Thomas Devine

Golfing Herald met up with Thomas Devine, PGA Advanced Professional and FUEL Junior Golf Programme Director at Oulton Hall, for our series ‘Meet the Professional’.

When growing up, Thomas lived a short ‘chip and a putt’ away from the 17th tee at Wilpshire Golf Club, a few miles north of Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Aged about 9 or 10 and encouraged by a friend, Thomas started playing golf at Wilpshire and was a proud member there throughout his amateur career.

Following a gap year, Thomas enrolled for the Applied Golf Management degree course at the University of Birmingham. This 3-year course enabled Thomas to combine a high-level applied theoretical degree with professional work placements in collaboration with the PGA…for Thomas that meant coaching in Austria, Oman and Ireland. In the summer of 2012, Thomas graduated with his BSc degree and PGA Qualification.

Whilst waiting for the right role, Thomas coached for 6 months aboard the cruise liner Costa Deliziosa. Then towards the end of 2013, Thomas secured the role of PGA Teaching Professional at Oulton Hall, coaching adults and juniors.

Over the past few years, Thomas has specialised in the coaching of juniors at Oulton Hall through the innovative and evolving ‘Fun, Understanding, Excellence & Learning’ Programme.

Oulton Hall

The Oulton Hall estate is located about 5 miles south-east of the city of Leeds in Yorkshire, England. The historic Hall is now a luxury hotel and spa and offers various leisure facilities, including two golf courses.

The Par 71, 6482 yard Calverley course was designed by the renowned golf architect Dave Thomas. Set against a backdrop of hills and dales, this course recently hosted a 2020protour event but whatever your ability this course provides an enjoyable and fair test for all.

The Par 36, 3181 yard Hall course offers the opportunity to play an additional 9 holes, presenting a contrasting challenge to that of the Calverley.

Other facilities and offerings at Oulton Hall include:

• Golf Academy
• Golf Lessons
• Custom Fitting Centre
• Golf Shop
• Practice putting green

(Click on Oulton Hall to explore all of the hotel, spa and leisure facilities)

The First Tee

Golfing Herald (Paul): I ‘teed off’ by asking Thomas how his golfing journey began.

(Thomas): I used to live adjacent to a golf club back in Lancashire, near Blackburn, called Wilpshire Golf Club. I used to live right by the 17th tee!! And when I was about 9 or 10 years old one of the lads I used to knock about with on the same street, who was a couple of years older than me, got into golf and he dragged me along and that is how golf for me all started.

(Paul): Were you playing other sports at the time you got ‘dragged along’ to golf?

(Thomas): Yeah…like most kids I played football and cricket…so along with golf my main three sports really.

Sunday Night Ball Hunting

(Paul): How did your golf progress after that initial introduction from your friend?

(Thomas): My early experiences of golf were with a set of ‘Donnay International’ golf clubs from ‘Sports Soccer’…I think that was my first (golf related) Xmas present, a set of £35 clubs!! Just getting out on the course, giving it a go. Also, I used to do a load of ball hunting back in the day as living so close to the course we used to go out on a Sunday night with a 9-iron and look for a few balls. Some really good early memories. My dad, my friend Brett and myself just using a 9-iron to hit a few balls that we had found.

(Paul): Was your dad a golfer?

(Thomas): No, my dad was never into golf. My grandad showed a bit of interest…he used to play when he was a little bit younger but he was not playing when I got into golf so it really was through friendship (with Brett) rather than through my family.

(Paul): Hooked from the outset?

(Thomas): No, I think it was more gradual. Obviously, I enjoyed it at the start. Living so close to the course it was easy to access and then naturally when you enjoy something you just go back and maybe golf took over when I was about 14 or 15.

Thriving Junior Section

(Paul): At what point did you join Wilpshire Golf Club?

(Thomas): I joined very early. I think my first membership sticker was from 1999 so I must have joined late that year.

(Paul): Was there a thriving junior section when you joined the Club?

(Thomas): Yeah…I think they had about 100 juniors.

(Paul): That is impressive compared to the majority of golf clubs.

(Thomas): Yeah…I left the area in 2008 and I think there was still about 80 or 90 junior members at that stage. They always had a lot of junior members. A good cohort of about 15 or 20 of us playing in the various teams. I was only a young one then and there was lots of older guys but some great memories.

