved back to. Getting down to a 4 handicap I played in the Teesside Boys Championship. It was in the days when it was a very ‘hush-hush thing’ if you were going to turn Professional. I finished runner-up at Teesside Boys Championship, played really well and then it got out that I was going to become an Assistant Professional which was not the done thing in those days!! But I became an Assistant at Catterick Garrison Golf Club. I did my apprenticeship at Catterick working with the PGA Professional Fred Thorpe. Actually, he was a big part of my career, starting in those early days.

(GH): In what way did he mentor you and shape your early golfing career?

(DE): He was the Club Professional at the golf club and very successful and from him, I learnt the basic fundamentals of the trade from giving Golf Lessons, Retail side and Golf Club Repairs. I became an Assistant Professional in 1970 and worked under his guidance. Then in 1974, I moved from Catterick over the Pennines to Manchester to a fabulous place called Dunham Forest Golf & Country Club. The Chairman of the PGA was the Club Professional. It was one of the very few Jewish Clubs in the country and a very special place in my life to work because I met some very nice members, which to be fair I also did at Catterick Garrison. Whilst at Dunham Forest I won the Manchester & District Under 25 Professional event and participated in many events in the Manchester area.

(GH): When you turned Professional at a very young age, was it always your dream to become a playing/touring Professional?

(DE): Like every other youngster I had aspirations of becoming a player and I wanted to play the game. Never for one moment did I ever think that I would be doing what I am doing today!! But whilst in Manchester, I continued to learn my trade and I worked for this very nice chap called Doug Smith who was Chairman of the PGA. Like all young Pros, I was wanting to play and there was a man called Archie Preston who was ‘Mr. Golf’ in the Manchester area who was interested in helping me but unfortunately it wasn’t to be as I spoke to my boss Doug who said: “If you went off to play tournaments then you won’t be able to retain your job as an Assistant”. Maybe it wasn’t the right time in life so I finished up crossing the Pennines and heading home to Catterick as an Assistant after gaining so much knowledge in the game of golf.

Assistant to Head

(GH): When you returned to Catterick, was Fred Thorpe still the Head Professional?

(DE): Yes. Fred Thorpe was and certainly a character and when he then moved to Stressholme Golf Club, a Municipal course in Darlington I went with him as his Assistant, even though I was a qualified Professional. Stressholme was a great place but I parted company with Fred there and I approached Richmond Golf Club in Yorkshire to see if I could become their Professional. I think I am right in saying that I moved to Richmond for £500 per year as my retainer and thus in 1976, I became their first-ever Professional!! That meant I had to work really hard to make a living and playing aspirations had to go on the back-burner. During my first 2 years at Richmond Golf Club, my Pro Shop was a trestle table!! I had a table in a corner of the clubhouse. I had no money so I went to the bank and got a £1000 overdraft facility.

(GH): So very much running your Pro Shop on a proper business footing?

(DE): Yes. I then went to a company in Bradford called Gratex and they supplied me with golf equipment and I would send them a cheque every week. My mother and I used to drive there in a Mini and we used to fill the car full of Golf Equipment!! Then, I would put all of the stock in their dining room and then every morning I would load the Mini up, go to the golf club, set out the stock on my trestle table, put the stock that was left back into the Mini at the end of the day…then the shop expanded and I got two trestle tables and I did that for 2 years!! The thing was I saw the potential and tried to expand the business. I never took days off and I just kept going.

Golf Schools

(GH): Over and above increasing turnover from selling golf equipment and merchandise, in what other ways did you try to expand your golf business operation whilst at Richmond Golf Club?

(DE): I went to the local schools and I had 11 schools on the Golf Foundation. A lot of the lads & lasses who are regular players up in the Richmond area now were people who actually came through my many golf schools. After a couple of years, I then got my first ever golf shop at Richmond. They did an official opening and I always remember they unveiled this plaque with the members in the car park and when unveiled the plaque read ‘David Edwards, Golf Proffesional’…they had spelt Professional with 2 f’s and 1 s!! I also used to run night schools at the local YMCA, at the Army Gyms on the Catterick Garrison Camp, in Newton Aycliffe and Darlington…I used to go all over the region…running golf schools in village halls and sports halls, teaching people to play the game of golf. When I look back I think it was such an interesting time of my life. The shop, from having one then two trestle tables and having nothing to then having a shop was quite something. I then decided it was time to start playing a few events. I qualified three times for the PGA Championship down in Kent and making the final day in the 1982 PGA Championship at Hillside which was won by Tony Jacklin. In 1980, the professional at Catterick left and I got offered the job at Catterick Garrison Golf Club and was delighted to return home to my roots!!

