David Jones is a Scottish-based golfing enthusiast who has been fortunate to have played rounds at some of the most beautiful courses in the world for his blog, UK Golf Guy.
David lives in East Lothian and makes no bones about the fact that he won’t be troubling the likes of Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods any time soon, playing off a handicap of 11. He is, however, successful in his own right running the popular blog UK Golf Guy.
With a background in digital marketing and SEO, it was a natural move for David to combine his two passions into creating an online space to document his golfing escapades.
“I was just looking to play lots of different courses with some friends and to have a way of remembering the courses I’ve played,” David told Fen Regis Trophies. “Just over time it’s kind of grown from there.”
Falling in Love with Golf
As is so often the case, it was David’s father that gave him a nudge in the right direction. That was before moving to Scotland at the age of 11, where David would have the pick of some of the finest courses in the land.
“I used to go with him (David’s father) in the evening,” he said. “I started with him in the evenings just walking around with him carrying his bag and just got into it like that.
“When I was 11, we moved up to Scotland and Scotland has a lot of opportunities to play.
“As a kid, I used to go and play on the council courses in Edinburgh back in the mid-80s, which is a long time ago no, but it was great.
“They had some lovely courses, and it was a great place as a kid to play. We had long summer evenings and I used to play around everywhere back then.”
Golfing Wanderlust
From speaking with David, it is clear how strong his passion is not only for golf but also for discovering new courses and the experiences that come with that. One course that will always hold a special place in his heart is Muirfield, a stone’s throw away from where he resides in Gullane, having witnessed his golfing Idol, Nick Faldo, win The Open Championship there in 1987.
“When I was really getting into it in the late 80s,” he said. “That was when Nick Faldo was at his peak, and I remember going and watching him at The Open he won.
“Muirfield was the first time I really watched him, but I was lucky to have seen a lot of Open Championships with my dad.
“My dad used to be doing some work there and let me out onto the course at seven in the morning and again at eight or nine in the evening.”
Unsurprisingly, David has a fondness for Scottish courses and admits that he is fortunate to not only have so many courses in the local area but that he is allowed to play as much as he does.
“I get to play quite a bit of golf,” David said. “Last year, I probably played about 120 rounds and probably about 80 different courses.
“I play a lot of different courses and I get huge pleasure from that, just from seeing different places and seeing different styles of golf courses.
“I’m a bit of a sucker for a Scottish links golf course, which helps because I live in East Lothian, so I get plenty of opportunity to do that, but I’m just as happy playing at Muirfield.”
Proudest Achievement
Usually, when Fen Regis Trophies speaks to someone, their proudest achievement comes in the form of winning a trophy or medal, but for David that isn’t the case. Through UK Golf Guy, not only was he able to play at Ardfin, located in Jura, a small island just off of Scotland’s west coast, David was able to raise money for a worthy course by holding a charity day at the highly exclusive golf course.
“Ardfin is incredibly exclusive and very hard to play,” the blogger said. “It is ranked in the top 100 in the world.
“I made a video for the website when it first opened, and they (Ardfin Golf Course) really like it so much that they use it at the club.
“I have got a good relationship with the owner and he allowed me to put on a charity day for a charity I’m involved with called Kipawa.”
Kipawa is a charity that teaches child protection and personal safety skills.
David added: “The charity has various projects in Kenya and we raised a lot of money for the charity. That only happens because of what I was doing with the website, so that was absolutely fantastic.”
David continues to travel the globe playing some of the most beautiful courses in the world, updating his UK Golf Guy blog along the way. You can follow his blog on social media at @ukgolfguy on Twitter.
By Aaron Gratton
