WITH the golden boy of the golf world fallen off his pedestal I thought there was now a gap in the market for me to become the new young golf star, but if only I knew my birdies from my bogies.
But ah ha I thought! With a new driving range opening in Denbighshire I could achieve my dream of becoming the next Tiger Woods (minus the porn stars and Gillette deal).
The Free Press had been following the Llanfwrog Community Centre's application to bring a driving range to Ruthin since the beginning of the year when plans were finally passed in March and so I donned my Pringle jumper and headed down there.
It is hard to believe the dream has now finally hit the town after two years of lobbying it looks like a welcome asset to the landscape.
"Everyone has been impressed with the range, its quite an achievement," said Elwyn Edwards chairman of the centre.
The development cost nearly £150,000 and that is just the tip of the ice berg as Mr Edwards sees this as just the start, with hopes of bringing, cricket, football pitches and a bowling green to the centre.
What makes this driving range different from others is it also includes five putting greens so visitors are also able to go out and practice their short game, when others aren't practicing their long game of course though!
Facilities manager of the new range Brian Williams said it has already been attracting around 20 people a day and some of whom have never even seen a golf club.
But that is what the range is all about letting beginners like me enjoy something new especially in these winter months when outdoor sports are more used to being called off.
Brian said: "People can come in and hit the balls and we can show them how to stand and hold the club but beyond that they need to enjoy it, they're not under pressure."
Or you can get one of the many golf professionals on board who are now getting involved with the driving range and running lessons for all ages and abilities from the centre.
Step up local pro Richard Heginbotham, the man with 13 years of golf teaching behind him who was ready to take me from zero to hero and has been enjoying teaching a junior academy at the centre.
With my basket of 50 golf balls we set up camp at the training bay and I scanned the horizon, this was going to be my Everest.
Richard advised me to relax my stance and begin by just trying to hit the tee, even this proved quite difficult and my hopes of making it to the Ryder Cup seemed abit ambitious now.
Apparently I was using a seven iron golf club. Richard explained all the different types to me and what they do... it cleared up a life time up of wondering why my dad needed so many.
I was then ready to tackle actually hitting a golf ball and I was aiming for the first 50 yard marker.
After a few near misses I eventually reached a few feet infront of me, which only the ball collectors would probably appreciate!
I soon found it to be one of those sports that becomes very addictive as I was craving that sweet sounding smooth shot that Richard demonstrated so easily.
Tips on how to grip the club and how to place my hands did see an improvement in my shot, things were looking up for the Ryder Cup.
Richard then stepped it up a level as he soon realised I was one of those competitive types who could throw a tantrum at any minute if I didn't ace a new technique.
He began teaching me how to do a full golf swing taking the club over my head and exchanging my weight from side to side.
I must admit I looked really professional and I enjoyed the posing, I felt like one of those gold plated statues on trophies, now if only I could put it into practice.
Richard was a very encouraging teacher and assured me I had the basics down quite well, and even though I was not getting the distance just being able to aim in the right direction was barking up the right tree according to the pro.
I could have been left to play for hours and it was nice to be just be surrounded by the beautiful countryside and the calmness of nature, I recommend it as a great stress release.
Forget massages for your loved ones this Christmas it’s balls you want to be investing in and at under £5 for 100 your purse strings will feel relaxed too!
But beware don't be fooled by the fact that you are just standing on the spot, I advise a warm up and a few stretches beforehand as I realised the next day I had moved my muscles further than I had those balls.
I was still determined to get back out to the green though and dreamed about being able to impress my friends when we come to have a game of crazy golf... they won't know what has hit them, literally.
If you would like to know more about the driving range at Llanfwrog Community Centre or to book a spot contact Brian on 07753567406