Lesson Learnt

(Paul): Returning to the start of your junior golf, can you remember your first handicap?

(Thomas): I think my first handicap would have been 42!! That is what they used to do…you join up, allocated a handicap of 42, play off the blue tees and then you crack away!!

(Paul): Can you remember your first or any of your early junior competitions?

(Thomas): I think in terms of competition one particular memory was when I once got disqualified from the Wilpshire Junior Club Championship for not signing the card!!

(Paul): That is a lesson you will never forget.

(Thomas): Yeah…I will never forget that one!! What happened is that I had a really good score and I think I was just so excited about the score that I just handed in my card straight away without signing it. I had won but obviously got DQ. Sometimes you remember some of the worst things as well as some of the good things. But that one certainly sticks out.

Club and County

(Paul): You said a few moments ago that you started with a handicap of 42…how did your handicap progress from those early adventures from the blue tees?

(Thomas): I got down to single figures when I was 13 and then plateaued. But by the time I was 16 I was a 3 handicap and by the time I was 18 I was down to a 1 handicap. I was a competitive player within the club, the region and the county but I was never one of the ‘regional stars’ and I never played in any of the national events. I played a lot of club competitions and a lot of county competitions and I had a few wins ‘here and there’ but if I am honest I didn’t have a fluttered amateur career…there wasn’t too many big trophies (in the cabinet)!!

Applied Golf Management

(Paul): Against the backdrop of that very forthright précis of your amateur career, how did you then transition into the world of professional golf?

(Thomas): Yeah…without sounding too big-headed I probably had a strong educational background. I had always done reasonably well at school and went on to do ‘A’ Levels and I always had that impression that I should go to University but was never really interested in going and just doing a finance degree or a sort of ‘off the cuff’ degree…so when I finished my ‘A’ levels I took a year out and thought ‘play a little golf and decide what I want to do?’. I then became aware of this degree at Birmingham University, namely ‘Applied Golf Management’, where basically with that degree you could go to University, achieve your Bachelors and also get your PGA qualifications. It was a very attractive proposition as I could get a degree under my belt whilst still pursuing my golfing interests. So I enrolled for the degree course and went to the University of Birmingham from 2009 to 2012.

Golfunterricht auf Deutsch

(Paul): So how and where did you undertake practical work experience to augment your studies to become PGA qualified?

(Thomas): As we were ‘classroom-based’ we weren’t really getting field experience so as part of the degree programme they asked you to do a work placement each summer. So it was very much up to you what you do…some students went to work at their home club’s pro shop, others went abroad and so on.

(Paul): What support did the University provide with regards to what work placements might be possible/available?

(Thomas): People contacted the University advertising that they wanted someone to come or the previous years’ intake might recommend placements, so a very good structure was in place. I was quite fortunate really as my first work placement was at the Golf Club Brand in Austria and I went out there with one of my friends. That was quite interesting…it was purely coaching but delivering the golf lessons in German!!

(Paul): Brilliant…had you studied German whilst at school?

(Thomas): Yes, I studied German up to GCSE then obviously when we went to Austria we got a load of German vocabulary from the Pro and for the first 2 weeks over there it was really intense to pick up the language again. To be fair I picked it up reasonably quick but then again within a golf lesson there a lot of key phrases you can use ‘again and again’…that was pretty cool for a few months.

Muscat Hills

(Paul): Sounds like a great experience…so where was your next placement?

(Thomas): The first placement was in 2010 and so in 2011 I went across to Oman and worked at the Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club, a position which came up at the last minute. Jack, the friend who I worked with in Austria had been offered the placement at Oman but he had already committed to a place out in America. So I ended up out there for a couple of months. That was a slightly different role…a little bit of retail and some coaching, adults and juniors. It was very much in the early days of golf out in Oman…it was ‘red hot’ and it was Ramadan for a month whilst we were out there so that was quite a unique experience. It was quite good for me to see how a golf resort runs as it was quite a big operation.

Deer Park

(Paul): And what about your third and final work placement?

(Thomas): In 2012 I ended up in Ireland at a place called Deer Park in Dublin and I was out there with another friend (Dan). He had gone out to Deer Park the year before on a work placement with another student who by 2012 had graduated and so Dan was looking for someone to join him. That was purely a junior coaching placement where we were running summer camps for the local school children.

