Welcome back to Line By. Golf.
The Podcast. Exploring the journeys of people
linked by the game. I'm your host Ross McGuire and
today's episode is a special one as I'm joined by Andrew Murray,
European Tour winner, broadcaster and someone who's
seen the game from every angle we talk about.
It's one of the European Open, the reality of life on Tour and
the journey it took him to get there from Monday qualifying to
competing alongside the likes of Seve, Faldo, Wisdom and Lyle.
But more than that, this is about perspective.
His relationship with golf has evolved over time and what the
game really gives you beyond results.
Let's get over to Andrew. Andrew Murray, thanks for
joining the podcast. I really appreciate it.
Great to see you. Well, it's really good to see
you and and meet you and always a pleasure.
I love talking about golf, so crack on.
Yeah, I'm going to read out some names.
Andrew. I'm going to start with Sandy
Lyle, David Ferty, Roger Davis, Ross Drummond, Russell Clayton,
Ian Wisnam, Craig Parry, Sam Torrance, Frank Noble though,
and that was 9 names out of the top ten in the Panasonic
European Open and right at the top was you.
So how do you feel when you think back to that day or that
week? Of course it was a full week,
but what do you what memories come back for when you?
Think about it. Now listen and it gives me
goosebumps. For a start and and following
off, I'm in my study recording this with you and I'm surrounded
by one massive picture which Walton Heath gave me of me
holding the winning put, which of the ball just about to go in
the hole from 2 and a bit feet I suppose.
So it's always listen. It's never far away from me
really. I've got very fond memories.
I can remember the six line hit into the last 176 to the flag,
183 to the back of the green. You know, I can remember all
those details and I remember hitting it.
I remember pulling it a little bit, but not much.
And it was dead by guy to 12 feet or something.
So yeah, it was, it was a special week and it's a special
golf course and it was a special event way back.
It was only probably third in the European Tour to the to the
PGA in the open, European Masters in the European Open
held A5 year exemption on the tour in those days.
And so it was, yeah, it was a big tournament.
It was a big money tournament. It was a brave, prestigious
tournament, always had a fantastic field, always had a
great sponsor. We alternated between Walton
Heath one year and Sunningdale the next.
So there's probably not too better venues in inland venues
in the in the country than those two.
So it was, it was a pretty, pretty big deal.
Yeah. Obviously massive deal for me
obviously, but it was a bit of a but I was AI was a yeah.
I was a decent average saw player.
I was about. You were flushing in what the
phase that I saw and it was you've got that brilliant
footage on your website linked to YouTube and it's just awesome
to hear Peter Alice and he's got these little quaps and yeah, and
he actually talks about your last shot where he you've said
you pulled a low, but I mean, you're actually what, 10 feet to
the left of the flag, but I think another foot left and it
was in real danger. So for sure though it take on at
the end. Yeah, and and in true for us, it
was about 3 yards from the bunker on the pitch and it looks
like he do like it was about a foot away and it wasn't really
but and so it was no doubt a bit of a pull, but it was a pretty
flushed pull. So wind off the right.
It was suited my game really. It was yeah, it was a it was a
proper shot, proper T-shirt as well.
I remember not in the T-shirt and it just passed Frank Nobleo,
who was a really good player. He's he was a winner on tour and
top 10 or 20 player in those days as well.
So I remember hitting it past him off on the five ironing.
I had 6 ironing. So it was, yeah, can remember
like it was yesterday almost. And.
Then during the tournament, when did you realize you might
actually won? When did you get to that point?
Or did it never really come to your?
Mind you know, you know, I LED after the one.
I think I was tied the lead after one round with Peter
Fowler. I think I shot really nice
second round early in the morning at two or three, three
puts for 68 and then really difficult conditions Saturday.
So I was leading after two, I was leading after three, I was 5
clear with three to play in the last round.
In the third round made a bit of a dodgy finish and so I was
leading by two or three I think in the going into the final
round and never thought about winning at all.
Genuinely. I was trying to pull it out of
my mind and I remember still on the 16th T and I hit it was my
honour. I was one in front with five to
play, one in front with four to play, one in front with three to
play. And I had a beautiful tee shot
down 16. And I remember putting the club
back in the bag and looking at Frank Nobleau thinking.
And I'd seen a scoreboard on the previous screen and said, I
remember saying to myself, right, it's between me and you.
