Nine-hole role perfect for Stancer

Nov 13 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

IT’S a crisp bright morning on the outskirts of Morpeth and Mark Stancer has an evangelical gleam in his eyes. There is also a rosy tint on his cheeks as he sucks in the bracing air of the Northumberland countryside.

The man who used to be the urbane and sophisticated face of De Vere Slaley Hall in the days when they put on European Tour events for seven years in a row, Stancer, who played an integral part in the revival of The Journal Champion of Champions tournament last year, is back doing what he loves best – coaching golf.

He has hitched his wagon to what, for the time being at least, is a rarity in the North East – a nine-hole golf course. In this region, you can almost count them on the fingers of one hand.

It is a form of the sport which experts predict will do for golf what the 20-overs-a-side game has done for cricket – attract more people. In the case of club golf, this means a boom in participants rather than the new spectators flocking eagerly to enjoy crash-bang-wallop cricket. As Stancer puts it: “If you’re busy, it’s less time-consuming to get in nine holes of golf rather than 18. If you’re a novice, it’s a less daunting way to learn. If you’re a good golfer, there’s nowhere better to sharpen up your short game. And if your bank account is hardly overflowing, it costs less to pay as you play.”

Much of Stancer’s time in 12 years as the golf operations manager at Slaley Hall was office-bound.

Now, as the PGA Professional at N1GOLF, a spruced-up and high-tech version of what used to be The Gubeon, just down the road from Morpeth Golf Club, he’s in his element as an expert who has worked with the PGA coaching tutorial body.

Happily for the 50-year-old Stancer, the office work is the province of the director, the Ascot-based Declan Malone, way ahead of his time in that this is one of 15 nine-hole courses he already either owns or is involved with dotted around England, boasting a combined turnover of £2½m. One of the main tools of Stancer’s trade now is a video computer system. Anybody who uses the Gubeon Golf Academy at N1 can see their swing and lesson notes any time they like by clicking on to the internet.

“This is the life for me,” says Stancer. “Coaching golfers all the way from the grass roots up to seriously good players and bringing newcomers into a welcoming and helpful environment. I am afraid this is not always the case. There are clubs where, for one reason or another, beginners are not always made to feel as welcome as they should be. There’s none of that here, in the same way I always made sure there was never any of that at Slaley Hall.

“Yes, we are a business and yes I am helping Declan fill a niche role in the North East market. But it’s more than that. Here, I can influence that vital first impression beginners get when they take their first steps in the sport. It’s all about fun and, as well as individuals, we welcome and cater for groups starting golf together, whether it’s a family or school or work colleagues or any organisation. Just so long as they enjoy golf.”

TO book free golf coaching at the new academy between 10am and 2pm on Saturday (first-come, first-served) ring Mark Stancer on (07745) 861888.

There will be a free buffet and a free prize draw. Voluntary donations will be welcomed to the Children in Need appeal, so Pudsey Bear will be watching on the range.

Tomorrow, if you want to try out the Mizuno Trackman Launch System, which involves 3D analysis of the club head path plus accurate launch and landing data, simply turn up between 10am and 4pm.

To visit the website, log on to www.n1golf.com