(Paul): Possibly sowing the seeds for your role today?

(Thomas): Yeah…maybe. It was certainly a good initial experience of junior coaching, though I certainly do it a lot differently now!! But yes that was a good experience of dealing with large groups of kids. I graduated in July 2012 and came back home to Blackburn from Ireland at the end of August 2012.

PGA Qualification

(Paul): So when you graduated in 2012 did you also receive your PGA Qualification?

(Thomas): Yeah…the way it works is that as soon as you start the course you become an Assistant PGA Professional and then once you graduate and as long as you have passed all of the criteria for the PGA then you get your degree and your PGA badge.

(Paul): So did the criteria including playing in a certain number of competitions or a demonstration of playing ability?

(Thomas): Yeah…though it was not ‘over stressful’. You do your playing ability test early on which I think was no more than 15 over for 2 rounds and then during the final year at University, you have to play in 7 competitive rounds and shoot a couple of rounds of 4 over or better.

Setting Sail

(Paul): Thanks…so you now have a degree in Applied Golf Management and have attained the PGA badge and your search for work begins.

(Thomas): Yeah…so I was back home and twiddling my thumbs!! So I started searching for work. I had a couple of interviews, one down in Cheltenham and one in Doncaster…and I was offered the position at Doncaster, but it didn’t feel quite right. In the end, I actually ended up working for a couple of months in the kitchens at the local pub!! I had worked there in my gap year so I had contacts there…I had my degree and my PGA badge and I was back frying fish which was a bit strange!! I was not pushing, more waiting for the right role to come up. At that time I had a friend who was in the year above me at University who worked on cruise ships. It was the end of October and I just happened to email him to ask whether there were any opportunities and he came back and said “I have, how quick can you get here!!” and I ended up embarking at the start of December. I had to go down to the Isle of Wight to do all of my sea training and in December I went on the cruise ship ‘Costa Deliziosa’ and went to sea for 6 months, teaching golf to a variety of ages, nationalities and abilities!!

(Paul): That is really weird as early last year I had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Gibson for another article in this ‘Meet the Professional’ series. Not quite the same as you but he also worked on a cruise ship, but in the duty-free shop…cutting a long story short he ended up helping out the Professional to teach golf onboard the ship and when he got back home he enrolled on the 3 year PGA Training Programme and has never looked back!!

(Thomas): That is strange…that is cool.

Oulton Hall

(Paul): OK, so what next after 6 months teaching golf on the Costa Deliziosa?

(Thomas): I got asked to go back to the cruise ship but thought that no matter how good it was it wasn’t really a career. So I ended up working for a few months in St. Helens working at a golf superstore/driving range but then a couple of opportunities arose. I was offered a role working for Cranfield Golf Academy at the Rustington Golf Centre near Southampton and at the same time I was offered a role here at Oulton Hall. I already knew someone here who was the year above me at University…Phil Akers.

(Paul): Am I right in thinking that Phil is now at The Belfry?

(Thomas): Yeah, that is right. It seemed more like a safer move as I could travel over from Blackburn as opposed to ‘picking up sticks’ and moving to Southampton. So I came here and that was it!! Travelled over for a couple of months then moved over to Leeds in January 2014 and I have been here ever since.

Major in Coaching

(Paul): Throughout your degree and professional golf journey you have majored in coaching…was that always your intention or did you harbour any ambitions to be a playing professional?

(Thomas): To be honest, I think the playing days were over when I was about 18. The reality is that when you are about 18 years old if you want to make any money playing golf you need some sponsorship, you need some financial backing. How does that happen? Well, that happens through attracting it. If you are a very good amateur you might attract a little bit of sponsorship, or a little bit of backing from your family. I knew at 18 that the reality of me being like Tiger Woods was never going to be the case. Throughout my degree course at University I always knew I wanted to go into coaching though I had never really thought about specialising in junior coaching.

Junior Coaching

(Paul): What was your initial role when you joined Oulton Hall towards the end of 2013?

