40 years and counting at Ganton

Last year Gary Brown reached a remarkable landmark at Ganton as he celebrated four decades at one of the absolute jewels in Yorkshire's golfing crown. Brown is the consummate Professional; a brilliant player and a huge asset to the club with a genuine interest in those he’s around.

A few of his other qualities are his passion and knowledge of the game, his willingness to help, his coaching style and his modesty. Any visit to Ganton will begin and end with some excited chat about the course and he remains one of the most genuine people in the game. 

What do you remember about your first visit to Ganton?
I was 18 when I came from being the assistant at Silkstone in Barnsley where I had worked for 18 months. I saw the job for the role of assistant pro at Ganton in the back of Golf Illustrated and I'm not sure if I was the only person to apply but I got it.

How would you describe your style of teaching?
I like to work with the player and look after the fundamentals. I think that I'm pretty good at getting people neat and tidy, I will look at the ball flight and work back to improving that and covering it properly, that’s a big part of it. I'm definitely more visual than technical though I've just bought a TrackMan, I'm a bit late to the party but I've enjoyed trying to learn how to use it. I currently coach the juniors for the Yorkshire Union.

Who were your mentors when you were learning your trade?
I used to play against Brian Hutchinson in the club matches and I used to have a couple of lessons off him. He always offered a good simple style of teaching and I learnt a lot from him. I worked under Peter Thomson but he retired after a year of me being here, his son is actually a member now, and then I worked for Ian Bamborough for six years and he then went to Got Magog. I was then offered the job so I guess that I was in the right place at the right time. I was a little bit surprised, I was actually offered a job teaching in Austria with a friend of mine, Gordon Manson, but the head Pro job at Ganton came out of the blue and it was too good to turn down.

How have you maintained your appetite?
To work in the golf industry you’ve basically got to love golf. Whether you are an assistant or club Pro, if you love the game then you don’t mind putting the hours in as you love being around the game. I still love playing competitively and I’m lucky that I’ve played in whatever I’ve wanted thanks to the club and I’ll have a game on my day off. I’m a bit of a golf nut which is probably why I’ve lasted this long. 
At Birdkdale I played with Ross Drummond and Scott Henderson and played well there. I was hitting the ball good that week and I missed the cut by three, I didn’t putt too well. I remember standing on the 1st tee in the first round and I wasn’t nervous as I was playing so well. You're only nervous if you don’t know where the ball is going and that week I did. A bit of useless information was that I hit the longest drive on the 13th in the second round at 330 yards.

Who are the best players that you've seen over the years at Ganton?
here's a guy called Mike Kelley who played on two Walker Cup teams in the 70s. He was the stand-out player when I first came here, he was fantastic and he still plays here now in his mid 70s. I also played with Howard Clark here and he was incredible, I knew his uncle Mike who used to help me with the junior coaching for the East Riding Union. Howard pitched up in 2011 and he hadn't played for four months and he was using a wooden driver, as he just wanted to, and he played awesome.

Who are your golfing heroes?
My big one was Ben Hogan, he didn’t wear a glove so I thought that I’d try that and I've never used one. Otherwise Seve, Greg Norman and Tom Watson. I met Seve when I played in the Open at Lytham, I saw him in the clubhouse and said hello briefly which was lovely.

What is the best decision that you've made as Ganton’s Head Professional?
It's quite simple, look after the members.