FORMER BOYS CHAMPION MARK PILLING A SUCCESS - AS A COACH

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com
British boys’ championship winners who go on to fame and fortune on the European Tour and beyond are few and far between. Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal (1983) and Sergio Garcia (1997) have certainly done so and Tom Lewis, the 2009 national Under-18s title winner, has not taken long to make his mark as a tournament-playing professional.
But that is not to say that the majority of former British boys’ champions who turn pro spend the rest of their lives wondering about what might have been and why their teenage title-winning ability did not grow up with them.
Far from it. Take the example of Mark Pilling who, as a junior member of Astbury Golf Club, Congleton in Cheshire, played the best golf his life during one week at Carnoustie in 2002. It was the British boys’ open championship and Mark ended his glory week by beating Wales’ Rhys Davies at the 38th in the final.
Davies had gone to Carnoustie in hot form, having won all six of his matches for Wales in the previous week’s boys’ home internationals but he could not master Pilling whose short game was on song.
Davies went on to win the British boys title the following year and gained Walker Cup honours before turning pro and he has been a winner on the European Tour.
So what happened the Mark Pilling, you may ask?
Let’s get him to recap for you.

“I started playing golf in 1996 aged 13 at Astbury Golf Club in Cheshire. Within a couple of years I knew golf was to be my future. The satisfying feeling that we all know and love following a good round of golf was and still is my driving factor in the game.
“I believed that to become better than everyone else I had to work harder than everyone else “In 2002 after winning the British boys’ championship, the Faldo Junior Series and Cheshire stroke-play championship, I represented GB and Ireland boys in a victorious Jacques Leglise Trophy side against the Continental boys and participated in the England Men’s B Squad.
“In 2004 I turned professional to compete on the PGA EuroPro Tour. Following four years of full time competition, I decided my heart was in helping others achieve their golfing potential.
“Having decided to embark on a career in the coaching sector, I finished fifth, second and second respectively in the Titleist PGA Assistant of the Year during my three-year degree course between 2008 and 2010. I also won Trainee of the Year in the North of England.

“I have now opened the Mark Pilling Golf Academy at Prestbury Golf Club in Cheshire.

“The lessons I learned whilst competing taught me a technically sound golf swing is just one one part of achieving your potential. At the Mark Pilling Golf Academy, players will experience a holistic approach to their development, encompassing all aspects of golf from technical and mental, right through to nutrition.
“During my playing and coaching career I have learned many things but the one I believe to be the key to success is to work SMARTER not HARDER.
“It is my belief that we can all reach our full potential as a golfer through simple, effective and innovative coaching and that’s what I provide at the Mark Pilling Golf Academy.”

You can read more about what Mark has to say on his own website: http://www.mpgolfacademy.co.uk.
So Mark Pilling is one past British boys’ champion who believes that he was cut out to be a coach not a European Tour star.