And that was the first time I was, I'd given it any, any sort
of thought. We both bovied 715 because it
was 16. Sorry, because it was a really
difficult hole, unreachable almost into the wind.
And then I played 17th beautifully, really rock solid
path 3. And then two nice shots into the
into the last and he was 50 feet and I was about 12.
So yeah, I didn't genuinely didn't think I was going to win
until he'd missed the 50 footer. And then I remember my caddy
saying to me then you've got 2 foot 2 puts for it.
I said I've sworn under my breath slightly at him and said
yeah, I know that. And and then I managed it 2 1/2
feet past. It sort of went off in my hands
a bit really. But I lost the slope a bit
really because I was down in the bunker looking at the line and I
was still trying to hold the putt.
I mean I've never when did you last try and like it up from 12
feet? Probably never.
So it was not the sort of thing you do is it?
So. And I just miss it a little bit
and run it past a bit further than anybody would have wanted
to and managed to whack it straight in.
So when I see the Ross, when I see the video of it and I see
the way I knock it in to hold it, to win it, I'm really proud
of the fact that I did that because it was completely
autopilot. And you know, and if anyone had
just stopped me and said hang on a minute, take your time, take
your time. So this could change your life.
Take your time. Anyone?
Anyone want to put anything in my head other than I'd done that
for years on tour? I was AI, was a decent holder
out and marked the ball, turned the logo facing the hole and
worked it in so it was pretty cool.
Yeah. What way to finish until you
mentioned the exemptions and stuff, Andrew, but what did it,
did it change anything for you in terms of your wider golf
career etcetera? Yeah, I mean massive, massive
change because you perhaps don't know, but I had a underlying hip
condition and I was told I'd missed the qualifying in a
playoff for the Open in 89. I think that was true, was it?
And I'd come home in real pain. I was really struggling to play.
I played the Scottish Open the previous week, mate, played all
four rounds and I played two rounds in qualifying and then
six holes in sudden death to get into the Open and didn't get in.
So I drove home in in agony and saw my consultant the following
day and he said we need to scan this.
And he X-rayed me and he said, Andrew, he said, you're going to
have to think about something else to do.
He said, have you seen this? Look at the the difference
between this was six months ago and this is now.
And and that was the Tuesday, I think maybe even the Wednesday
of the Open Championship, which I wasn't then playing in.
And well, that was a bit of a shock.
Yeah. And he put me on some medication
which really helped take the inflammation away a little bit.
And I suppose the rest is history.
I managed to play for another four or five years, which I I
was destined not to do, really. So.
Yeah. And the fact that I want
whatever it was two months later was ridiculous.
Really. Yeah.
So it it was a what it did, Ross was enabled me to plan my year a
little bit more carefully. I milked it a little bit,
obviously, because I got an invite to play in Japan and then
I went over to play in the nominal experience.
I was the only Englishman there. So raising the flag of Saint
George over the first tee before the before the first tee shirt
was hit was phenomenal. Yeah, I was really proud, Really
proud moment. And so, yeah, I never really
played great after that. I played bits, fits and starts.
But the week after I played the Lancome Trophy, which I wasn't
otherwise exempt for, so I've got myself in that.
And then all of a sudden I was in that the previous the
following day, fully enough. I was playing in Peter Alice's
Pro Am the following day. And Peter Alice was
commentating. And then I remember going into
the scores tent saying, do you think I can pull out of the Pro
Am tomorrow? And Jenny said, you've got to be
kidding me, you can't pull out of Peter's Pro Am.
So I said, yeah, OK, I suppose that was right.
So I went down with my wife and my youngest.
Then we only had one child and went down to Ferndown and played
and Peter made a big fuss of me and so did all the celebrities
guys down there. I remember Henry Cooper giving
me a big hug and and all the celebs of that of that era.
You mean Tarbot made a fuss of me and stuff and it was
fantastic. I was on Cloud 9 and I'm sure
62, I think. Yeah, I did.
I think it's a card there. Six.
Yeah, 62, it's on. It's on the wall.
But you were glad you went then. So I've shot 62 one by about
five shots from Hugh by Aki and then what obviously that was a
bit more money. And and then I've got exemption
to the Lancome Trover, which is a limited field event because
I've gone up to the top 30 or whatever it was in the
Audrimerit. And our shot 64 in the first
round to lead by two from Nick Faldo and Curtis Strange.
I remember although saying to me as I walked to the press
conference after the round and he went, he just turned his head
and went nice round. Oh, thanks, Nick.
