A PROFESSIONAL WITH AN UNBELIEVABLE TRACKRECORD AND A PASSION TO MATCH

I have been a teacher at a University in Holland for several years. I was teaching young adults the skills of how to become a business manager based on my personal experience. Having been a business manager and trying to bring across and the skills required are two different things.

I stumbled in to golflessons by Stephen Pullan by accident. My wife had taken lessons and she was excited about his lessons because after playing golf for over 40 years and achieving a handicap of 18 Stephen found the space there always is in golf to improve yourself.

What I normally do before making an important decision that involves the support of professionals I would scan the market of available professionals. I would have chosen 3 of 4 pro´s and I would have scheduled one lesson each to determine if there was a click and to determine if these lessons met my expectations. I did nothing of the above and I plunged in to lessons by Stephen, just because my Lilian said he was a pleasant guy and he had a sharp eye on how she could improve her skills. Sometimes your lucky and you make the right choice even without due dilligence.

So here I was, sitting across my golf pro fort the last 3 months doing an interview and gathering the facts that should have been important for my choice to choose him from the start. The information Stephen provided to me were overwelming. I am now sure than ever that I have choosen the perfect pro for me to help me become a better golfplayer.

To grasp what makes Stephen stand out you have to go back several decades to Leeds in the UK. Not the year 1981 when he and his identical twinbrother Mark were born, but only 6 years later in 1987. The father of 2 twin boys, had bought a property in Leeds next door to an abandoned Golfcourse, that was ready to be developed into an area where new houses would be build. Such a project takes years and the developer made the choice to develop 6 holes at al later date and these holes were allowed to me overgrown and used by locals to walk their dogs. This is where the golf carreer of the twins Stephen and Mark started: playing golf while trying not to step into golf poop.

The twins were very young but they shared an ambition. They wanted to improve their Golf skills at a very early age. They actually started practising on the old Moor Allerton course which was next to Moortown, the golfclub that hosted the first famous Ryder Cup in 1929.

In 1984 at the age of 12 both twins became a member of the Sandmoor Leeds Golfclub and their father joined the passion of his twins and started playing golf aswell. He achieved a handicap of19 which is recommendable but in 1987 as the age of 15 Stephens handicap had dropped to 0. Lots of tournaments followed such as the Daily Express Tournement in 1988. Both twins excelled in the early ninetees even qualifying for the British Open in1992 and 1994. Between 1994 and 2006 the wins both played on the European Tour and Challenge Tours travelling all over Europe, Africa an America.

Stephen met Katie in 1997 and In 2007 Stephen was offered a pro job in Italy and he and his wife moved to Italy. The Italy adventure was not a success and they returned tot he UK where Stephen worked as a pro untill 2018. Both Stephen and Kathy knew Andalusia from previous holidays and decided to make Calahonda their new home and Miraflores Golf the place to thare his golfskills with his students.

Both of them never looked back and still value their decision: The life style in Spain is pleasant, the wheather is nice and all you need is available just around the corner.

I am eager to understand what brings him fullfillment at the age 54. Is he still committed to improving his own game or has his focus shifted to teaching others? I could have known what his answer was going to be: why not have 2 passions that drive you at the same time. In 2025 he won 2 Tournaments in Spain and Austria. Stephen is also entering a tournament for golfers over the age of 50 and in July 2026 we will know if he sercured a place by being picked as 1 or 4 out of a group of 100.

Stephen his not a person to blow his own horn. You need to draw the information he should proud of with a shoffle. So here is one: How many Holes In One did you make during your golf carreer? He immediately remembers the first one in 1986. He was given a ball by Paul Way and used it to score his first hole in one. Stephen was 14 years old at the time. 8 more holes in one would follow during the years after that.

Another question: Both you and your brother through your accomplishments in Golf put Sandmoor Leads on the map. Did they ever thank you both? Indeed they have is answer. In 2016 me and my brother both became honorary members for life.

In closing I come back the lessons I have received sofar. What makes him a good coach? Another clear answer: I have had many great coaches in the past and if you hang around people like that, you may become one yourself.

How do you compare yourself to all the other pro´s available in this region?

´A Good pro should have knowledge, skills and experience´. I have been there in the past myself for whatever challenge a golfstudent is facing. I am able to relate to that.  Furthermore it is my conviction that being a golfpro should be based on the love for the sport. Sometimes I see golfpro´s who have taken on the job after not being able well enough during tournaments themselves. Frustration about accomplishments will never lead to a sound and satisfactory foundation for another carreer.