TOURNAMENT TONIC FOR YOUNG JAMES
Last updated 10:10, Wednesday, 23 April 2008
YOUNG Cumbrian golfer James Housby ended up paying the price for his dedication to getting in shape for his new life as a professional.
The 20-year-old former county player teed off in his first pro tournament on Monday – a month after he was forced to spend a night in hospital after badly damaging chest muscles by overdoing it in the gym.
The injury overshadowed his performance at the Euro Pro Tour qualifiers at Forest Pines two weeks ago, but he was fit enough to make his pro debut in a Players Tour event in the Vale of Llangollen, near Wrexham.
Housby, from Calthwaite, near Penrith, said: “The injury is a lot better now but I think just over-did things a bit as I was going seven days a week.
“I was in a bit of pain and I wasn’t in top form for the Euro Pro Tour qualifier as I couldn’t practise beforehand.
“Fitness plays a massive part in golf now – not so much for helping you get round the course but because it helps with your energy levels.
“If you’re travelling all over the world playing golf, you need to be fit. The body shape of golfers is also changing as they are bigger and stronger now than they’ve ever been.
“You only need to look at Tiger Woods, who is a phenomenon and one of the fittest guys out there.”
Housby has been a county regular for the past three years and was Cumbria’s top player at the 2007 Northern Counties Championship, known as the ‘Big Six’.
It was always his ambition to turn pro this year and he hopes to progress up the ladder – ultimately joining fellow former Cumbria player Gary Lockerbie on the European Tour.
Housby, who works at Penrith Driving Range, hopes to get some starts n the Euro Pro Tour – one rung below the Challenge Tour – as well as playing on two other satellite tours, the Players Tour and the Tamsel Tour.
He said: “I was ready to turn professional and this was always the year I was going to do it.
“The aim is to gain experience and move on and on. I want to move on to the Challenge Tour in the next couple of years and go from there.”
