Jane Cable catches up The Rose Bowl's Golf Professionals

Particularly with spring just around the corner, you could be easily forgiven for thinking that cricket is the only sport, full stop. Never mind the only sport being played at The Rose Bowl. But you would be very wrong, as I discovered when I visited The County Golf Club to meet golf professionals Martin Butcher and Adam Harnett.

Regular visitors to The Rose Bowl cannot fail to have noticed that the cricket ground shares the site with a golf course. The club has around 300 members as well as welcoming visitors on a pay and play basis, so when the weather is good it can get be pretty busy. Not so on a cold and windy day at the end of March, but at least that meant I was able to catch up with the golf professionals in the cosy surroundings of the club shop.

Martin Butcher has been a golf pro for over thirty years. Following three years on the European Tour in the early 80s, he has coached at every level from juniors right through to fellow professionals and international amateurs. It was clear from our conversation that he works on a very precise technical level.

One of Martin’s particular interests is biomechanics, which basically means focussing on any physical weaknesses or imbalances that can affect a golfer’s game. It’s a very new area, and not everyone takes kindly to embarking on specifically tailored exercise programmes, even though it can improve their golf no end. But those who do put in the effort and follow Martin’s advice certainly reap the benefits.

“Sometimes people lack the mindset for improvement over the long term,” Martin tells me. “Which is a shame, because most problems are in technique rather than in their heads, so they can be solved.”

While Martin concentrates on the more experienced golfers, Adam Harnett tends to work with those who are new to the game. Adam is currently a PGA Level 2 coach, but is just about to complete his PGA degree, which means he will be a fully qualified golf professional before very long. Alongside his studies, he juggles playing, coaching and looking after the County Golf Club shop.

I asked Adam what a novice golfer could expect from a coaching session. Adam is firm in his reply: goal setting comes before anything else, and any session is tailored to the golfer’s particular needs. In technical terms, he looks to work on the short game first, progressing to perfecting the swing. Above all, he looks to encourage everyone to enjoy their golf – lack of ability notwithstanding.

So is the course at The Rose Bowl a good one to learn to play on? “Yes. For a start there are only nine holes, and they aren’t especially long. It helps too, that the course is fairly open, with limited hazards. It means people can build their confidence.”

As the days get a little bit longer and the weather a little kinder, it might be time to embark on a new activity. I quite fancy the idea of a round of golf before the day’s cricket begins. I’ll just have to rely on Adam to tell me which way up to hold the club, that’s all.

Martin Butcher

Adam Harnett

Morning round of golf

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