Sean Brady has started a fresh chapter in his career by becoming the golf manager at Diss Golf Club.
He had been a PGA assistant professional at Eaton for four and a half years before switching to his new role.
Brady, the 2022 East Anglian Open champion, will continue to tee it up regularly in PGA order of merit events and regional pro-ams.
But he’s ready to put his coaching skills to one side for the time being with managerial responsibilities now his main focus.
“Front of house – that’s probably the best way to put it,” said the 35-year-old, who will be the visible point of contact for Diss’s new and existing membership matters.
Brady, who is based in the club shop, began at Diss in late September and has already settled into his new environment.
“I feel that I’ve got a role I’ll enjoy,” he added. “Also I’ll be able to progress with the club, not progress on my own without the club. It’s a very nice, knitted community. I feel they want me to work with them, trusting me to help Diss move forward with the times.”
A key area for Brady is developing the club shop in which he is hoping to build a business similar to the successful one his old boss and head PGA pro Mark Allen runs at Eaton.
“Something members feel they can rely on,” said Brady, explaining his ambitions for the Diss shop. “They don’t have to go online to buy or down the road or wait for it. They can actually come to a shop that’s theirs; somewhere they know they get a friendly service. Anything they want, we can try and get for them and give them the service that a members’ club deserves.”
He has also been tasked with helping to deliver a brilliant experience for visitors. An important part of that is administering society bookings, in terms of building a day – and hosting it where possible – around the packages on offer at Diss. And one thing he’s already mastered is promoting the quality of the golf course.
“It’s genuinely a very nice place to play,” is his assessment. “A heathland golf course that’s very good all-year round; tricky greens that run very true.”
That’s not to say Brady’s forgotten where he’s come from. Indeed, he looks back with fondness on his time at Eaton.
“I think I was accepted by the membership very early and it felt like home,” he said. “Being at Eaton I found my love of golf again.”
And now he has taken that passion for the industry to Diss where he is keen to make his mark.
“I want to establish myself as a really good golf manager,” he said. “Someone who’s respected in the industry.”
