Fifty is the new thirty as far as Raymond Burns is concerned as he settles into just his second ever Head PGA Professional job at Malahide Golf Club in Dublin.
After 17 years in Lisheen Springs, Burns began a new chapter in his life on New Year’s Day in Malahide and he is enjoying it as he prepares for the full season to begin.
“Malahide Golf Club has a phenomenal membership, a massive female membership and huge junior membership and with the practice facilities, pro shop, they just renovated the bar area and upstairs and they’ve invested heavily into a golf course which is improving all the time,” said Burns on the reasons for the move.
“It’s very easy for me to half hang my hat at the door and stay where I am because I was very comfortable. I’ve only turned 50 and 50 is the new 30 so I’ve heard so its an ideal time for me to have a go at Malahide.”
The Banbridge native who won the Challenge Tour Order of Merit in 1994 is excited by the potential of in his new role and he is motivated to try and bring the club to the next level.
“I’m delighted with the move I feel the club has great prospects and there are very few golf clubs with 27 holes around Dublin. From a business standpoint that’s an extra nine holes for groups, societies and getting all the members to be able to play.
“Malahide have a great attention to detail in their teams, ladies teams, men’s teams, junior teams and I’ll try and bring a coaching culture.
“My main goal is to enhance the golf experience in Malahide Golf Club and if I can pull that off along with the team that’s my main objective going forward.”
Burns studied his PGA qualifications during his playing career on Tour and despite all he has achieved he feels his biggest PGA success is how the programme and role of Head Professional has helped him develop as a person.
In his earlier career, Burns admitted he wouldn’t have been in tune with customer service but he now knows that the golfer should be treated as number one.
“It’s good for the club pro to be the best player, who can go and play golf and give a good direction to help people become a decent handicap golfer. Some people will never become nine handicap, eighteen handicap but the 27 handicap could be playing for the love of the game.
“Being a PGA Pro has been good for me physically and mentally it keeps you on an even keel, there’s so many different aspects to being a club pro, you’re fixing shoes one day, grips the other or it could be a full day of lessons.
“If you don’t understand the customer service element you might as well pack up and go home. Earlier in life I wasn’t that type of person I didn’t quite have that understanding. The customer is always number one.”
“I did four or five Ryder Cups but I never saw anything like Rome. I thought when Shane won the Open and I did the final group, from a personal perspective being an Irishman and seeing how he developed as a young kid was phenomenal,” Burns explained.
“But the Ryder Cup in Rome was unbelievable. I was very fortunate to do the Rahm and Scheffler match then Shane on the 18th green, Rory on 16 then up to Tommy, so I did five matches on the last day. The week was phenomenal and for Italy it was a brilliant week.
“I love doing it and I do it with great people who are brilliant and ask me back every year. I don’t really know what I’m doing to be honest but I love calling live golf and talking about golf. I’ll be in Troon this year and I will keep doing it for as long as I am fit enough to do it. You need to be fit to do it because Rome was no joke.
“I’ve done Walker Cups and Solheim Cups. A lot of PGA Pros as sideliners do get into golf, they play but I do commentary. How I got into it is beyond me, I don’t know. I fell into it. I’ll get to the States very soon so I would like to get to an event there and do one.”