And yeah, yeah, that was that was a bit surreal really.
And and then I what do you think I've shot in the next round, by
the way, having won the European out And on this Sunday I shot
62, on the Monday, went over to Lancome and shot 64.
It clearly wasn't as low as you'd have liked it to be, so
I'm going to go with like 74 something.
Like that it was plenty more Upshot 78 and well, it was just
a reaction. I played with Sam Torrance and
Mark McNulty so I was up, you know, with the big guns and but
I shot 6568 to finish 5th or 6th or 7th thereabouts.
So it was pretty, pretty tasty finish another few Bob bit
further up the Audra Merit and going to Valderrama and yeah,
played played pretty good for a while after that.
Absolutely. And we've jumped, I guess, right
into a great part of your career, Andrew.
But how did it begin? How did you get into golf?
What got you hooked? Just started.
I was decent. I was.
I was probably a decent sportsman, I suppose at school
of decent I was in captain the football team.
I was never very good at RUG because I was too, too much of A
wimp. I was a fast, fast runner, so I
was on the athletics team and I was a good cricketer, spin
bowler, played Lancashire. I played all that sort of local,
local standard boys stuff and then I was just better at golf.
I suppose. By the time I was 14 or so I was
playing off about 7 or 8. Used to carry for my dad down at
Didsbury Golf Club where I'll still play occasionally.
In fact, I still play regularly. Yeah, just became a bit better
at golf than the rest. Really was never the the
sharpest tool in the in the in the box.
I suppose in terms of academically, my brother was and
my sister was fairly. But I think I got the brains in
my hands and yeah, turned pro 16, wanted to be an assistant
pro. All I wanted to be was was like
the club pro Didsbury, a guy called Brian Neal, who was my
mentor and guide and he taught me when I was 10 or 11 and I
finished up being his assistant when he'd moved up to Bramwell
Golf Club in Cheshire. So yeah, I went up to join him
on my 16th birthday. Well, actually it's a day after
my 16th birthday. Left school with one woodwork O
level and then went as a as a, an apprentice pro.
So, you know, proper old school journey really of and then won a
few things in the assistance leagues and assistance
championships and stuff like that.
And, and the tour was really right in its infancy then being
tour players division as it was then was just making a bit of a
a split from the PGA as it was because it was all in one
European Tour wanted to go in a different under a different
guise. And it's and and so that whole
journey began and that's where I'm at.
John Parrymore and George O'Grady and and Co when I went
to the first tour school in Foxholes.
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Wow. And you've, yeah, some of the
people you've come across in your career, Andrew, it's
phenomenally mentioned John Parrymore there.
And yeah, who created us. Phenomenal you were.
There, I mean, they were the three guys alongside Ken
Schofield, who who effectively started the European Tour.
And a really good friend of mine, John Jacobs was sort of
grandfather. He, he basically brokered the
deal between the PGA and the European Tour to, to make the
European Tour Players division, as it was known then into what
we know now as the DP World Tour.
It was PGA European Tour, so yeah, that that old split was
needed brokering it needed it, needed a diplomat to do it and
John was the man. Wow.
And then attempts your progression.
So you mentioned as an assistant you started running events.
How long was it then before you started playing in the European
Tour against these guys and and competing with them?
From a tour card, I think it was 77 and I think Sunday Lyle won.
I can't remember at the 7778 maybe I remember Sunday Lyle won
the first one. David Russell was going well and
he finished first or second in one of the early ones.
He was then missed his card for the first couple of years.
Barry Lane also had several goes at the tour school before he got
a category and became a world championship winner.
So it was, it was probably 3 or 4 years before I'd probably had
a card and kept a card. And then that was just at the
time where the, the tour became all exempt.
So it was Monday qualifying used to go on a Monday out a caravan
though, which are parked at the back of a club Brilliant and
with a Palomine Dave screen and, and we used to try and qualify
on a Monday. And if we didn't qualify on a
Monday, you were back at the club practice in or playing a
pro AM. So that was Monday qualifying
and that soon became the all exempt tour.
So the first twenty 125 players in the tour became all exempt
and didn't have to do that Monday qualifying.
So that was, I don't know, early 80s probably.
I need to ask if you. Get any caravan stories, any
disasters or funny moments in the caravan.
I got plenty of caravan stories, some of which I could share and
some of which I can't. That's where you can share them.