(Thomas): I was the third pro at the time and steadily built up my coaching business through a mixture of individual and group coaching. At the time there was a fairly substantial junior programme of about 70 or 80 kids. I got involved with that with Phil Akers who was leading the programme and I was initially assisting him. The programme evolved over the next couple of years and we got some good numbers, possibly up to about 120 kids by 2016. But then Phil got a job at The Belfry in May 2016 so I naturally took over the junior coaching and the programme has continued to evolve from that point.

Fun, Understanding, Excellence & Learning

(Paul): So how did the acronym FUEL (FUture ELite) originate for the Oulton Hall junior coaching programme?

(Thomas): I think the name FUEL sort of originated back in 2014 to establish a (distinctive) name that we could align/associate with the programme. But let’s say as my feelings have evolved we kind of came up with a slightly different meaning for the FUEL acronym…Fun, Understanding, Excellence & Learning. It’s a bit more inclusive rather than being elitist. I am quite passionate about this in that the reality is that less than 1% of the children we interact with will make a living out of playing golf. The 99% of the children we interact with might turn into golf club members, junior organisers, golf event managers…they are just going to be participants of the game. The programme is very much about giving them a positive experience of sport at a young age and providing learning skills to help them get through life. If we can help them build confidence, to be nice people and develop some physical skills as well then that is what the programme is all about…and if they are good at golf then that is a bonus. And if they want to pursue a career in golf that is an extra bonus. The programme is much broader than just saying we want to create golfers.

(Paul): Is the FUEL Programme run on a group coaching basis?

(Thomas): Yes…our programme fundamentally is through group coaching, with groups varying in size between 4 and 12 kids. They come in for a one-hour session every week. Naturally, as the kids grow older they might feel like more benefit from an individual session. So they might come for a half-hour individual rather than a one hour group. That is how we run it. It is a group programme with competitions, a little grading system, etc. The kids go through the programme at their own pace.

(Paul): How has the programme been impacted by COVID-19?

(Thomas): The growth of the programme has slowed down a little bit (due to COVID-19). At the start of the year, we had around 170 kids coming through (to Oulton Hall) for weekly lessons. Though we are always trying to get up to about 200. But what I have realised it is not all about the numbers, it is about the quality. Personally, I would rather have 150 to 170 quality golf lessons rather than 250 of lesser quality. Looking back at the programme today vs. 2016 we might only have 40 to 50 more kids but we have so much going on for them… we now have a couple of junior teams, family days, competitions, an order of merit and so on.

The DeChambeau Factor?

(Paul): Do you think that the success and approach of Bryson DeChambeau at the recent U.S. Open will influence junior golfers in the days, months, years to come?

(Thomas): I am sure there will be a few kids trying some ‘funky things’ on the range over the next few weeks but I think more than anything it has highlighted that distance is very important in the modern game. We knew that already through the various statistics gathered over the past few years and that distance is huge factor…so rightly or wrongly there will be a lot of kids bending their backs but I am not convinced that is totally the way. If you speak to a lot of coaches they are noting more and more injuries with junior golfers than there were say 10 years ago. It could be we are more aware of it and a niggle 10 years ago is today a massive injury…or it could be because kids are being asked to swing faster and chasing that speed. There is a bit of a theory…”swing it as fast as you can and we will control it later”, but whether it is great for a 14-year-old to be bending his back I am not too sure.

Placebo Effect

(Paul): In preparation for today, I read with interest that a couple of years ago, over and above your coaching role, you successfully gained a Masters in Sports Science, where you did some research with Mark Bull and Dr Matt Bridge from the University of Birmingham.

(Thomas): The research was just part of my dissertation in Sports Science. At the time, the EFX Sports bands got technology into doing X, Y and Z and I think like a lot of these things it is not always so true and it is more of a placebo effect…very much like changing your putter!! You get a new putter in the bag and you feel better. We did some work with Mark Bull who is heavily into 3D Biomechanics and as the results showed there was no significant difference across the trials, so it proved our theory that the bands were very much a placebo effect. I think there is a lot of that across the game of golf…a new putter, or a new driver in the bag, can be good, positive things…though a lot is just in your head.

(Paul): I suppose in many ways this is linked to the happy and the not so happy neurological pathways.

(Thomas): Yeah…at the end of the day, if you are stood over a golf shot and feeling good you have a better chance of hitting a good shot than if you were feeling bad. That is the reality…the magic of the placebo.

