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PROFESSIONAL GOLFER DAVID YOUNG TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO BOWLS |
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Today he will line up in the National Novice Singles Finals
at Nottingham. "Everyone says it's a great experience, so I am looking forward to that, but also I enjoy playing better players and the challenge it creates," David said. "I started playing because my daughter wanted to have a go, we played on an outdoor rink on the cliffs on the Suffolk coast whilst on holiday, what was going to be one game, turned into four days of bowls, so I was hooked," he said. "We then researched bowls clubs local to us and Tonbridge Angel Indoor Bowls Club had an open day a few weeks later! "Golf and bowls are very similar; you're not moving around like a game of tennis! The feel and rhythm are similar, if you keep it smooth your coordination works. If you force it, it goes wrong. "I took to bowls reasonably quickly - once I understood the bias on the bowl, it was like putting in golf, but someone had given me the same line I just needed to work out how hard to throw the bowl. "Then it was the enjoyment of repeating the action over and over again. "When I practice I make up games, with points systems to motivate me. "Each practice will focus on one thing, working initially around either line or length. If it is a line practice I makes notes on the rink and where my bowl starts to come back to where the jack line is. So as you can see every practice has a purpose." David qualified for the Kent County Unbadged Final in his first year of bowls and has won the Men's Summer Singles at Tonbridge for three years running since he joined the club. The 50-year-old was introduced to golf by his parents when he had a club put in his hand at the age of six. "Fortunately, I had a big garden in Norfolk which allowed me to be able to hit full shots at such a young age," he recalled. "All my golf was played on the course or off grass, no artificial mats. I never had a golf lesson growing up, the first lesson I had was when I signed my professional papers. "I learnt by hitting, watching and learning how the ball flew and how it felt off the club face." By the age of 15, David was playing to a handicap of 1. He said: "I represented Norfolk County Golf as a junior from the age of 13, captained the junior team from 16 years of age and became first player to retain county junior match play title. "I signed my professional papers at 17 and was fully qualified at 20, which led me to moving to Sidcup to become a teaching professional."  David believes the most important quality needed to succeed in golf is clarity: "Clarity of what you want to achieve is the key, from this it becomes the thrill of succeeding and the benefits you get from this. Having ideas of these benefits and drives your motivation to succeed. "Practice is also so important and comes down to three parts: Practice makes permanent, always focus on one thing at a time and make the practice harder than the real game." David set up The Resourceful Coach 30 years ago after realising that his passion wasn't in playing. He said: "Over the last three decades, I've dedicated myself to helping golfers improve their game through physical and mental techniques. During the whole of my time as a junior golfer in the Eighties there was no mention of the mental side of sport. "I always felt it was important, but it wasn't until I was about 30 years old when I attended a seminar by John O'Keefe and Denis Pugh that there was a system called 'New Golf Thinking'. This didn't just talk about the mind it gave solutions to different situations you may come across. "I became a qualified 'New Golf Thinking' coach, 'Mind Factor' coach which gave me tools to both improve my mind and my pupils mind. By using these skills and developing data to show what it required to play to certain levels, has improved my golfers' level of expectations, reducing the pressure they put on themselves. "I believe that the environment in which you learn to golf is just as crucial as the techniques you use. That's why I only coach golfers in two places - on the golf course itself or on a grass practice ground. By creating the right environment for each lesson, I can help my students show their true thinking and physical attributes, leading to much faster improvement in their game. I pride myself on being a welcoming, relaxed, and friendly coach, and I love nothing more than seeing my students achieve goals they once thought were impossible. "David's philosophy is for every golfer to get a high level of understanding of all the areas required to play their best golf. Through this understanding the golfer will be able to create a consistent game, due to the fact their mind will become clear and confident of what's required, resulting in a greater commitment to the shot and a calmer golfer in every environment." What does David believe bowls can do to market itself to people who have previously been involved in other sports? "It needs to be seen as a sport for all ages," he said. "Bowls is still thought as an old person's game, it doesn't help when the only event on TV, The World Championships, has a crowd where the average age is 80, yet the players are reasonably young. "Bowlers either start at seven or 70, change that and people from other sports will come and play." Sian Honnor. We' d love to know what bowls means to you, get in touch at info@eiba.co.uk Previous Article - Interview with EIBA Director Sue Johnston |
April 2025
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