Post by Coach Ray

March 18th sees the release of Phantom of The Open across cinemas in the UK. Whether intentional or par hasard, the makers of the film have allowed us to unearth a bit of knowledge until now unbeknownst to most in the golfing community. In the movie, Ebenezer Eben-Spiff plays the role of Jim Howard, the first Black Brit PGA professional. Jim Howard took his tentative first steps in the game at Bootle Golf Club as a kid after an injury wrecked his hopes of playing for his beloved Liverpool FC. Howard’s first job in golf was with famous club-maker Jack Lovelock at Wyke Green in Middlesex. He enjoyed a successful career in golf after becoming the first black PGA professional with highlights including playing golf with Bob Hope as a young assistant at Wyke Green. Less memorably for Howard, he was also paired with the infamous crane driver Maurice Flitcroft, the Open qualifier invader and hopeless golfer who in 1976 forced the R&A into a hasty rethink on the entry criteria after he created carnage on the way to carding 49 over par. Hence the movie. Upon his retirement in 2005,  Howard received a personal letter from Tiger Woods who said, "it was thanks to people like myself that had opened the door for the likes of him to get into golf but coming from Liverpool it was just a question of if you are good enough you get on,” said Howard. “For me colour was never an issue, it’s all about how much work you are prepared to put in." Howard was based at Pontypool as club professional for 35 years having joined the paid ranks while in the army and served as a time as assistant pro at Wyke Green in London. He is the only man to have been captain and chairman of the West Region of the PGA at the same time. He has also been captain and chairman of the South Wales and Welsh PGA and served as a delegate on the committee of the PGA of Europe. The Professional Golfers'​ Association