PHILRIDDEN
Ridden high Phil Ridden, England’s lowest-handicapped golfer, tells Dean Bailey about golf, learning curves, and the future
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very golfer has stood on the second tee after a messy bogey, or worse, at the opening hole and feared the worst for the following 17 holes. Imagine then, if you will, that bogey sending you back to six over-par for your round. “It’s tough,” admits Phil Ridden, whose handicap of +5.2 is the lowest currently active in England. “I don’t think about being over par on the first tee, but I certainly do after a dropped shot.” We meet in the clubhouse at City of Newcastle, which Phil has called home for 15 years, and the club which supported him when he made the decision to join the professional ranks in 2012. “When I turned pro, I raised some sponsorship money thanks to my friends here, and was always going to return when I made the decision to regain my amateur status,” says Ridden, who qualified for the PGA EuroPro Tour - the European Tour’s satellite in the UK - in 2012 and would go on to play 15 professional events in his first season. “Without being a great year for results, despite some good rounds and being in good positions, I was happy to get through a really steep learning curve.” Following a second, tougher year as a pro, Ridden returned to his home club in 2014 and set out to regain his place as one of the county’s elite players. He played his final professional event in 2013 before going through the lengthy process of regaining his amateur status in 2014. “I had six weeks of the 2014 season when I got my handicap back and managed to equal the course record and get my handicap down from +2 to +3.4, which gave me a great boost going into 2015.” On returning to the amateur ranks, Ridden’s form and wealth of experience have led him to the lowest active handicap in England and winning Player of the Year honours in the Newcastle & District League – winning all but his last match in a near-perfect season. He also won multiple times at the City and returned to represent Northumberland at county level. “It’s been great to bounce back from a disappointing period and I’m over the moon with my last year,” he says.
28 NORTHERN GOLFER
“I had a slow start to the season and was shooting some poor scores before I had a putting lesson in May with John McKenna. That worked really well, I was high in confidence and put some great scores in.” Ridden also credits a different mindset to his success in 2015. “Although I haven’t applied it 100% of the time, I learned to be more patient from my time as a pro. “Playing for my living also put golf into a better perspective. I’m still a passionate golfer, but I have a much better perspective.” With a strong amateur career under his belt and a successful 2011 season - which included a win at the Northumberland Strokeplay Championship - and a new course record at Goswick Golf Club, as well as a win at The Lagonda Trophy beating top players including Tyrrell Hatton, Ridden made the decision to turn pro riding a wave of success. “I’d had a great year on the course, winning a national event and playing some of the best golf of my life. I’d won £5,000 in prize money - a huge amount for an amateur golfer playing within the £500 prize money limit. “When I wasn’t selected to represent England that year, having competed with the guys on the team, I made the decision to turn pro the following season. It was the perfect time to give it a go.” Ridden took a career break from HMRC to join the professional ranks, and although things didn’t work out, he stands by the decision. “Looking back, having gone through what I did, I don’t think I would do it again. That said, I would have always regretted not giving it a go when I had the chance.” Ridden was welcomed to the paid ranks with a tough start – holing a six-footer for par and the final place in EuroPro Tour Final Qualifying at Frilford Heath – a moment he describes as “a nice introduction to playing for your living. “The courses weren’t tougher than I’d experienced at top amateur events, but the travelling was tough. The EuroPro Tour was a lot weaker in the north back then and I spent a long time on the road.”