We were, we were fishing alongside Locker in Scotland,
playing in the what was the Double Diamond Championship,
which became the Scottish Championship of I guess, I don't
know if anyway, the Double Diamond was played at Glen
Eagles and we've qualified and I don't know, I can't remember the
course I qualified on. Anyway, I qualified at a nearby
course. I've tried to qualify a nearby
course and my pals have keen fishermen.
Excuse me. And we went down, we parked up
near Locher in a caravan site, went fishing and then he dropped
the caravan keys off the off the jetty into the water.
So he came back with a couple of fish, but no keys to get in the
caravan. Yeah, we've had a few.
And then we, we went to play a tournament once where we were
going up the steep hill. It was in Bristol somewhere.
And for the Under 20 Fives Championship, my car was towing
this caravan wasn't powerful enough to get the car and the
van up the hill. So it was somewhere like Cleve
Hill and Bristol somewhere. So we had to unhitch it, turn
the caravan round, turn the car around, hold the traffic up and
and go back down the hill and find another route to the club.
Yeah, yeah. Good old days of, of European
Tour. And Woosening was doing
something similar. He had a caravan, he had a VW
caravan app with a couple of pals of his.
Joe Higgins was one of them. And it was a, it was an
adventure, that's what it was. And it was, you know, I was no
idea that I was going to win the European Open five years later,
but or 10 years later, whatever it was.
Did you drive? Did you ever take the caravan
abroad? Because I've heard stories about
where's he taking our VW. No, I never took.
Germany stuff. Yeah, I never took the caravan
abroad. No, no, I wasn't that competent
at reversing it with the caravan attached.
I was, I was. I got quite good, but I wasn't.
Yeah. And during that time, I mean,
you're as great, you've had all that fun, but there must have
been some tough teams as well before you won the European.
Yeah, I mean, I was what was the liking for that?
Some people say to me, you know, you know, you've you've you've
done well. I don't think I've done well
particularly. I've I've won a tournament, I've
won a few tournaments, but not only once on the main tour.
But but those those years, the 1st 10 years, I didn't make a
being a money and I don't to this day know how I managed to
put fuel in the car and rent a flat in Manchester and do what I
did because it was literally hand to mouth.
And when you look at the record books, and I do occasionally,
you know, I won £2000 in 1983. Now how did I exist on 2000 LB
winnings and and to Bob playing and you just did, you just did
all sorts of jobs. I had jobs in the winter keep me
going and played in Africa and playing the safari tour in
Africa was the was the thing that changed in Wisdom's career
and and kept a lot of us. It was it gave a lot of us a
chance to make a bit of money in Africa before we came back on
the tour and blew it all again. And trust them.
So you get down there and went out effectively and.
Yeah, we did. Some we did.
We did six weeks on to West Africa into Nigeria, Nigerian
Open, then a Pro AM before that, then the Ivory Coast Open in
West Africa and obviously in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and then it
went over Trans Africa. Remember getting the Ethiopian
Airways overnight from Abidjan in OH in the Ivory Coast over to
Kenya to play the Canyon Open. Then we played from the Canyon
Open, we played in the Zambian Open from there.
Then we went down to Zimbabwe and played the Zimbabwe Open and
then came home. Wow.
Fantastic days they were they were, you know, 5040 British,
mainly British golf pros travelling over there all
getting burnt and inappropriate with with with the gear they
were wearing and all that stuff. It was a bit daft really, but it
was, it was a, if it wasn't for the Europe, for that safari,
Tory and Wisdom wouldn't have made the breakthrough he did
because he, he, he, he won a Range Rover or something for
finishing third in one tournament and longest drive or
nearest the pin or something, or all in one or something.
I think it was all in one and he won a Range Rover which was 15
or £18,000. But going back in the day and
that funded his European Tour in the next year, he's finishing
third. My goodness, that's incredible.
He and I actually, looking up he and I's career wisdom was 93rd,
I was 94, he was 91st, I was 93rd or whatever.
For two years we were to in and fro in, but in the 90s.
And then he went to 3rd and I stayed at 103.
Yeah, yeah. And then he went to 4th and I
stayed at 104 or something. Yeah.
So it was making literally making 2 Bob.
You've mentioned wisdom and there's others here as well.
I guess he impressed you, but who impressed the most when you
are you are playing with the most?
Is it a few? I think well, savvy was probably
the most impressive because savvy was was God, wasn't it?
And he was an inspiration to us all because of the way either
way he played be some of the shots he hit were off the charts
ridiculous good and bad, of course.