The 1981 Open – Qualifying

(GH): So very much returning to your spiritual golfing home.

(DE): It was. I always wanted to be the Professional at Catterick so I returned there as the Professional. I still had aspirations of playing so I went to Tour School in Portugal in 1981 and finished 4th at Tour School and secured my European Tour Card. But what made me do that is that I also used to try and qualify for the British Open as like every professional I wanted to play in the Open. Every year you would go and it would be ‘doom and gloom’ as it didn’t happen. But in 1981 I played in the qualifying round at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds. I had a disaster up the 18th hole. I used to go with 3 ‘old boys’ who went with me every year to the Open qualifying and hoping before they passed away I would qualify for the Open!! At Moortown they used to walk the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes and then turn left whilst I turned right and they would go to the bar and have a few drinks!!

(GH): What actually happened up the 18th hole?

(DE): I hit into the bushes and did everything you don’t do and not supposed to do in the (golf) manual and I missed qualifying by 1 shot. Anyway, we got into the car and we are coming down the drive at Moortown Golf Club and I am looking in the mirror and there is an official running down the drive. Turned out 2 players had been disqualified.

(GH): No way…so what happened next?

(DE): I had to go out of the car park, up the main road to the traffic lights, come back around, back into the car park, rush up to the 1st tee, get on the 1st tee and play in a playoff trying to get to the next stage of qualifying!! I got on the tee just as my name was being called. I birdied the first and secured a place for final qualifying. When I got to final qualifying I played 2 rounds and got into the playoff. There were 7 players for 6 places and I won the playoff and I got into the Open Championship!!

1981 Open – Royal St. George’s

(GH): Incredible…so you have now qualified for the Open at Royal St. Georges.

(DE): I played with José María Cañizares in the first 2 rounds and we played behind Jack Nicklaus. As a club professional is was unreal really. The thing was it happened so quickly that you don’t take it in. I played with Cañizares, the weather conditions were bad and I shot 81 in the first round and I think 76 in the second round…but Jack Nicklaus who played in front of us took 83 in the first round so I suppose I could always look back and say ‘I beat Jack Nicklaus on one day of my life!!’.

Cross-Selling

(GH): Thanks so much for sharing that brilliant story from Moortown and Royal St. Georges!! OK, you are the club professional at Catterick Garrison Golf Club and have fulfilled a dream of playing in the Open…what next on your golfing journey?

(DE): What actually happened is when I was at Catterick Garrison Golf Club a chap called Brian Lindores, who is a member at Thorpeness Golf Club down in Suffolk, came up to me and said: “Edwards, do you want to make some money, as I have 20 soldiers at Catterick Garrison, would you teach them to play golf?”. I said “Yes”. So I taught them Monday to Friday as I had been doing golf schools all along the way. At the end of the week, I sold 10 sets of clubs so I thought ‘This is quite a good thing’.

(GH): Very much growing your business and growing the game.

(DE): The thing was, doing this at Catterick opened my eyes and made me think that if I could do this with people from the Army then why not do it with private schools. So I started advertising in the local papers and what happened is that I got more people into golf, then they would book individual lessons, then they would join a golf club and enjoy the ‘Game of Golf’.

Bits and Pieces

(GH): In today’s world your approach would be termed ‘cross-selling’.

(DE): Yes. Then whilst I was the professional at Catterick I started to put stock into other local golf clubs. I did that for maybe a couple of years and then it was a time in your life when you are thinking ‘I have developed the golf schools…I am writing a weekly golf column for the Darlington Evening Despatch…I am working for BBC Radio Tees, doing the commentary and reporting on local golf tournaments…what next?’.

(GH): David…on that last point, without you knowing at the time, that could be interpreted as sowing the seeds for the on-course video commentaries for which you are so well known for today?

