Full-Circle Moment: Award-Winner Tom Paterson Returns to Inspire Next Generation at The Open
“I love seeing the smile on young people's faces when they hit a good shot. When somebody holes a putt or someone hits a cone, makes a game-winning shot, or when everybody cheers – that is why I do it.”
“I love golf, everything about the game.”
Our Spirit of Golf/Dinah Oxley Award winner in 2021 was Tom Paterson of Kent, then aged 15, and in a full-circle moment, he has been back helping us this week at The Open on our Swingzone and Skillzone.
Since we last saw him, Tom has gone on to become a CGI (Community Golf Instructor), an R&A-backed initiative developed by the Home Nations. While Tom won his award five years ago after helping many younger players in his local school and golf club, his lasting commitment to the grass roots game is now being recognised and further encouraged by England Golf as a committed CGI.
The 19-year-old (Tom turns 20 at The Open on Sunday) is excited on the latest stage of his golf journey, where he has the flexibility in the role to pursue his dream of reaching the professional tournament ranks. It’s a journey which began as a four-year old with first hits, and recently saw Tom attending regional qualifying for The Open at Rochester and Cobham.
Meanwhile, Tom delivers golf in his local school where his Mum is a teacher (he first encouraged the kids when he was 13 and today supports the school one day a week). He also reaches new golfers in sessions at a nearby multi-sport centre and helps bring on young players at summer camps.
Tom said of his CGI role: “To be honest, I love doing the grass roots level golf, and I love the race-and-chase of the fun games we can set up for youngsters. Becoming a CGI was brilliant because it allowed me to go into schools and grow the game while still being able to play amateur golf and everything like that. I feel I am getting the best of both worlds.”
This confidence in helping others comes from having been such an inspired young player himself at The Cave Hotel and Golf Resort in Kent, where even as a junior he was known for giving inspirational team talks to his club team, organising inventive practice sessions, and leading from the front as Junior Captain.
“I love getting involved, love growing it,” he says with his trademark big grin.
We have welcomed support this week from CGIs Tom and Lisa Bryson from Ravensworth Golf Club near Newcastle on the Swingzone, as well as from the excellent staff from England Golf, and our Young Ambassadors. In England, England Golf trains the CGIs to deliver golf and its positive benefits in golf and non-traditional settings, including schools, community groups and local authority sports projects.
Tom is a fan of our Unleash Your Drive programme which builds confidence, concentration, resilience and other attributes for young people through golf.
“The mental toughness tools are brilliant. I always make sure I get these across to the kids. And when you have a kid who comes up to you to say, ‘Oh yes, I've carried that on not just in golf, but into my school life and also outside of school at home’, it’s fantastic to hear this. They have learned through golf and now they're carrying it through and it's improving their lives. How good is that?”
A year after the Covid-19 lockdowns, at Wentworth during the BMW PGA Championship, our charity presented two significant awards. The first was the Spirit of Golf Award to former Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, for his stellar career and also raising funds for our charity.
The second award was made in honour of the generous legacy donation made to the charity by Dinah Oxley, one of the finest amateur golfers this country has ever produced.
Tom was the highly deserving winner and received his award at the presentation from Bjorn himself. Tom, then and still today a popular member at The Cave Hotel club, had captained his club, represented Kent in county tournaments, led fun-filled sessions for the younger juniors, taken the game into his Mum’s school, while also raising hundreds of pounds for charity.
He said at the time of the award that it was the best day of his life. “I have so many pictures from Wentworth with my family, including the presentation with Thomas Bjorn, it is still the best day of my life. I have had great experiences and want others to share the opportunities I had.
“Golf is a sport that anyone can play, that's the thing. It doesn't matter what level you’re at. That's why I think the Golf Foundation and England Golf are so important, and also being at events like today. If we keep doing things like this it's just going to keep getting better and better. We are going to get more clubs into people's hands and it's just brilliant. Golf is getting out there. We're breaking down those barriers aren’t we?
“Teachers say to me that golf offers something a bit different from other sports, and can really help some youngsters as they learn to play golf. There are so many lessons we can all learn from this game.”