So savvy was unbelievable filed over his mentality and and and
probably Langer for his mentality and he's he's he's a
gentleman, absolute gentleman to play with and a phenomenal work
workhorse. But the two most talented, I'd
say wisdom and Lyle were the two that that really stand out.
They were absolutely outstanding.
And when a Borg was leading the recent Players Championship, I
think I I was on Five Live and I'd said the a Borg reminds me
of Ian Wisdom and Tom Watson rolled into one.
He plays without any fuss whatsoever.
He he doesn't take much time over the ball.
He pulls the trigger quickly. He plays briskly.
He's got that beautiful crisp swing like Wisdom was and like,
like Tom Watson was. It was a very repetitive, crisp
rhythm to to his game. And yeah, it really impressed
me. Wisdom was phenomenal player.
Absolutely. And you mentioned broadcasting
there. So how did you get into the
broadcasting? What happened to take you there?
This year is going to be my 35th on Radio 5 Live.
Radio 5 Live hasn't been existing that long, but it was
Radio 2 back in the day. And I got a call from a
broadcaster called Renton Laidlaw, very famous
broadcaster, Laidlaw, Renton Laidlaw, Scottish guy, you might
know. And he phoned me up.
I had not qualified for the 91 Open at Birkdale and Birkdale's
half an hour from where I live, 40 minutes.
And he said we need someone for Radio 2 to do some summarising.
Would you be interested in doing it?
He said you've got a great reputation.
You've you're a winner. You've, you've got, we can hang
the hat on the, you know, you're a former European Open champion
now, Andrew, so we can use that. And so I said, yeah, I'll do the
weekend. I did the weekend for them and
I've never done broadcasting, never broadcasted before.
And I was thrown out with one of the one of the commentators and
just was asked to give my views on on on what what was in front
of me and I said, have you got any tips?
He said just tell us what you see.
And don't forget every listener is blind.
That's the only thing he's told to me.
He said just be yourself. You see, you've got a great
voice. You know the game and tell us
what you see and don't forget everybody is a that's listening
to us is blind. So if he's, if a player's got
red trousers on, tell us. If he's got white shoes and
everything else, tell us. Because don't forget, you know,
it's not ATV audience, it's a radio audience.
So you have people driving down the motorway.
Don't leave any silences because people will start, start
retuning. Just tell us what you've what
was in front of you, and when we want you to shut up, we'll tell
you to shut up. And what was it like to
commentate in the game versus playing?
At that time it was unknown nerve wracking at first, really
nerve wracking because when you look at the when you see the the
listening numbers now you know, we get big listening numbers to
Five Live on a Sunday afternoon for the Open and Saturday
afternoon for the for the Open Championship.
And of course, if will service join us, which sometimes they
do, then it's it's proper global audience.
And if you thought about the audience you would broadcasting
to, you probably would be you wouldn't get words out.
And occasionally, you know, I don't you, you get tongue tied a
bit. But and I've made some serious
faux pas with a microphone, live microphone.
But I've been all over the place with Five Live and, you know,
been to the US Masters about half a dozen times and the
several Ryder Cups and the US Open at Pebble and saw saw Tiger
win at Pebble by 13 or 15 shots, whatever it was back in 2000.
That was phenomenal experience to broadcast on that.
So yeah, I've been been dead lucky.
And the fact that I've done it for so long means I've not
qualified for the last 35 Opens. I suppose that's the only way I
can put it. And were you trying to qualify
in a lot of those years as well? To be fair, tried in 91 missed
and I must have tried 92939495. I finished playing, so probably,
I probably didn't qualify for those four or five, but it's
hard to qualify for the opening. Those days it was, you know,
immediately after the Scottish Open and immediately the two
rounds after the some Saturday finish of the Scottish Open, it
was on the Sunday and Monday. And so if you'd played the
Scottish Open for a week and then went straight into final
qualifying, you didn't have a practice round or anything else
on on the courses you were straight in.
And you know, for I was looking at, I did qualify for two or
three, but I never did any good in them.
Remember when I actually went up to open qualifying must have
been for Saint Andrews Open, I would guess.
And I was looking at leaderboard, someone that I knew
was playing. So I've kind of wandered up to
this leaderboard looking for a name and I look up at the top
and I'm reading because I had you were for the top guys that
were leading had all their scores.
And I looked and Mark McNally shot 61.
I'm like, wow, that's some score around leaving.