(DE): Yes it could. Then I would also do some stuff for BBC Radio York and BBC Radio Leeds. I finished up doing all of these bits and pieces. The playing was always there but I became the Yorkshire representative for the PGA in the North Region, finished up as Captain and then President of the Yorkshire PGA. It was now 1986 and I thought where am I going to go next. Am I going to go to Germany or…

Scarborough South Cliff

(GH): …why to Germany?

(DE): My mother was German. When I was Pro at Catterick I used to go across to Germany teaching golf to the Army. There was a job going in Germany and somebody contacted me and I went to have a look but when I got back there was also a job going at Scarborough South Cliff Golf Club. Simon Deller, a pal of mine, was the professional at Scarborough North Cliff and he rang me and said” Dave, there is a job going at South Cliff” and it sounded really good. Anyway, I rang the club but they had done all of the interviews!! I spoke to Secretary Harry Atkinson and he said send your application in the post and they rang me the next day and invited me over for an interview.

(GH): Even though they had completed interviewing a shortlist of candidates.

(DE): Yes I guess I was lucky!!. I went for the interview and ended up as the Professional at South Cliff and I spent 7 fantastic years there. My previous clubs…Catterick, Dunham Forest and Richmond were all fantastic places to be in your life. When I was at Scarborough I really built up the shop and Golf Schools but the playing side had really gone a bit because it was always too far to travel to tournaments from Scarborough.

(GH): On that topic, there was a recent article on the rail and road transport links in/out of Scarborough highlighting the problems, so nothing much has changed during the intervening 30 years or so.

(DE): That’s right. So whilst I was at South Cliff I developed the Golf School, got involved with National Club Golfer doing some instructional articles and when the Benson and Hedges International Golf was played at Fulford Golf Club in York I would do some commentary at the weekends for BBC Radio York along with John Champion. Then one day I got a call from a gentleman who contacted me and said he needed some golf clubs sending out to Cyprus and I said yes, no problem at all. I got the clubs, sent them out and included a note along the lines of ‘How about me coming out to do some teaching in Cyprus?’.

Trick Golf Show Is Born

(GH): What was his response to your suggestion?

(DE): He rang me and said he had spoken to the committee and that they would love me to come out there and do some teaching. So I spoke to South Cliff and they allowed me to teach in Cyprus 4 weeks a year…2 weeks in October/November and 2 weeks in February for which I was very grateful. I went out to Cyprus and I was teaching at Episkopi Golf Club and they had me booked from 09:00 to 10:00, 1/2 hour gap, then booked me from 10:30 to 12:00, 2 hours for lunch, then booked me from 14:00 to 16:00 then finish!!

(GH): Not bad at all!!

(DE): On the first day of getting there they said it was the Club Championship and would you like to play. I thought well I have got to play and went out and played with a couple of the members and I shot a 70. Anyway, I finished up by doing a clinic and I was showing them how to hit it left to right, right to left, hit it low, hit it high and then I said: “Of course, if you want to be different you could hit a ball from the top of a bottle of KEO”. So I started hitting these silly little shots off the top of (Cyprus) Beer bottles!!

(GH): So, out of nowhere, your golf show was born?

(DE): Yes. Out of absolutely nowhere, it was the start of the show.

(GH): David…if we go back to the very start of our chat, you talked about how you attempted to hit a ball with a putter as far as you could and your dad was in a motorcycle display team so maybe all along becoming an entertainer through your Trick Golf Show was ‘written in the stars’?

(DE): Yes maybe, you never know!! But then I hit a few balls whilst on my knees, then with the back of a club. People then came up to me in the clubhouse and said “We would like a lesson but see that you are full” and I said, “What do you mean?”. Then I realised that the gaps for coffee breaks and lunch had been blanked out on my diary so before I knew it I was booked out solid and teaching from 07:00 to 17:00!! I ended up travelling to other courses in Cyprus teaching the forces and everywhere I went I did a little clinic. The next time I went back they said “Are you going to do your clinic?” and I said “Yes, and I can do this now” and then I added a few more shots and so on. I then bought a camera and I had a company day with Mercedes at South Cliff and I videoed the players coming up the 18th and I realised with the Show and the Video Commentary I had something special to offer on Golf Days.

