WHEN strangers ask Mark Tickle what he does for a residing, the veteran professional normally replies: “I play golf. I adopted within the footsteps of Greg Norman.”
Whereas that will sound a tad conceited, it’s actually one hundred pc correct.
Certainly one of Tickle’s first jobs was as a storeman and packer in golf tools producer PGF’s Brisbane warehouse within the Nineteen Seventies. He changed a younger Greg Norman, who tossed the job in to pursue a taking part in profession that might see him develop into the world’s No 1 golfer.
Tickle, too, grew to become knowledgeable golfer. And, whereas he by no means reached the heights of the two-time Open champion, Tickle’s ardour for the sport was simply as sturdy, and his dedication to competing unmatched.
The left-hander is into his fifteenth season on Australia’s Legends Tour, proudly reporting that he’s No 48 on the all-time money-list, the legacy of taking part in almost 1000 occasions in opposition to Australia’s greatest 50-and-over golfers.
“I simply love the sport,” he says. “I’ve been taking part in since I used to be eight and I reckon I’d play on daily basis if I might.
“Golf is the final word problem. It’s you in opposition to your self,” he stated. “You’ll be able to play by yourself, in opposition to your mates, and probably in opposition to the very best gamers on this planet.
“It’s very tough sport. In tennis you could have a racquet, in hockey a stick and in cricket a bat. However in golf you could have a driver, a putter, a 4 iron, a seven iron, a sand iron and so forth – and you’ve got to have the ability to grasp all of them.
“And no two holes are the identical. A cricket pitch and a tennis courtroom are mainly the identical, however in golf you’re confronted with one thing completely different each time you play.
“It’s a sport you’ll by no means grasp, however you retain coming again as a result of you understand there’s at all times an opportunity you possibly can exit and do higher than you probably did the day earlier than.”
Mark Tickle continues to be eager to compete on the PGA Legends Tour.
Tickle’s golf profession is extraordinary. He grew up in Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, and have become a junior member of the outdated Tewantin-Noosa Golf Membership, throughout the road from his house.
It was a nine-hole monitor then, and he remembers in the future taking part in the course seven occasions.
He performed pennants for Virginia Golf Membership in Brisbane, practiced with fellow members Wayne Grady and Greg Norman, made the state junior and senior newbie groups, and turned skilled on the age of 28.
Tickle spent a yr at Caboolture Golf Membership earlier than campaigning on the Canadian Tour with fellow Aussies Terry Value and Richard Backwell – lifelong friends and now rivals on the Legends Tour.
When George Bell retired as head skilled at Noosa-Tewantin in 1990, Tickle utilized and was appointed to a job he would fill for the subsequent 30 years.
He grew to become closely concerned in retail. With former PGF workmate Gary Steer, Tickle fashioned Golf Gear Australia in 1999, a distribution firm which continues to provide golf merchandise and clothes to the Australian market.
He additionally established a shopping for community of a dozen golf professionals, from Cairns to Ballina. “I had contacts with producers and distributors everywhere in the world,” Tickle stated. “I’d purchase merchandise in bulk and break up them up with the group.”
Later, he based the Sunshine Coast retail outfit Gripped On Golf, which had retailers at Kawana and Noosa.
As of late, although, Tickle simply performs golf – on the Legends Tour and at The Glades, close to the place he now lives on the Gold Coast.
Once we spoke Tickle, 64, had simply accomplished the two-day Seniors Professional-Am at Hamner Springs Golf Membership on New Zealand’s South Island. He adopted a first-round 65 with a three-over 71 to complete tied eighth.
“The putter was superb for the primary spherical, however dissatisfied on the second day,” he stated.
Tickle is recovering from a nasty harm that final yr saved him out of golf for 3 months. “I used to be upstairs doing the washing,” he stated. “One of many sheets slipped and bought tangled with my ft. I attempted to step again however I misplaced steadiness and fell down 14 steps.”
He broke an ankle and a leg and defied docs’ recommendation by returning to the course after solely 11 weeks.
Tickle says he’s feeling match and properly, although he’s placed on 5kg throughout his lengthy interval of inactivity. He’s wanting ahead to the Legend Tour’s Victorian swing and decided to earn sufficient prizemoney to ensure his standing for the remainder of the yr.
He has no plans to retire, declaring he’ll carry on taking part in till he’s not in a position to swing a golf membership.
