Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Golf mad Matthew Chalmers has holed a hot job in the sun at the course where he learned to play the glorious game.
The 24-year-old replaces veteran professional David Park who taught him the finer aspects of the sport at the Awali Golf Club.
Park flew off earlier this week to take up a position as a club professional at a golf course near Glasgow, ironically the same city his protŽgŽ comes from.
Chalmers said: "It's really cool to come back to Awali where I first started playing the game. To say the club has done an awful lot for me is the understatement of the year ... it has done everything for me!
"It will be great to help out all the individuals who have helped me grow over the years and put something back into the club. I am hoping to get more kids involved as well and act as an example of what can be achieved.
"If it wasn't for the Awali Golf Club I don't know where I would be as it made me the person I am today. Golf is my life and I don't know what I would do without it.
"David started coaching me at the age of eight and, initially, I wasn't very good. Then I started playing again a couple of years later on a regular basis and that's when it stuck. I had a handicap of 18 and after I turned 15 my handicap was in the single digits until it dropped to four.
"I never thought I would end up working at the Awali Golf Club, it was quite surprising."
Chalmers had been working at the Abu Dhabi National Golf Club for the past year as a golf instructor for adults and juniors.
In November he decided to look for new opportunities to develop his passion and to be closer to his family.
He was also keen to compete in the Bahrain Open in March and get among the honours after entering the competition as a teenager.
"I rang up David when I arrived to see if he wanted to play a round of golf and that's when he told me he was leaving to fulfil his own dream and take on a venture in Scotland," Chalmers explained.
"As a result there would be a vacancy for a golf professional. I guess it was fate that brought me back here as it was simply meant to be some time off. I am really excited to be able to take up this opportunity. It will give me a chance to play more golf, coach and be closer to my parents."
Chalmers moved to Bahrain in 1992 at the age of five with his family, namely his dad Bill, a human resources trainer at BAPCO and a former Awali Golf Club secretary, his mum Carole and his sisters Rebecca, 23, Sarah, 18 and brother, Blair, 25.
Although the entire family plays golf, Matthew was the only Chalmers who wanted to make it as a professional.
He graduated from Birmingham University with a special degree in applied golf management studies and said: "I may be bias when I say this, but I believe golf is the best sport out there.
"It is all about competing with yourself really - what goes on between the ears. It teaches you ethics, morals, integrity and how to develop your social abilities. It really instills a lot of positive life lessons.
"I didn't start golfing to become a coach but over the years I fell in love with the sport and wanted to be more involved rather than just competing, so I took different jobs around the globe and have gained from every experience."
In 2007, at the age of 21, he worked at the Royal Guernsey Golf Club in the Channel Islands. It was his first job as a golfing professional teaching both adults and children.
"It's a lot of responsibility bringing up the juniors especially through the ranks - the way David brought me up," said Chalmers.
"I get a real buzz out of teaching and it's a good challenge. People really care about their golf as they spend hundreds of dinars on equipment, lessons and club memberships, so emotionally and financially they get really involved in it.
"If you have the ability to connect with somebody and help them get better at something, that's the best part.
"My goal has always been to secure a job back in the Middle East and now I have achieved that goal. I never wake up in the morning and think I don't want to go to work.
"I mean, what other job requires you to play in the sun wearing shorts and a polo shirt? I love my job and I love spreading the word of golf, especially to the young."
Val Jennings, Awali Golf Club publicity officer, said: We're delighted to have Matthew on board and honestly feel that we are very lucky to have him. He happened to be at the right place at the right time.
"I think the fact that he wants to put the time and effort into getting more youngsters into the club and the sport is wonderful."