Cotton Club

(GH): Before we return to how your Trick Golf Show and On Course Video Commentary adventures developed, I noted in preparation for today that before you moved here (Forest Pines) you were the Director of Golf at Bridlington Links…so how did the move from Scarborough South Cliff to Bridlington Links come about?

(DE): I saw that a golf course was opening and the concept they had with a driving range, practice grounds, academy, etc. was just perfect for me. I went and had an interview and ended up being offered the job and started at Bridlington Links in 1993. There is a short course there called the Cotton course so I formed the ‘Cotton Club’. It got people into golf. There was a young lad called Andrew Kelly who was one of the juniors we introduced through the Cotton Club and he is now a professional in Singapore. David Baron, who is now a Professional out in Cambodia also started out at the Cotton Club. Whilst at Bridlington I also approached the 2 local clubs and the council and said “Why don’t you have a weekly golf festival?” and the council responded by saying “No, it wouldn’t work”. Anyhow, they kicked this suggestion out but a week later they contacted me and I went back and I explained how you would have all these players coming from all over Yorkshire and from further afield, staying in the hotels, and how you could have different events on each day of the week…my idea was approved and I ended up as secretary (of the festival committee) and promoting and selling the Bridlington Golf Festival!! It started in 1994 and is still going to this day.

Director of Golf

(GH): Living in Yorkshire I am aware of the Bridlington Golf Festival though I have not had the pleasure of participating (yet!!). I never knew its history…but another great example of your ability to translate an idea or a business opportunity into reality. OK, I have still got much more I would like to chat about so moving on…I briefly mentioned a couple of minutes ago that you eventually ended up (here) at Forest Pines.

(DE): At times you never know where life is going to take you and one day I got a call from a gentleman called David Middleton who with his son Andrew owned Forest Pines. They had built this place from a small 24 bedroom hotel to what you see today. Set in 200 acres and they built 27 holes. I had met David previously and I had said to him “I hear you are building a golf course and if you ever need anybody please give me a call”. Anyway, the call came in August 1995 and he said: “Would you like to come over and have a look?”. I came over and there was nothing here and we took a Gator out into the middle of the course and they offered me the position (there and then) of Director of Golf. So we negotiated what we were going to do and to be honest, they were the nicest two guys ever to work for. They were absolutely superb. They knew that I was committed. I was moving into an area from what I was used to in the North East and Yorkshire and coming over the (Humber) bridge to Lincolnshire, a county which up to that point I had never been part of. At the opening night of the facility, we had a driving range and 386 people came to the opening at which I performed a show.

(GH): How on earth did you know or even remember that exactly 386 people came to the opening and watched your show?

(DE): How I know the number is that I gave everybody a card for a Callaway Driver and they all had to complete the card on whether they were interested in membership, golf days, corporate days, golf societies, tuition and so on and there were 386 cards!!

(GH): At that time, was that the largest audience before which you had performed your show?

(DE): Probably. My role as Director of Golf was to set the membership up, organise all of the Trophies, talk to members, grow sponsorship, establish society packages, etc. Also, organising golf and hotel accommodation packages. In those early days, I would be ‘fighting’ against the hotel wedding co-ordinator who would be booking rooms out a year in advance as initially we only had 24 bedrooms, though over time this incrementally grew to 186 bedrooms. At the very beginning, we ran a Press day, inviting the press up to have a look at the golf course and very quickly before the course had even opened it got voted the best new course in England by Golf World!!

(GH): Then that accolade would have just organically cascaded throughout the various golfing circles.

(DE): Yes…and because of my connections with the PGA I got the PGA in the Midland Region to come and play a tournament at Forest Pines…and other major events followed over the years at this championship course.

Trick Show & On-Course Commentary

(GH): How long were you the Director of Golf at Forest Pines before your Trick Show and other commitments effectively became full time and global?

(DE): I finished up here after nearly 12 years as Director of Golf. It was such an exciting time and no two days were ever the same. I have been very lucky and worked with some great people. I remember I was here doing a golf day with (the comedian) Tom O’Connor and he said to me “What you do is absolutely brilliant. You do your superb golf trick show but you also have something there with your on-course video commentary”. The thing is that now if anybody enquires about the show I also say that I do the commentary so it makes the overall day quite different. So whilst working here as Director of Golf I was developing and performing the shows at different courses on golf days, sometimes overseas. But then in 2006, the Middleton family sold the complex to Q Hotels and so I decided the time was right to focus on the shows and the commentaries.

