Golf: Coach tells winner to slow it down

There is no reason for Jae An to rush into the professional ranks.

At just 16-years-of-age, Aaron Baddeley junior championship winner Jae An is being advised not to be in too big a rush to jump into the professional ranks.

The Rotorua Boys High School pupil enjoyed a seven-shot win at the prestigious tournament in Fiji last week and says he plans to finish year 13 and then assess whether he is ready to have a crack at turning professional.

But New Zealand Golf high performance manager Graeme Scott and Jae An's coach, Jay Davies, would both like to see him spend more time refining his game as an amateur.

Having seen several players win as amateurs then turn professional with little success, Scott and many other coaches believe that some youngsters have made the mistake of making the switch much too soon.

Scott says: "I guess what it comes down to is that we can offer as much advice, but ultimately any decision will be down to Jae and his family. He's only 16 and still has a lot to learn. The decision to turn professional is not just about golf, there are many other factors to consider about a player.

"One of the youngest to turn professional was Eddie Lee. He was a leading amateur but is finding it tough on the professional tour."

Scott's caution is also partly fuelled by reasonably fresh memories of An really struggling with his game earlier this year.

An was in the depths of despair in the early part of this year as his form slumped, draining him of confidence. But a frank conversation with Davies brought him back from the brink. Davies's advice was categorical - take advice from fewer people, spend more time away from the course and keep things simple.

"Everyone wanted a piece of him," says Davies. "Not in a bad way, he was just getting a lot of welll-intentioned advice. I was not getting a lot of contact with him at first and I felt his mind was getting quite cluttered. He's got a tendency to fiddle - to read something and then try it out. We went back to basics and focused on his alignment and grip.

"He hits a lot of balls and I felt he needed to get continuity in his practice and that he also needed to stop putting so much pressure on himself and get more balance in his life.

"Things improved quickly and he started shooting much better scores. I was not surprised at all to see him win in Fiji. That has been coming for a while now."

An will play in several tournaments in the lead up to Easter, including the New South Wales Amateur and New Zealand Under-23 championship.