Eccles enjoys a change of pace

Having had to return from international competitions, Torquay golfer Ben Eccles is now putting his golfing skills to use on a smaller stage.

TORQUAY golfer Ben Eccles has turned his misfortune into opportunity by turning his eye to teaching others.

Having returned from the Asian Championship in Malaysia to escape the spread of coronavirus, Eccles said his enthusiasm for the sport had dwindled.

“It’s been pretty hard to find the motivation to do the normal practice that I do because we don’t really have a set date on when we can travel, especially for the Asian Tour.”

However, Eccles’ good friend Ty Lawson believed Eccles’ skills could be used despite the lack of professional golf.

“Ty approached me and said he had an idea that we team up help some guys out with their golf games.”

Lawson said he felt Eccles’ expertise, along with his own experience running experience for XGolf in Geelong, would hold them in good stead to run some training days at the Clifton Springs Golf Course, but he was still surprised by the response.

“It provided an opportunity where we could both benefit and some of my clients can benefit from Ben being around at the moment.

“The plan was to just try and get one of these days off the ground and offer it to my more regular, loyal clients, just as a value add for them and to show my appreciation to them supporting me over the years. Then it gained a fair bit of traction, and Ben and I decided we would release another day, and that filled up pretty quick, so we just kept on releasing more and more dates, and we’re now at the point where we’ve got five dates fully booked and some others on their way to filling up.”

Eccles said he has enjoyed the experience assisting others reach their best.

“It’s different to what I’ve done in the past, but I get a lot out of helping people improve their game.”

Lawson said that based on the early responses, it seemed Eccles’ insight had been a boon for the participants.

“The very next day (after the first golf day) one guy went out at 13th Beach and shot his personal best round of three over par, and he attributed a lot of that to what he learnt the day before, so it’s been really good feedback so far.”

Those interested in being involved in one of the golf days can phone Lawson on 0421 831 846 or head to lawsongolf.com.au.