...and their coach has a very special year ahead too
PGA professional Ian Bailey (GolfingPartner.com) has been given an early New Year present - and it is one that has seen him make a swift entry for July in his 2022 diary.
For he has been invited to be involved yet again in the R & A’s Swing Zone at this year’s Open Championship at St Andrews.
It is set to be a truly memorable event too because it will be the 150th anniversary of the most famous golf championship in the world.
It is being played over the Old course from July 14-17, but the world’s top golfers will be there earlier that week, with practise sessions also attracting huge attention.
Bailey has been a regular at the Swing Zone coaching centre the
R & A run at each Open in conjunction with the Professional Golfers’ Association for several years now. He always enjoys the experience which he describes as quite tiring, but very rewarding, meeting people of all experiences from all over the world, and trying to help them with any problems they may be experiencing when trying to play or to improve.
Bailey said: “There is a very diverse range of people – men and women, boys and girls – who could be newcomers to the game, perhaps inspired by some of the world’s top players they watch in action around the links.
“Others may have been playing golf for sometime and are anxious to develop their levels of skill, or perhaps iron out any niggling faults they may have developed over many months.
“Pros – there are around 30 of us – in the Swing Zone centre have to be quite literally ready for anything, to answer or to try to solve any type of query whatsoever.
“It is very intense. Some days as the Championship reaches a climax we are working in shifts of between four to six hours a day, with only a relatively short amount of time to devote to each person who comes to seek our help.
“But we try to ensure they get some satisfaction, so their visit to the complex is memorable to them, along with the trip to the entire championship.
“We never know what type of weather conditions will be thrown at us, as the Open is always on a links course, which can often be quite badly affected even at that time in an English summer.
“I was delighted to get the invitation to take part again this year and look forward to an exciting and busy few days at what should be a thrilling, historic occasion.”