I cannot say exactly when I first started golfing, but it was a young age for sure, perhaps six! I joined a fantastic golf club at the age of ten, Mullingar Golf Club in the midlands of Ireland. Niall Horan, Conor Moore and many more regularly frequent this top 100 golf course, which also hosts Ireland’s most prominent Senior Scratch Cup; previous winners include Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke.

Mullingar was a great club to be part of as a junior. We crafted our skills day in, day out (quite literally!). My father would often drop me at the club on his way to work, arriving at 6:45am, and we would not leave the course until darkness forced us to! We had weekly junior competitions at the club, where many friends were made and some fierce competition arose.

I was playing many sports, but primarily hurling and golf by the age of 15. I realised I needed to make a choice and focus on one, as time was getting precious with exams coming up. I chose golf and soon after began receiving coaching with our provincial teams at under-15 and under-18 level. At 18, I represented Leinster in a match against Ulster and won my match.

As a junior, I was trained by provincial coaches Donagh McArdle, alongside Shane Lowry, and Shane O’Grady, who has coached LPGA player Leona Maguire. This gave me an excellent grounding in the game.

As I moved towards my Leaving Certificate examination, golf took a back seat. I don’t feel I was enjoying the game quite as much at this stage, and I believe a great deal was down to me hiding my sexuality. After a couple of years at Uni, I got a hunger for the game again, after seeing many players I had been beating having great success.

After rigorous training, I got my swing and game back in shape. Within a six-month period, I won three Senior Scratch Cups and set three championship course records. One of the courses I had never seen before, and I had only a half set of clubs (every second club)! I also earned myself a spot on the Paddy Harrington Golf Scholarship Programme at Maynooth University, which gave me access to regular coaching with national coach Neil Manchip, also Shane Lowry’s coach.

I was playing fantastically, and my game was growing in strength. However, next came my coming-out moment. It completely changed my world around, in the best ways possible, but again, golf took a back seat. I guess I knew it wasn’t the easiest space for me to “be myself” then.

By 2024, I had not brought my game back to that level, but I had found a new love for the game after opening up about my sexuality as a professional golfer, something I had consciously avoided. Making golf an environment where I can be myself and play the game my way, I believe, will unlock even greater success.

I joined The PGA back in 2017 and trained for one year at Tullamore Golf Club. I did not feel the golf industry was very strong at the time and its future looked bleak, so I decided to move back into Digital Marketing, which I had been doing since Uni.

Then, in 2021, I decided I wanted to return to The PGA and complete my training, incorporating my Digital Marketing and Life Coaching skills. I felt it was something I could make my own. I enjoy the entrepreneurial aspects of professional golf.

I began working as a PGA Trainee again, this time in Naas Golf Club Pro Shop, and had an incredible time there, learning ample amounts in the busy pro shop and club. For my final semester as a PGA Trainee, I moved across the sea to Caddi Club in London. This new indoor facility, driven by TrackMan technology, provided an exceptional experience for its members and gave me a great platform to showcase and build on my coaching skills.

There are plenty of gaps in the above timeline, but I hope it gives you an insight into my history with golf and the wonderful experiences it provided me from a very young age. I owe a lot to the game and, in return, want to open it up to others, encouraging enjoyment and growth in an exceptional environment.

It would have made a great difference to me as a young man. Who knows, maybe a few more records could, and will, be set!

Thanks for reading,
Gary.