There’s Moore where that came from

A new test at one of Yorkshire’s hidden gems is just rewards for a PGA Advanced Professional who has established himself among the county’s most highly regarded coaches.

Type Mark Moore’s name into your favourite search engine and you won’t scroll far before you come across John Parry, right, a prodigious talent nurtured by Moore, left, from a seven year old hitting balls on the Harrogate Golf Club driving range into one of the European Tour’s brightest young things.

And he is not the only one, Danny Denison and Matthew Baldwin came through Moore’s highly-regarded finishing school on their way to adding some northern English grit and steel to European golf’s top table.

From there you would perhaps expect this to be a tale of fancy hotels, vast numbers of air miles, and a seat alongside some of the biggest names in European golf.

But the dedicated family man, 40, resisted the temptation of a life coaching on tour in favour of the opportunity to pass his knowledge on to a new generation of students closer to home.

It has been his prime focus for the last two years at Flaxby, and something he has every intention of continuing in his new role as head professional at Scarcroft Golf Club.

“If you ask me, coaches who teach full time on tour like your Pete Cowens deserve a real pat on the back,” he affirmed.

“For certain types of people, working on tour is the dream. For many coaches that is the pinnacle – it is where they want to be.

“I had a taste of that but didn’t feel it was for me. I honestly didn’t find it as glamorous as people make out. I just didn’t enjoy being in hotels and airports away from my family.

“Plus to be honest I love being around the golf club – the big benefit for me is that I meet so many different types of people of all different ability levels. Being able to adapt to that is a really enjoyable challenge.”

**Moore has immense respect for Pete Cowen, pictured right with Padraig Harrington

Challenge is the key word here. Moore loves one of those – not that he could shirk one if he wished to thanks to his twin brother Neil, also a PGA Advanced Professional.

“Neil’s six minutes older than me and he got his Advanced PGA status a couple of years before me – he never lets me forget about that,” he smiled.

“Getting that certification is something I am really proud of, it’s a huge achievement. It shows that you have been recognised for what you have achieved in the game. He’ll always remind me that I got it second, though!”

The latest challenge for Moore will be a new role at Scarcroft that goes well beyond the realms of coaching that he has seen and conquered over two decades working in West Yorkshire.

"Whether you are teaching a European Tour pro or someone just starting out, what they really want to know is the key things they have to do to get better."

“I’ve not had to stock a shop in around six years,” he explained. “So it’s going to be a change – I’m looking forward to doing it on top of all the coaching that I am more used to.

“We’ve got more than 100 ladies at Scarcroft and they deserve to be catered for – I’m looking forward to seeing what initiatives we can get going for them.”

Perhaps this will involve custom fitting? It didn’t take long for Moore to convey his passion for a service many wrongly believe to be reserved for the golfing elite.

“Lots of people will go to the discount stores instead of getting custom fit purely because of the cost – but I always say that’s a bit like me turning round and giving you a £200 pair of trainers for next to nothing,” he said.

“Yes it may seem like you’ve got a great deal at the time but what if you get them home, put them on and they’re a couple of sizes too small? What good would they be to you then? All of a sudden I bet it wouldn’t seem to be such a great deal!

“It really is that important. There are people out there who are struggling to improve their scores and so are not enjoying the game as much as they could be, simply because they are using the wrong clubs.”

And that sense of enjoyment spreads throughout the entirety of his coaching philosophy – something that should go down a treat at a golf club looking to improve their practice facilities and encourage more youngsters to join their evolving junior section.

“We have lots of data available to us now that in the past you could never dream of. It’s very easy to get lost in the statistics.

“Don’t get me wrong, I use Trackman and other new technologies – but my main aim is to simplify everything as much as I can. I don’t want to baffle them with the stats.

“No matter whether you are teaching a European Tour pro or someone just starting out, what they really want to know is the key things they have to do to get better.

“I just try to make that as easy and enjoyable as I possibly can for them.”                                                     

For further information on the services Mark Moore can offer at Scarcroft, contact: markmoorepga@outlook.com