focus_contributor.
Illuminate with KATE WOOD-FOYE THE GUTS, GRIT AND GROUNDWORK OF REMARKABLE REGIONAL ENTREPRENEURS, I N N O VAT O R S , L E A D E R S AND GAME CHANGERS.
James Single has been working his magic as the PGA Professional and Head Professional at the Port Macquarie Golf Club for the last 12 years. With a lifelong passion for the game of golf, he has now cemented his reputation locally through his passion for growing the game, with a focus on amplifying female and junior participation. This drive and dedication earned James the title of Australian PGA Club Professional of the Year in 2021. Whether it’s offering expert private instruction or leading and delivering innovative golf programs, including the wildly successful Swing Fit series introducing women of all ages, he is on a mission to introduce as many people as possible to the game he loves. 96 GREATER PORT MACQUARIE focus
JAMES SINGLE
J
ames, you live and breathe golf and when you aren’t playing golf yourself, you are inspiring others to take up the sport. How old were you when you first picked up your set of clubs and was it love at first swing? I was three when I first picked up a club. When Dad went out to play golf socially after work my Mum would pass me over the fence on the first hole to him and I would follow him around for the afternoon. He purchased an old 8 iron and had it cut down for me and I would just hit that over and over again. So the obsession started very young in the small country town of Boorowa and yes, it was pretty much love at first swing. Was pro golf always the dream? Can you share the moment that you realised that you could truly turn your sporting passion into a professional international career? Yes, as a youngster the dream was always to play golf professionally. I idolised Greg Norman as a young kid and wanted to be just like him, so I always had a club in my hand and I wasn’t far away from the golf course wherever we were living at the time. We moved around a lot when I was young for my father’s work and by the time I was 14 we had moved house 14 times. Golf was a very stable environment for
me, so too was my home life, don’t get me wrong, but I also always felt at home when on any golf course. I can’t really pinpoint any one moment that turned my passion into a career. I just knew that I loved the sport so much that I was always going to do something in the golf industry. At age 12 I started to experience competition golf with the men at Dubbo Golf Club. We started travelling for junior competitions at about the same time and saw some pretty good results against others my age from all over NSW. I think that as soon as we saw that I was pretty competitive that there could be a future in the game in some way. The sport has taken you to many places around the country and even internationally and back again to Port Macquarie. Can you share the story behind the most memorable tournament you played in? I have only played in a couple of events internationally, but I have played many throughout the country. The first International event was the Tahiti Open. When I chose to play in this, I paid to take Dad along with me as a caddy to thank him for all the trips that he took me on as a child chasing my passion. So it wasn’t a memorable tournament for the result but more for the sentiment and time spent with Dad.