David Richards

Hi I’m David and I’ve played golf for as long as I can remember; quite literally. I started out at eight years old and twenty years later I’m still enjoying the game as much as I ever have.

Although at times it’s had me ripping my hair out, golf is a beautiful sport that’s given me so many great memories. I use IvyGolf as a platform to help me share years of golfing experience. If I can use the site to encourage just one person to pick up some clubs and play their first round of golf, that’s enough for me; the rest is just a bonus.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at [email protected] I try my best to get back to as many emails as I can. Alternatively, contact the good folk from the Editorial Team via [email protected].

How it all Began

I owe everything I know about golf to my father. He bought me my first set of clubs for my eighth birthday, a day I’ll never forget. The weather wasn’t beautiful, but it was good enough for my dad to take me down to his local course and try my new sticks!

Of course, we didn’t count the score but I’ll never forget that tingle I got when I hit a sweet one right down the middle. From then on I was hooked! My father was an avid golfer and golfed most weekends with his buddies, but he always had the time to play a round with his son.

As I grew older and my love for the game blossomed, naturally I began to take it more seriously. Realizing my own ambitions for golf, combined with teenage hormonal mayhem taught me a lot about myself and a lot about my father. My dad would be the first to congratulate me after I’d pure a drive down the fairway and the first to jump in the rough and find my when I didn’t.

At fifteen, ability-wise I was better than my father but this was the age I learned the most from him about golf. As a serious junior golfer, I’d throw fits when things didn’t go my way. One day I threw the driver he’d bought me in a rage after slicing the ball out of bounds. I immediately realized what I’d done and expected him to give me hell for it. I looked over, he smiled and said “maybe you should try throwing the ball next time, you’re better at that”. My father taught me that there’s more to life than what’s on your scorecard and to appreciate every second you’re out on the course playing.

Starting Blogging

Golf is a game that’s already given me a lifetime of happy memories. I’d like to give something back to the game that’s given so much to me. The path to blogging was actually quite a reluctant one.

Out of choice I never turned pro, for me becoming a qualified golf pro wasn’t the way I wanted to feed my family. Although I’m very career focused last year I reached a handicap of two (I currently play off three) which plenty of people tell me is great. I agree, I play golf to a standard that many people never will, but even so I’ve always felt awkward giving advice to friends.

If you need personal advice about your game go see a pro; they’re qualified to help you. I’ve always felt that as an amateur, who am I to break down someone else’s golf swing and try piecing it back together? That said, I always wondered if there was a way I could use my years of golf experience to benefit others.

I can remember creating a blogger account and writing a few posts with some lessons I’d learned through my playing years. I was close to sharing it on my personal Facebook but completely chickened out. Perhaps it was imposter syndrome or the fear of my buddies tearing into me that stopped me.

Since then I’ve noticed the amount of information on golf online is endlessly growing, and some even comes from players that can’t play to my standard. This has given me the nudge I need to share my experience with others, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to share my experiences on IvyGolf.