Meet our professionals : Surbiton Golf Club

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20 February 2019

Meet our professionals

With a heritage stretching back to 1895 you might expect us to have attracted some great Professionals who complement the competitive and social ethos of the club. Today we have three genuinely warm, helpful and skilled professionals to help members.

We are also proud to say that one of our former Assistant Pros went on to become Britain’s finest golfer of his generation, a Ryder Cup winning captain and BBC Sports Personality of the Year – Dai Rees. Just click on the tab below to find out more.

Paul Milton – Head Professional

Pro Our Club Professional, Paul Milton, who turned professional in 1968, has been attached to the Club since 1978 and has been awarded honorary membership by the Members in recognition of his long service and dedication to the Club.

Over the years Paul has won such events as the Surrey Assistants' Championship, the Hertfordshire Assistants' Championship, the Surrey Club Professional Championship, the Surrey Open Championship, and the Southern PGA Championship and remains a regular competitor in Professional & Pro-Am events regionally & nationally.

With a breadth of coaching experience, including teaching golf on the hallowed turf at Harrow School and teaching pupils from schools such as Merrimount International and Merchant Tailors, Paul, together with his assistants, provides welcoming, relaxed and high quality tuition to club members and visitors, with a variety of lesson packages for individuals and groups alike.

Martin Rathbone – Head Teaching Professional

pro Martin has over 30 years of experience in the golf industry and is renowned for his professional, friendly and relaxed coaching style. Having always worked hard on his own game, Martin has watched, discussed, and studied the complexities of golf with some of the best instructors in the country.

Students currently on his programme cover all ages and abilities; the youngest is 7 years old and the oldest well into “Super Seniors”! He’s equally at home coaching fellow PGA members and even European Tour players as with absolute beginners who have never picked up a club.

Martin will help any golfer to understand their own swing and therefore to some extent be self-correcting when on the course. The one thing he does crave is for everybody to enjoy his coaching and get genuine value for money. It is this philosophy that has gained him a great reputation as a sought-after golf coach.

So if you are not playing well or just want to hone you’re game, give Martin a call. Mobile: 07958 785326 Shop: 020 8398 3101 opt3 Email: martin@martinrathbone.co.uk

Dai Rees

Perhaps the most famous Professional golfer associated with the Club was David (Dai) Rees who was assistant to Jim Coleman over the period 1934 – 1938 and a Ryder Cup winning Captain in 1957.

Dai showed his talent while at Surbiton by winning two consecutive PGA Assistants’ Championships. He went on to have a prolific career which includes the following achievements:

The Open: he recorded 14 top 15 finishes including: 2nd 1961, 2nd= 1953, 1954, 3rd= 1950, 4th= 1946, 9th= 1959 & 1960, 11th 1936, 12th 1939, 12th= 1951, 13th= 1938 & 1956, 14th= 1958, 15th= 1948.

Ryder Cups: Nine appearances – four as Captain 1937, 1939 (Team was picked but did not play due to WWII), 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953. Playing Captain 1955, 1957, 1959 & 1961. Non-Playing Captain 1967. He led the team to a famous win in 1957.

Matchplay Championship: he had four wins in 1936, 1938, 1949 and 1950 and was runner up three times in 1953, 1967 and 1969.

European Tour wins including: The Irish Open, The British Masters twice, Belgian Open, Swiss Open three times, South African PGA Championship, British PGA Championship, Swiss Open and the PGA Seniors Championship.

In 1957 he became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and a year later was awarded a CBE.