2014 – 2017 DANIEL HAWKINS
2018 – 2019 MICHAEL CRITCHER
Dan started golf at the age of 11, quickly fell in love with the game and reduced his handicap from 28 to 8 within the first three seasons. At 16, he decided that his career lay in golf and left school to attend Merrist Wood Golf College. He finished with top marks in the academic diploma and a set of excellent golfing results, including winning the student order of merit in his first year. Dan started part time at Blue Mountain Golf Club, turned professional just weeks after his 18th birthday and moved to Castle Royle Golf & Country Club as assistant professional. He completed his PGA training via a degree in professional golf at the University of Birmingham. At 21, Dan joined the professional team at Badgemore Park. He spent two years as assistant professional before taking on the head professional role at the age of just 23. Two years on, Dan was promoted to director of golf
at the club, and at the age of just 27, took on yet more responsibility as assistant general manager with responsibility for the majority of operations at Badgemore Park. Dan left Badgemore in September 2018 to become general manager at Sherfield Oaks Golf Club. After 12 months of reviving the club’s performance, the Crown Golf CEO asked him to take on its most exclusive club, Batchworth Park Golf Club. Based on excellent results, Dan became one of three senior GMs within Crown Golf, overseeing five clubs within the group. In January 2022, Dan returned to where his professional career started, now as general manager at Castle Royle Golf and Country Club, where he manages a team of more than 90 staff and a membership made up of 750 golfers and 3,000 health club members.
Soon after leaving secondary school in 2008, Michael went straight into the golfing world with a job at Bearwood Golf Club. There he became the professional’s assistant, gaining over five years of experience in the golfing industry while acting as the junior organiser. In April 2014, Michael moved to Badgemore Park Golf Club as an assistant PGA professional to start his PGA training – passing in 2017. After three successful years as the assistant, Michael was given the opportunity to become the head PGA professional. Although Michael looked after the whole golf side of the business, his main passion was for coaching and in 2019 he made the move to Hennerton to focus on that aspect of the profession. Michael regularly competes on the PGA South Region and BB&O circuit, playing a mix of individual events and pro-ams, achieving a number of top 10 finishes as well as a win at the BB&O PGA Henley Pro-Am in 2018.
ABOVE: DANIEL HAWKINS BELOW: MICHAEL CRITCHER
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