Tommy Fleetwood, international golf star, launches his own Golf Academy, on England's Golf Coast

TOMMY Fleetwood, who is a 4 time winner on the European Tour and 2017 Race to Dubai Champion, launched his inaugural Golf Academy at Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa, with the aim of giving young people opportunities in the sport he loves. The Tommy Fleetwood Academy at Formby Hall opened in May 2019 and is part of the Formby Hall Golf Resort, where the 28 year old himself, learnt to play golf from the age of 6, and the Head Pro is none other than Tommy's 1st coach, Norman Marshall. Through a fun and accessible training programme, Fleetwood aims to introduce young golfers to a whole range of techniques as well as teaching them the discipline of successful golf.

Marshall will never forget the moment he realised Tommy was a golfing genius. He introduced the 8 year old to a game that he and other pros used to play; hitting a target from a distance of 75 metres. At that time the record, held by Norman, was 16 out of 25. On his 1st try Tommy hit 21 out of 25. "But the overall message I'd like to portray. Is that we have watched Tommy reach the heights of world golf through incredible hard work and determination. Now he has come back to where it all began and laid the groundwork for other children to follow in his footsteps." says Marshall

"From a young age, sport and golf, in particular, have brought me a lot of happiness and many friends. My wife Clare and I are truly grateful to be in a position where we can help kids who are in a similar position to me when I was growing up. What's more we launched the academy during the week I was hosting the British Masters at Hillside, when this Region welcomed some of Europe's leading players, which I hope will provide further inspiration to kids in the area. The ultimate plan is to establish a system that will benefit the whole Southport and North West area, which that we can then roll out nationally and internationally." said Fleetwood.

Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa has some of the best golfing facilities on England's golf coast, from their 18 hole Championship course, and the 9- hole Woodhey Dunes course, a renowned putting school, indoor teaching studios, driving range and club fitting studio.

General Manager Andrew Pyle says:- "The Academy will give boys and girls across our Region access to some of the best in golf tuition and facilities at every level. We really look forward to helping them take advantage of the opportunities that we can offer."

Norman Marshall added that:- "What's more, there's always the chance that the youngsters will get a surprise visitor during their sessions. 'Occasionally Tommy comes to Formby Hall to play in his spare time, he is also coached by Phil Kenyon who has a studio based at Formby Hall... And then he'll join in with the exercises I'm setting the kids. It's a lot of fun to see the kids' faces when they see their hero turning up!."

For information about the Tommy Fleetwood Academy at Formby Hall go to:- TommyFleetwWoodAcademy.Com.

Rooms are available from ₤149 per night, based on 2 sharing on a bed and breakfast basis. For more information about Formby Hall Hotel Golf Resort & Spa please visit:- FormbyhHallGolfResort.Co.UK.

O'Leary's Bar watching the UEFA Champions League Cup Final
Photos by Patrick Trollope.

AS we where in Southport we popped into O'Leary's Bar, 1 June 2019, Southport, Merseyside, to get a few photos of fans watching the Tottenham v Liverpool match, in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain. These are a few snaps we got as the match played... We would love to hear from anyone who attend the event in Madrid. If you attended, please do let us know you memories, via emailing them to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com as we would love to hear about your adventures...