Trick Show Equipment

(GH): For those readers that have hitherto not seen your trick show, either live or via snippets on YouTube, you use an incredible array of golf equipment…so how do you get this (specialist) equipment manufactured?

(DE): For the show, Ping has been absolutely amazing. There is a chap at Ping called Dave Cowling who makes all of the clubs for me. I go down to see him and he makes the various clubs up…the support that they have given me has really helped with the success of the show. I suppose when I started I didn’t really know what was going to happen but I have now taken the show to 65 countries around the world.

Trick Show Content

(GH): Do you have the same content in your Trick Show for say a complete golfing season then review/change the content between seasons or do you continually tweak and improve? What is your approach?

(DE): What actually happens is that when I started doing the shows I went through certain routines, took some stuff out, added some stuff in. But what I do is a show…and what I would like to think is that when somebody books me they are not just booking a guy who does trick shots but they are booking a show. From when I walk up to the first ball to when I walk out, I am walking around the balls and watching and talking to the audience, as there is audience participation…and I also do a number of impersonations of famous golfers. I try to keep things pretty current and add a few new things in. There was a chap called Noel Hunt and he was a pioneer in the UK for doing golf shows. I talked to him about this many years ago in that if you are going to do a Trick Shot Show you have got to be able to hit the ball correctly and in the right direction. I am a 101% PGA Professional and if I do a show and if there was something wrong I wouldn’t be happy.

(GH): That last point is really important in that in your show you don’t demean your profession.

(DE): Absolutely. The striking of the ball is important and the interaction with the audience is equally important. The shots that I hit, whether they are from a very high tee, on my knees, a very long driver or throwing the ball in the air, there is an avenue of lines that you are trying to hit down. There are shots that I don’t do that maybe a couple of my competitors do, but for me can you do those shots consistently. There is a risk element in the show and you have to think of Health and Safety at all times.

Golf Tee Trick

(GH): That is a really neat link as one of your recent tweets was about one of your tricks where you hit a ball from a tee that was in the mouth of Piers Morgan, who is not the most loved person in the UK!!…and I had to laugh out loud at some of the replies to your tweet asking why you had to hit the ball so cleanly!!

(DE): Yeah…actually, the first big star I had doing this trick was Rory McIlroy. I have had David Duval doing this trick down in the Cayman Islands…but going back to your comments on the tweet I was doing an Indian cricket day with Ian Botham. So I had Sachin Tendulkar holding the tee with Piers Morgan lying on the ground and I hit the ball and then he tweets “I can’t believe I have just had a golf ball smashed off my face” and people tweeted “I should have got him!!”.

Edward Scissorhands

(GH): From your current show, have you a particular favourite trick shot?

(DE): I suppose one of the most popular shots that I do is the ‘Edward Scissorhands’. That is where I have a club in the left hand and a club in the right hand and when I start off I am hitting balls with both clubs and I am walking up and down a line and in the finale I am walking across all the lines. ‘Edward Scissorhands’ is probably one of the most famous ones that I do. There was an unofficial world record of 220 balls and I was asked if I could break it. So on Soccer AM I went and did 286 balls in under 3 minutes. Then from there I did an event at the Birmingham NEC and took it up to something like 300 balls and then at the Scottish Golf Show I was approached to do it again. I said as long as it was for charity and I finished up hitting 312 balls in under 3 minutes. Another favourite is hitting shots off watches!! I did this trick last week in China where I switched the watch and the crowd really liked it. At the end of the day, I am just so lucky as there are so many people in the world who are less fortunate. Golf has given me so many great opportunities. The thing about the 4 letters in Golf is that they are quite easy to understand…Great Opportunites for Lifelong Friends. And that is what Golf has done for me.

Sartorial Elegance

(GH): In my opinion, what also makes your show ‘stand out’ is your Sartorial Elegance.