Playing Today

(Paul): If I may, I would like to turn the golfing spotlight back onto you Thomas and ask “Are you still playing today?”.

(Thomas): I play very very little to be fair.

(Paul): I thought you might have been tempted to play when Oulton Hall staged one of the 2020protour events earlier this season?

(Thomas): I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself!! No, I play very little. The harsh reality is a day off work and a £50 entry fee to then shoot 80 is not fun!! I would rather just play 9 holes with a few of my friends…to be fair, since (the COVID-19) lockdown I have actually played quite a lot. I have just got into the habit of playing a little bit more regularly.

Best Facet

(Paul): Continuing with the theme of playing, when you were playing on a regular basis as a 1 handicap amateur, what would you say was the best facet of your game?

(Thomas): If you were to speak to a lot of the boys I used to play golf with they would say I was a ‘classic scrambler’. I was never the straightest off the tee but I was a bit of an ‘up and down’ guy. I was forever saving pars. Looking further back to how I started playing golf when I lived next to the (par 3) 17th hole, next to the green was a chipping green. So when I was a kid I spent a lot of time on that chipping green which was almost on the doorstep. That was how my short game developed…more of a ‘chipper and a putter’ than a driver!!

Best Ever Round

(Paul): It doesn’t necessarily have to have been your lowest ever score but what has been your best ever round?

(Thomas): There was one round when I was about 16 or 17 that stands out. I was level par after 12 and then I hit it down the 13th at Wilpshire Golf Club…it is only a short par 4, about 250 yards. I had a wedge into the green and holed out in 2 for an eagle which took me to 2 under. I remember just shaking around the last 5 holes and somehow getting it around for 5 more pars for a score of 67, 2 under par. That was maybe a classic experience of where you get it under par and you start getting a little bit nervous!! But I managed to hold it together.

Advice

(Paul): Thanks for sharing your experiences during that round…but using one of your terms from earlier, I am definitely in the 99% of golfers who have never been under par with a few holes remaining!! Based on your experience, what advice would you give to an amateur golfer looking at or thinking about joining the Professional ranks?

(Thomas): If you are at the age of 16 I think you are in a good place to know what you want to do. If you say at that age “This is it, I want to be a golfer”, you are old enough to understand the sacrifices required. Be prepared to make sacrifices and put in a lot of time. To get to the top you have to be the cream of the crop. But even at that age, you don’t realise how good you need to be. You could be scratch at 16 but you are probably about 10 shots off the pace of what is required. That is how good the top players are today.

(Paul): I read a tweet earlier today which basically said that the ability of today’s top players is literally “off the charts”…they are that good.

(Thomas): I have no evidence to back this up but on the average golf course that your club golfer plays on, then a top player will be scoring 12 under every time….a 400 yards par 4 is now a drive, wedge, putt.

Outside of Golf

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

(Thomas): I like going to music festivals. I have been to Glastonbury for the last 5 or 6 years. I enjoy Glastonbury. I also enjoy going to the gym. The usual stuff really, nothing out of the ordinary. No crazy habits or crazy hobbies!!

(Paul): At Glastonbury, who are some of the best acts you have seen?

(Thomas): I think one of my favourites was watching Coldplay…I quite enjoyed watching Coldplay. The Foo Fighters was not a group I was into but I enjoyed watching them as well. All sorts of stuff really. I enjoy living in a field for six days, away from life!!

Favourite Sporting Event

(Paul): What is your favourite sporting event?

(Thomas): I do like watching England in the World Cup but the Ryder Cup is something special. Tough one to answer but I think it would have to be the Ryder Cup. More in recent years when the event has become a bit more of a theatre and a bit more vocal. Though I think as an event there is nothing better than watching the singles on a Sunday when the match score is tight and getting the roar from the fans.

Bucket List

(Paul): Assuming you have one, what is #1 on your golfing bucket list?

(Thomas): I would love to play Augusta. That would be the one for me. The Masters is such an iconic tournament and I would just love to have a go on those greens!! And I wouldn’t mind having a round of golf with Tiger Woods but that is probably less likely than playing at Augusta…though you never know!! A round at Augusta would be the one I think.

Fantasy Fourball

(Paul): In addition to yourself, who would you pick for your Fantasy Fourball?

