Nigel Hirst has just celebrated his 60th birthday – and he is one of the country’s longest serving professionals.
Having taken up the post as Dewsbury District Golf Club’s professional almost 39 years ago.
Local players with extremely long memories may remember him as assistant pro under Charles Hughes in the early 1970s. In 1974 he went on to become the country’s youngest club professional at Ogden.
This week Hirst took time out to reflect with some satisfaction on his legacy spanning four decades. He won’t, however, be written off just yet - the Mirfield man reckons he has another “five good years” left in him.
A recent personal highlight was beating top players less than half his age to win the prestigious Halifax-Huddersfield Union Alliance Order of Merit for club professionals and assistants earlier this year.
He posted consistently good scores in the Alliance to finish 13 points ahead of runner-up Tom Wild, of Bradley Park.
Hirst said: “It was a big thing for me to know that I can still compete at that level. I’m still playing and practising as much as possible and will definitely be defending my title later this year.”
Under his stewardship, Dewsbury became one of the first clubs in the country to see the commercial potential for golf clubs when the club spent £750,000 back in 2001 to build a magnificent new clubhouse.
It was one of the first ones to be ‘flipped,’ with the changing rooms downstairs and restaurants and function room upstairs – a blueprint for virtually all new clubhouses today.
This forward thinking paid off, attracting external events to the club, and has helped it to weather the lean times which all golf clubs have faced or are currently struggling with. Today Hirst, along with general manger Mick Thorpe, oversees a thriving membership of more than 600 and regular social events held in the clubhouse.
Dewsbury District’s rather unpromising name masks a most interesting course with an excellent pedigree. Opened in 1891, the course is built on land known locally as ‘The Pinnacle.’
It was originally designed by Old Tom Morris, custodian of the Old Course at St Andrews and Open Champion four times in the 1860s. It was made into an 18-hole layout by Ted Ray from Ganton in 1906, and further alterations were overseen by Peter Allis and Dave Thomas in 1972. All of these renowned designers have left their mark on the course.
Predominantly parkland, holes nine to 14 are heathland, with spectacular views over the Pennines from the top of the moor. The 14th is the signature hole, where you descend at breakneck speed back down to the lowland holes.
The thrill of hitting the ball off the elevated tee and watching it fly miles into the great blue yonder is sheer delight. I will never forget the joy of hitting my tee shot over 300 yards – only to come a cropper around the tricky green to finish with a seven!
Unlike some pros, Hirst still plays the course regularly. But over the years he has always found time to help Dewsbury’s promising young players, having brought a host of them through the junior ranks over the decades.
His latest protégé is James Ward who has worked alongside him for over three years. In October he will turn professional and start taking his PGA exams.
Almost 40 years on Hirst’s enthusiasm for the game and his job remains as great as ever. He’s already looking forward to defending his Alliance title.
He added: “It will be more of the same for me, I will still be working as hard as ever and looking after my customers. I absolutely still have the enthusiasm for the job. Things are always changing and you have to stay ahead of the game.”
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