(DE): What actually happened there is that when I started doing the shows I wanted to stand out…the presentation, the variety of shots, the audience participation and so on. I started wearing knickerbockers and I suppose in a way a copy of Noel Hunt who used to wear knickerbockers. I thought I would do something similar to look different. One of my sponsors is Loudmouth and I thought ‘they are a bit loud for me’ but then thought ‘why not!!’. But today it is part of my brand. Looks fantastic and its all part of the show. For me, if you look the part you feel good.

Impersonations

(GH): In addition to your colourful attire and your array of tremendous trick shots you also do some fantastic impersonations of players in the show such as Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and the one and only Miguel Ángel Jiménez (ponytail, cigar, eccentric warm-up exercises!!).

(DE): Miguel is such a gentleman, he really is. At some tournaments, I am doing the show and the next thing I know I see Miguel in the audience!! We will always have a chat. But when you go to China with the European Tour they are all staying in the same hotel. If you go to the gym, which I do occasionally when I am away, though not so much these days, the people who are the hardest workers in the gym are the Spanish…Miguel will be in there doing exercises. In China I was so lucky as Bubba Watson was there, Haotong Li was there and Miguel was there and he joined me on stage for the warm-up impersonation…you just couldn’t buy that!!

Looking Ahead

(GH): Looking ahead, have you got a busy schedule for 2020?

(DE): Yes, I have got about 30 days already booked up. The season has come to an end for me, so I will be going out to my sponsor’s ‘The Heritage Resorts’ in Mauritius for 3 weeks early next year for a bit of a holiday and a catch-up but as soon as I get back the first show of the year is in Denmark. Somebody recently contacted me on whether I would do my show as part of their club’s centenary year celebrations in 2029!!

Highlights So Far

(GH): Are you able to pick out any particular highlights or experiences from the many hundreds of shows you have performed on the global stage?

(DE): I have performed at the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup a couple of times and the Race to Dubai six times and at about 45 or 50 European Tour Events.

(GH): Only joking, but do you ever think you are going to wake up one day and think that was one hell of a dream?

(DE): Yes!! But you know, I am 65 next year but I am as busy now as I have ever been. It is not just the show but the commentary and I hopefully bring that ‘entertainment value’. The big thing about golf today is the numbers (players, members, etc.) aren’t there but what you have to do is create fun, and if you create fun then those numbers come back up. Above all else, the one thing I am really proud of is to be a PGA Golf Professional. When you qualify as a Pro you get this little card which says you are a PGA Member and that membership card has given me the best opportunities in my life. I am shortly coming up to nearly 50 years of being a member of the PGA. I have ticked a lot of boxes as a Professional from the grassroots of teaching, working on a trestle table, working at the fantastic resort here at Forest Pines and now doing something completely different. As we chatted about earlier, I played in the biggest tournament in the world at the Open. Yes, I didn’t win it but I am able to say I have ticked that box and did it ‘My Way’.

Playing today

(GH): Outside of your show, do you still play today?

(DE): Yes, I still play with the guys…and lose money (to them!!). If I am honest my golf isn’t like it used to be. They tend to give me a couple of shots but if I win they tend to complain!! I still enjoy playing. I don’t think there is a day when I get up and think ‘I don’t want to hit a golf ball’.

The best facet of your game

(GH): Continuing with the theme of playing rather than the show, what would you say is the best facet of your game?

(DE): My weakest point was always my putting and I would say the best part is my driving. I don’t miss a lot of fairways. Yes, driving is the strongest part of my game but as you get older you just lose a bit of length off the tee.

Outside of golf

(GH): What are your interests outside of golf?

(DE): Fly Fishing. Yeah, I have fly fished for about 30 years. I used to go fishing with my dad when I was a kid. I do a bit of cycling and I enjoy going to football. Thinking about it, when I was a kid when we lived out in Hong Kong, what did I do that actually taught me this hand/eye coordination and it would be playing baseball with the American kids. Has come in really useful when I hit balls from a very high tee in the show!!

Favourite Sporting Event

(GH): What is your favourite sporting event?

(DE): I love the Open Championship. At the end of the day, the winner of the Open is the champion golfer. I enjoy watching the Masters which starts the season. The Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup have really been amazing as team events. The finish at the Solheim Cup this year was brilliant. But for me, the Open is the pinnacle.