I started to a six. I'm not joking.
So he started, I started double bogey.
Then I think he birthed seven or eight in a row to be out in
about 29 and I'm like, what is going on?
And that was phenomenal. Seeing those types of scores
around you, a place like leaving and just considering that Marvin
that, no, he's just such a great player.
But to see it, just getting there and looking at what the
other guys was going, I think he was leading by like 3 or 4.
It was phenomenal to see. Yeah, there's been, there's
always some terrific scoring done, open qualifying from from
some really good players. But yeah, so I got into the
broadcasting going that way and did OK.
I must have done OK and didn't qualify the way after.
So I commented on father when you feel the year after and then
off the top of that, I don't know where we were the year
after that in 93, certainly there was a Turnberry 94 for
Nick Price. So yeah, been done some really
good ones. Yeah, absolutely.
And then you went back to plain No, Mark.
So you went back to seniors tour.
So yeah, how did that go? I did it a bit half heartedly
really. I was, I'd, I'd created a
corporate business back here in Cheshire.
So I was travelling and doing all sorts of stuff with
corporate in the corporate world.
And I was 50. I was injured actually.
I had a knee surgery so I couldn't play the first year.
So I got a medical exemption for the year after and played and I
played all right, mostly. To be fair, I didn't put as well
as I used to put and I played better than I've.
I probably played better than I scored or I felt I played better
than I scored and I had a cut. I had some mixed results really.
I had some good results. I should have won the PGA up at
slate at all. Didn't really put well enough in
the final round. Should have won in in in Spain
against Carl Mason and he better did the last and I didn't.
I bogged it in fact and it was just didn't quite run.
The ball didn't quite bounce for me, you know what I mean?
It was just not quite, I wasn't quite on it.
I was finishing 4th or 5th a few times and then, you know,
finishing 30th and I didn't want to finish 30th because we were
making zero money. And it was, I was only wanted to
play if I was going to be competitive.
And, and then I played for seven or eight years on and off and
then I still kept my exemption and then I lost my exemption.
This guy said one of the tours guys said to me you're going to
go to the tour school. I said no, no, no I'm absolutely
done. I can't be bothered, that's me
done. He said why don't you just go to
the school, tour school. He said there's 5 tour cards,
you only need to win one of them and I've went back home and my
son was then playing a bit. He was fantastic player.
Tom and I said one of the guys at the tour was thinks I have to
go and try and go to tour school and go and try and win it.
And he said, well, why don't we, I'll carry for you.
So I said, OK, well, I'm only going to go if I take the big
bag and and think I'm Billy big balls.
I'm not going to go and carry the bag with a pencil bag.
And I said, we're going to go as big cheeses and let's just give
it the real confidence of. So we said, right, I'm up for
that. So we took the big bag.
Hardly anybody had a big bag playing the tour school.
They were all carrying the bags or putting them on power caddies
and skin flinting right, left and centre.
And anyway I went, I was 58 and went and won it, which is
ridiculous. I won it by two and I think I
was the oldest winner at that time.
And, and that was such a thrill to play.
And I played really nicely. I played great all four days and
I don't think I missed the shot hardly for four days.
And Tom was, Tom was rightly very, very proud of, of his, of
his old fellow and the way he won and all that stuff.
So to have Tom on the bag was phenomenal.
So I did play the following year, but I was trying to run a
corporate business and trying to run a corporate business at the
same time. As you know, getting over to
playing the Travis Perkins Masters on the Thursday and
doing a corporate gig somewhere on the on the on the Tuesday
was, was hard. And I was playing against people
that were full time players and I was, I had a full time
business. I was employing 3 or 4 people.
So it didn't quite work out, but I don't regret it.
I don't regret having a go because it was great.
And what a great memory as well to have your son in the bag and
do that and win the tour school. Yeah, that was.
Fantastic, isn't it? Yeah.
And I think it shot a few people up because this everyone,
there's a few people that were saying that the tour school was
closed shop and all that stuff. And of course there was only a
few tour cards. There's only 5.
But if at least if you win one of those five, you could get,
you could play full time. And if you win a tour card on
the main tour, you don't guarantee to play every week.
You're in the reserve lists like everybody else.
So the, the, it shut a few people up because you know that
actually if you, if you want a tour card, go and win 1.
You know, there's five of them. There's it's if you're not good
enough, you don't win, you don't finish in the first five, end of
story. So.
So I was dead chuffed about that.
