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Juan Manuel Fuentes Perez is hoping to drive the sport of golf forward in the kingdom by persuading young boys and girls to take up the game and shoot Bahrain back to the top of the regional leaderboards,
The former Royal Golf Club (RGC) teaching professional is now the Bahrain Golf Association (BGA) national team coach, in charge of more than 35 talented players across numerous teams including adults and juniors.
The 32-year-old, from Algeciras in Spain’s famous Costa del Sol, believes that in the next three-to-five years Bahrain will return to the level of success it formally enjoyed and has taken significant steps to entice youngsters to play the game with clinics in malls and the offering of lessons.
He said: “We’ve started a junior programme as we really want to focus on getting kids, both male and female, playing this wonderful game. So if any youngsters from Bahrain are interested, they join a couple of times a week and learn the basics and techniques which will hopefully spur them on to take the game further.
“I’m delighted to be working with the national team, and I can’t wait to get us back to where we belong as soon as possible. We were the leaders in the sport across the GCC for a long time and have won the most tournaments in the region. With the talent we have now, I believe this is possible, but there are always more players to be found!”
Perez met the late, great Seve Ballesteros at a young age and also counts Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods as his main influences. Although more interested in football and water sports in his early years, Perez’ golf-mad family used to drag him round the course, and gradually he fell in love with the game himself.
He started playing properly at the age of 10 when he joined the junior tournaments in his local area and went on to become a four-time winner of the Andalusian Professional Golf Tour, the Spanish region of his birth.
He explained: “Like every golfer, I originally wanted to be a Tour Pro. That was the dream. However, it’s very difficult to get there as you can imagine! I dedicated myself to competitions and won a couple of times, advancing to the European Tour qualifying rounds, but didn’t quite make the cut.
“Luckily, I was always partially coaching while playing, both students and other pros. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to carry on with this full time.”
He was offered the role of the club teaching professional at the RGC in 2015 before stepping into his BGA role earlier this year. Now, he trains his adult charges from as early as 7am in the morning, before coaching the juniors throughout the afternoon before the seniors return in the evening.
“It’s a hectic life, but it’s extremely rewarding,” he added.
Perez also wants to dispel some of the misconceptions about the sport, such as the long-standing belief that you have to be a member to play at the RGC or spend vast amounts of money on equipment.
He explained: “It simply isn’t true; in Bahrain, golf is accessible to everyone and the RGC’s doors are always open, as is the wonderful Awali Golf Club. I would love to see more Bahraini people playing golf, especially kids.
“I’d hate to think that these myths are the things stopping kids from playing golf, or the cause of their parents dissuading them. Yes, golf isn’t as cheap as buying a football and that’s it, but you don’t need the very best equipment or even a full set of clubs if you’re a junior just wanting to learn.
“So please, if you have any interest, look at joining a club or one of our programmes and see how you get on. To reach the highest level, the standards are tough and you have to be serious, but it’s the most rewarding sport in the world in my opinion.”
