New Post #36 Feature Friday

Hi Friends

Today we have an interview with Tom Sherreard, an elite golfer with a very interesting story to tell. From very high highs to some slightly tougher times. Tom has played the highest level Amatuer golf, US college golf, pro golf and played in The Open.

Q. Could you give me a little overview of your golfing background?

I took up golf when I was just two years old, playing with plastic clubs in the back garden and then started going to the range when I was 5. My Nan and granddad bought me a cut down 7 iron which was my first ‘proper’ club and from there there was no turning back.

I joined the Ridge golf club in Kent when I was 7 and got my first handicap of 36. I played every day in the summer holidays and by the time I was 11 my handicap matched my age. From here I went on to represent my county and country in all age groups from U16’s through to full first team honours.

In 2006 I went to college at Georgia State in America where I played all four years of college and earned a degree in psychology. Having completed my degree I played professional golf for a few years before stepping away from playing. I then turned back amateur for a while but decided to go into coaching at the beginning of last year.

Q. Biggest amateur golfing achievement/s?  (I know you played in the Open!!!!)

Playing in The Open is definitely right up there as one of my biggest achievements. To make the cut in an event like that is very special and a memory I will have for life. Personally for me my greatest achievement was probably winning the Boys Home Internationals in 2005 and being selected to be the captain of that team. The team format is so rare in golf, to have people genuinely wanting you to win as much as themselves as you are competing as part of one team is a unique experience in golf. Representing my country was an incredible experience on its own but to win something for your country is an awesome feeling. 

Q. Biggest amateur competition entered and any notable results?

I was lucky enough to play an elite level of amateur golf for a number of years. I was the losing finalist in the 2004 British Boys and then won the McEvoy trophy in 2005 which at the time was one of the biggest junior national events to play in. In terms of men’s amateur golf in the UK I played a lot of very good events such as the Lytham Trophy, St Andrews Links, British Amateur and English Amateur. Although I never won any big amateur events I did reach the semi finals of the English amateur in 2008 and also won the final stage of Open Qualifying the same year which led me to playing in the Open championship at Royal Birkdale in the same year. 

Q. You’ve played for England, be great if you could tell us a little about that experience?

I imagine representing your country in any sport is a fantastic experience, but I think in golf there’s just a little bit more to it. You spend so much time playing against guys that you like, you want them to succeed but obviously you’d rather be the one succeeding, so there’s always a bittersweet element to watching people you respect win and succeed. When it comes to the team element and representing your country it’s completely different, there is an unparalleled desire to win, not just for you but for your team mates and friends and it’s matched by 10 other guys.

The energy in team golf is awesome. I managed to be on the winning team in the 2005 Boys home internationals and it was incredible. I was in the men’s home internationals team in 2008 at Muirfield and we struggled that year finishing 3rd out of the four teams. That was a tough pill to swallow but nonetheless a great experience. 

Q. Can you give me a little detail on your Pro Career?  When turned pro/tours played/best results etc

I turned pro in 2011 having got to the final stage of European tour School in 2010 and earning a limited number of starts on the Challenge Tour. (Now the Hotel Planner Tour). I struggled with my game in 2011 so only made one cut but went to Alps Tour qualifying school at the end of the year and earned a full category on there for 2012. This was a good mini tour where tournaments take place all over Europe. My first year I had some good results including 4 top 5’s and finished 11th on the order of merit. The top 5 were automatically promoted to the challenge tour. Unfortunately I never really pushed on from here and in 2015 ending up stopping playing as financially it was becoming too difficult. I turned back amateur after this but last year regained my pro status and have started a career in coaching. 

Q. Hardest part of playing pro golf?

For me it was all the off course things that come with playing professional golf. Staying on top of travel arrangements, trying to secure financial backing, sorting out tax, all those little things that people don’t really see that need to be done. Once you’re on the course you’re doing pretty much the same thing that got you there in the first place.

I think for me though the single hardest thing was just trying to not worry about the financial side. As someone who hasn’t really come from money each week I was playing to be able to afford to play the next week, or the rest of the season. It’s a big burden to carry and a very difficult one and one in all honesty I didn’t handle very well.

Q. Favourite current and all-time golfer?

I use to love Nick Faldo growing up, as someone who was a kid in the 90’s it was awesome to see someone who was English win majors and be world number 1. Tiger was obviously a huge hero of mine, watching him play from 97 to 2008 was just an absolute joy. The records he set are just unfathomable really.

One of my current favourite golfers is Joel Dahmen, which is a little left field I know. I watched the first season of Full Swing on Netflix and saw him on there. He is a really self deprecating character which those who know me know is very similar to myself. Knowing for me that this self deprecation comes from a complete lack of self belief, to see someone win on tour and succeed like he has is incredible.

It’s so hard to do well in golf even for those who have all the belief in the world, but succeeding when you don’t have 100% belief is pretty extraordinary in my opinion.

Q. Favourite tournament to watch?

I know being British I should say The Open but it is unquestionably The Masters. Augusta is an incredible venue and I feel like the TV coverage has allowed us to really get to know the whole course over the years. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch a practice round there and it’s true what they say, the whole course (including the greens) is way more undulating than it looks on TV. It really doesn’t do it justice. 