Fantasy Fourball

(GH): In addition to yourself, who would you pick for your dream fantasy Fourball?

(DE): In addition to myself…my dream fourball would be Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin and I think Tiger might work his way in there as well!!

(GH): OK, so let’s start with Jack Nicklaus.

(DE): Jack Nicklaus was the Number 1 player. A great player and I would love to meet him. Tony Jacklin because possibly he was the player at the time who got me into golf. Of the modern players Tiger Woods…I know he had that hiccup in his personal life but he has come back a better person and what he has done for the game of golf is just fantastic. His achievement this year in the Masters was just unbelievable. As you know he has had all this trouble with his back and one day I asked my brother-in-law on whether he thought Tiger would ever come back and he said: “Yes, he will get back, he will be alright!!” My brother-in-law is actually a top spinal surgeon and in conjunction with his colleagues invented the procedure that Tiger has now had done…he knew that Tiger would be alright!!

If not a Professional Golfer

(GH): Earlier you said that you were fast approaching your 50th anniversary as a Professional golfer…so probably an unfair question but if you were not a Professional Golfer, then what?

(DE): Most probably a policeman, the one who keeps pointing his speed radar gun at my car just down the road!! No No…a professional cricketer. I played cricket as a kid and I always thought it was golf or cricket. It is a really hard question to answer. When I was working in Manchester at Dunham Forest all those years ago, I had moved away from home and had no spare money. What did I do? I worked in a Fish and Chip shop in the evening, worked as a petrol pump attendant, stacked shelves at supermarkets, anything to get a little bit of money…but every time I built up a little bit of money the car went wrong? There was always something that went wrong with the car so whatever I earned I had to give it away to get my car fixed!!

Favourite Golf Course

(GH): Which is your favourite golf course in the UK?

(DE): I suppose it has got to be Royal St. George’s. I played in two PGA Championships and an Open Championship there so it has got real special memories. I like Royal Birkdale but if you go down memory lane it has got to be Royal St. George’s.

(GH): And your favourite golf course outside of the UK?

(DE): The Concession Golf Club in Florida. That is a course that Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus built, named after the putt at the Ryder Cup in 1969 when Nicklaus gave Tony the putt saying he would not give him the opportunity of missing it. The Concession is absolutely stunning and I have played there now every year for the last 10 years. We go there as a guest of Tony’s and it is just unbelievable…the way it has been built is brilliant. It is a tough beast but thoroughly enjoyable.

Marooned

(GH): If you were marooned on a remote desert island what would you not be without?

(DE): Obviously my family. My fishing rod, though I would need my wife to cook any fish I caught!! And a nice hammock.

The Nineteenth

(GH): And finally. You put your International Trick Golf Show on hold whilst you are in temporary charge of the R&A. What idea(s) would you like to implement for this great game of golf over the next few years?

(DE): Time is the problem. You have the grassroots when you get kids into golf and some get hooked and some don’t. It’s all about who your mates are…if your friend stops playing you stop playing. The kids then play until they go to University or go to work and suddenly there is that gap between say the ages of 18 and 27. Then from there up to the age of 40 they get into relationships, start a family and so on. In today’s world couples work so playing golf at the weekend is not that easy. And then when you get to the ‘Back 9’ of life of age 50 to whatever you don’t always play 18 holes of golf. The possible answer is to have more 9 hole golf courses and facilities to get more people playing to alleviate any time constraints they may have. Get more families into golf and for more elderly golfers give them a fun 9 hole course to play.

(GH): David, a great way to finish. A huge thanks for your time today and for kindly sharing a fascinating, candid, humorous and passionate insight into your golfing journey and the International Trick Shot Show. Also, many thanks to the kind hospitality of the Forest Pines Golf Club.

For more information on David then please visit the International Trick Shot Show.

Acknowledgements

Once again, the global community have been so supportive in allowing me to use various photos to augment the article, so in addition to David I just want to say a big thanks to:

• Alex Jenkins ~ Director of PR & Communications at Hong Kong Golf Club
• Shaun Smith ~ Club Manager at Scarborough South Cliff Golf Club
• Paula MacDonald ~ Company Lead at Image Suite PR, for the Concession Golf Club photo
• Brian Weimann ~ Membership Director at the Concession Golf Club