Yeah. Didn't go back again.
I'd not do enough after that, really.
And then you've talked about your corporate business.
So what does that involve, Andrew?
Yeah, I'd started doing golf days for sponsors.
That's how it all started. When I when I finished playing
and had a new hip back in almost 2000, that loads of hip issues.
Anyway, I finished up with a new hip and started playing again
pain free pretty well, which was fantastic.
And then the corporate business sort of got a bit better.
I met people and I met people playing in tournaments and pro
ands and all the rest of it. And I was always keen on
relationship building. And so we, yeah, we built up a
decent business that that does and hosts corporate events and
pretty well. I'll do that with the help of
two or three other people back here in, in Cheshire.
So three people worked for me, Michelle, Sandra and Andy, and
without them it wouldn't exist. And I've, I've the wheel me out
occasionally and just put me, the wheel me out to do clinics
and talk to people about golf. No, we've, we've got a good
business. It's a really nice little
business where it's, I've got some fantastic clients.
I've just been up at Saint Andrews for three days for the
AMG Lynx Trophy, which is a three day event up at Saint
Andrews. And we've got a very loyal
following. And it's, it's really, it's
great stuff. Really enjoy it.
And it's a sort of mostly single days.
Or can it be anything really? Could it be almost like a whole
week? Well, I'm one of the
ambassadors, ambassadors at Turnbury.
So we've got three day, 2 day events at Turnbury.
We do three a three day event at Saint Andrews.
I'm hosting a trip, five day trip to South Africa for some
clients in early April. So it's, you know, it's, it
keeps me busy. I'm, I'm out to Monterrey next
weekend for some clients for two days in Portugal.
So, and we host loads of other stuff for individual companies.
So I'm really busy. I speak a bit, do a bit of after
doing stuff. So I'm, I'm busy.
I feel like I'm not slowing down and I should be really.
It's the oldest time. Andrew, how's your relationship
with the game been? How's it changed over time?
You were obviously only 16 when you started as a pro.
Yeah, and now I'm approaching 70.
I can't believe I'm saying those words.
But anyway, I'm approaching 70 this summer and I still love the
game, Ross. I genuinely still love the game.
I played today with with a couple of pals and I just I
don't I don't enjoy playing badly and I still play pretty
well. All right.
I played my brother on and the weekends in the in the club
medals quite a bit in the club competitions and I still hold a
handicap of, of actually point .5 or something plus .5 of the
game or plus .2 or thereabouts. And so I'm still play all right,
mostly. And I still get upset when I
don't play all right. But I love the game.
I just love talking about the game and I love coaching the
game and I love seeing people getting the kick out of the
game. And do you still feel the
competitive spark as well that well to 1 when you're playing?
No, no, no, I don't really. I mean, I'd like, I don't like
losing, but I don't go all out to no, no, I, you know, no, I
don't really. Do I get, I still get nervous
when I'm playing. I'm playing at Birkdale soon,
and I'll be nervous at playing playing Birkdale because I'm
playing with one of the members off who plays.
It's about 70 yards past me. But so I don't like playing
badly. If I play all right, I'm fine.
Whether I win or lose. I get more pleasure out of
hitting the ball properly and I still work out and I'm still
pretty fertile. Yeah, fantastic.
Yeah. Well, Andre, thanks so much for
coming on. It's been a real pleasure to
hear from you. And if people want to get in
touch and find you, where can they find you?
Andrewmurraygolf.com We're on Andrew Murray Golf in on
Instagram and we're on Facebook and LinkedIn and various other
things. We've got a pretty active
website that we do all sorts of stuff.
So logoed merchandise and corporate hosting days and
speaking engagements and do some pretty good trips.
Had a great trip this winter to Abu Dhabi.
Actually, that was in January. It was, it was terrific.
So we hosted a dozen people over there.
It was fantastic golf. And yeah, we do all sorts of
various, various things. But I'm probably going to take a
bit of time out next year and, and try and slow down and play
some, play a bit more golf with pals.
And that I keep promising to play and never have time.
So, yeah, still love the game, still love talking about it.
So I really appreciate you asking me to come on your part.
No problem. Thanks so much, Andrew.
I really appreciate it. Thank you.
No problem Ross, good to see you.
I'd like to thank Andrew for his time, some brilliant stories in
there and a really honest look at what life in Professional
Golf was actually like, both on and off the course.
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I'm Ross McGuire. Thanks for listening.
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