Q. Best holiday destination

I’ve not actually been on that many golf holidays but in Europe I don’t think you can beat Belek in Turkey , although I’d really like to go to Thracian Hills in Bulgaria, that place looks mega. I think Sea Island in the USA is hard to beat. It’s near the Georgia/Florida boarder and has some really tough golf courses.

Q. I know you now give lessons and are a teaching pro - Could you tell us a little about where can people find you and a little about Growing golf?

Then what are your biggest your top 3 tips for other golfers to improve?

So I’m now based at Kings Hill Golf Club in Kent working for a group called Growing Golf. They have an amazing junior program which sees around 400 juniors a week come through its doors from beginner to elite junior and from ages of around 5 and up.

Outside of junior coaching they have a great team of professionals ranging from guys who have coached for 20+ years through to guys who are still playing in professional tournaments and want to help others get better.

They also do custom fits so it is a really diverse company. For more information log on to

growinggolf.co.uk

My 3 biggest tips for amateurs would be find a stock shot that gets you in play off the tee, golf is so hard, it’s even harder if you are 3 off the tee.

Secondly stay on your lead side from 50 yards and in, I see so often people falling back when hitting pitches, chips and bunker shots in an attempt to get the ball in the air, the club will do all the work if you just strike it properly, being disciplined enough to stay on your lead side and hit down on the ball will get the ball plenty high enough for any shot.

Thirdly, manage expectations, as I’ve said golf is so hard, even the best in the world hit shanks, thins, duffs and shoot in the 80’s and these guys practice for umpteen hours a day. Accepting that golf is brutal and almost impossible to master will go a long way to help amateurs enjoy the game more. 

(ed: guys this advice is gold!)

Q. What are you currently working on within your game?

Historically I have quite a weak left hand grip, this causes me to flip my hands through the impact area in order to square the club face up. This can lead to some quite inconsistent results as it becomes too reliant on timing. So I’m trying to strengthen my grip and turn more with my body in an attempt to be able to keep the club face square at impact for longer, hopefully resulting in more consistency in both striking and ball flight. Also I’m working on putting, I’m constantly working on putting which should be a bit nicer now the weather is warming up.

Q. Current swing thought/s if any?

As above but as a general rule I’m always looking for better tempo, a great tempo is a great place for amateurs to start to improve their ball striking. 

Q. Do you do any work with your Stats? if so what platform do you use and any further comments?

I used to keep my stats when I was playing full time, there wasn’t really anything like the arcos system or gps tracking to help with this so we did it ourselves. Stats are great but can be slightly misleading if not used properly so it’s important if you really want to use stats to be as detailed as possible. Don’t just track greens in regulation, track the proximity to the hole, it’s just going into that little bit more detail. Having not really played a lot of golf over the last year I haven’t tracked stats for a while, but I may well have to get back into the habit if I start playing some PGA events.

Q. Do you have a golf coach/instructor? if so who?  Do you follow any swing methods (stack and tilt, rotary, MORAD, one plane etc etc)

I have lessons with Mark Trow at Growing Golf. Mark played for Wales at the same time I played for England so I’ve known him a long time and I like his coaching.

We don’t really use a specific model but there are definite checkpoints during the swing we feel are important. I like to think I’m the same in my coaching, we’ve all seen so many different swings on TV and people have had lots of success with very different swings.

I think the overall swing is quite an individual thing, but I’d say there are definite checkpoints that are important to hit during the swing.

Q. Favourite training aids? If any

Anything that keeps the arms and the body more connected such as the Sure Golf Connector or a TRS ball. This will be a ball placed in between your arms in order to keep the arms together during the swing meaning we have to engage the body more in order to hit the ball. If we can engage the bigger muscles (ie the chest) more in the swing as opposed to the smaller muscles (the hands) we will see a lot more consistent ball striking. 

Q. Do have any good golf anecdotes

I remember playing a round with Dustin Johnson in college. We were playing at Champions Retreat in Georgia. College events are 3 round events and after two rounds we were both going well so we partnered together for the last round.

We were both +2 through 9 on the last round and struggling slightly. Dustin’s college coach pulled him aside after 9 to gently remind him that they needed him to do something quite special on the back 9 for him to win the individual and for his team (Coastal Carolina) to win the team event. 2 holes later we were on a par 5 and he rips one off the tee around about 40 past me.

I then hit a 2 iron into the green which pitches on the green and trundles through. Dustin then hits his shot to about 4ft pitching and stopping on a 10p piece. He told me he was quite surprised my ball ran through having seen his stop on the green. I said to him that’s because I hit a 2 iron compared to his 6 iron.

He looked at me dead pan and just said ‘7 actually’ and walked off

He then came back in -6 and won the team and the individual prize. It was a pretty special back 9 exactly when he needed it, class act. 

A massive thank you to Tom for taking the time to answers these questions, we can see the dizzy heights Tom hit in his career and it really brings home how difficult it is to make it in professional golf - shame that LIV wasn’t around then, as maybe after his 19th place at The Open they would have signed him up!

I would highly recommend seeing Tom and any of the guys at Growing Golf, as you can tell from the interview, he really knows his stuff and has competed at every level, which means his advice is invaluable.

More from aroundwithjerry next week…………

slán