(Thomas): Tiger Woods because he was a childhood hero of mine, watching him play. I am a huge Tiger fan.

(Paul): OK, so who is your next pick to join Tiger and yourself?

(Thomas): Piers Morgan…I’ll throw that in as it is controversial!! We won’t go into that selection too much. Having said that he says it as it is…I don’t agree with everything he says but I am not afraid of a bit of controversy!!

(Paul): This sounds like a not to be missed Fourball with one more place still up for grabs…so who completes the Fourball?

(Thomas): I think probably José Mourinho.

(Paul): Why the special one?

(Thomas): Again, I just like his eat it or lump it attitude.

(Paul): With Piers Morgan being a fanatical Arsenal fan and José Mourinho now the manager of their arch North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur it would make for compulsive viewing!!

(Thomas): Yeah, certainly would…I like successful people. I like to speak to them and picking their brains so it would be good fun to play golf with Tiger, Piers & José.

(Paul): And if you split the Fourball into pairs who would play who?

(Thomas): It would definitely be me and Tiger ‘sticking it’ to Piers & José!!

If not a Professional Golfer

(Paul): If you were not a Professional Golfer, then what?

(Thomas): I always thought about being a Physio when I was younger. I have always wanted to be involved with a sport so if I think if I had not been involved with golf I would have probably have gone down the Sports Physio route.

Favourite Golf Course

(Paul): Excluding Oulton Hall, which is your favourite golf course in the UK?

(Thomas): I was very fortunate a couple of weeks ago through an invite from a friend to play on the West Course at Wentworth. I think after playing there it would be tough not to list that one.

(Paul): What was it about Wentworth that made such an immediate impression?

(Thomas): I think the history plus the condition of the course is just immaculate. Every hole is on its own almost…there a few cross overs but on many of the holes, you could be anywhere. As well as Wentworth, another favourite is Royal Birkdale. Being from Lancashire I played at Birkdale quite a few times when I was younger, playing in the junior opens for only £10!! Crazy I know, but at all of the top tracks in that area such as Birkdale and Hillside, you could play for almost nothing in the junior opens. Yeah, Birkdale is a pretty special place. So Royal Birkdale for links and Wentworth for parkland.

(Paul): You answered Augusta to the earlier question on your bucket list, but have you any other favourite courses outside of the UK?

(Thomas): It is very unoriginal but probably Pebble Beach…again you have seen so many people play there and the course is so iconic, so to go and play there yourself would be quite cool.

Marooned

(Paul): If you were marooned on a remote desert island, what three items would you not be without?

(Thomas): Gosh…what three items? I would need a good pillow, several crates of beer and a Spotify playlist. There you go…that sounds like a good three items!!

The Nineteenth

(Paul): To finish, you put your current role and responsibilities here at Oulton Hall ‘on hold’ whilst you assume the temporary position of running the Royal and Ancient. What idea(s) would you like to implement for this great game of golf?

(Thomas): Good question…I think more embracing of the modern-day, which is happening a lot, such as golf clubs become a little bit more relaxed on dress code and play ready golf. For me, if I could redesign something, I would have some 6 (or 9) hole golf courses with bigger cups for all age groups. Shorter holes, nothing more than 200 yards so you could get more beginners on the course and it is easier. If you are talking about growing the game then what you have to do is get people playing golf because the driving range isn’t it…you don’t fall in love (with golf) playing on the driving range, you fall in love playing on a golf course. But as you know playing golf is quite challenging…small cup, long golf holes, thick rough, trees. Just need to create something that is more user friendly for the beginners. The elite game is always going to be the same, slow and deliberate, but elite golf is different to club golf and for me, it is about creating something for the newbies and for the kids that would be amazing. That would be my recommendation in an ideal world.

(Paul): Thomas, a great way to finish and you never know that maybe one day your idea will be rolled out. A massive thanks for your time today and for kindly sharing a fascinating and at times humorous insight into your golfing journey so far. Also, many thanks to the kind hospitality of Oulton Hall.

Acknowledgements

Finally, in addition to Thomas Devine and Oulton Hall, I would also like to say thanks to Ian Procter, Club Manager at Wilpshire Golf Club and to Club Golf Brand, Austria who so kindly provided assistance and support for this article.