Ben Talbot has been my best mate since the first day at university and this year I was so proud to see him put everything on the line at European Tour Qualifying School shooting a course record -10 to receive playing rights on The Challenge Tour in 2020.
This round was a long way from the first round of golf we ever played with each other. Let me take you back to 2009 and the first shot I ever saw Ben hit, it was The University of Birmingham team trials and all the new students were watching in anticipation to see what they were up against. Ben stood on the first tee and made a golf swing that looked like a dog drying itself off and the result was a shot that very slowly rolled off the edge of the tee straight behind a tree. Neither Ben nor the organisers appreciated me bursting into hysterics. I thought to myself there is no way this lad is going to become a professional but since that point I’ve witness Ben’s obsession with improvement, his desire to become better is relentless and has been for the last 10 years that I’ve known him.
Ben started working with me in 2019 when he was making a living through serving cake to old ladies at a cafe in Australia. We had a phone call and he told me he wanted to become a European Tour player. He said he was “all in” and he really was! He moved back to the U.K in early 2019, left his girlfriend in Australia, brought a boat close to the driving range and started the hard work.
The amount of hard work we had to do was apparent the year before when he struggled to break 80 around Valderamma. The course will highlight any weakness in your game and it ruthlessly exposed Ben’s inability to hit any other shot than a fade/slice, especially when using a driver.
Our year didn’t start as planned, we had 2 weeks to prepare for Europro Q-School and he duly failed to qualify for the 2019 season which meant his earning potential would be severely restricted as he’d be limited to PGA regional events for the season. This was a big kick in the teeth for him whilst freezing his nuts off in a small boat whilst seeing his girlfriend sunning it up in Sydney.
Since that point Ben has been one of the hardest working golfers I’ve ever come across with his day usually starting at the golf club around 7.30am and I’ll often receive swings and questions through at 10pm.
He has made huge strides technically and mentally over the past year and his experiences on The PGA regional tour has helped him go from strength to strength. Ben won his first two professional events in 2019, gained invaluable competitive experience and was in contention to win on on 12 separate occasions.
The competitive experience gave him the confidence to spend the £1800 entry fee into European Tour Q-School and it culminated in him shooting a course record -10 at Stoke By Nayland GC to take him through to stage 2 in Spain where he secured playing rights on The European Challenge Tour in 2020.
Ben understands that the journey still has a long way to go but the encouraging thing is that he still has a lot of areas to improve upon. He has started seeing David Ames for his putting, our old friend Nick Buchan for his fitness and has a psychologist back in Australia who is working wonders for his mindset. I’m very excited to see his progress in 2020 and I have no doubt that with his work ethic, dedication and the team around him that good things will come his way if he continues on his journey.
Ben funds everything himself from travel, entry into competitions, buying his own golf balls and clothes. He would welcome any support you or your company may be able to provide. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities with Ben in 2020 please do contact me.
