Get to know Sion Bebb!

What you didn't know about Sion Bebb - Pro marks 7-year anniversary at Morlais Castle.

We sat down with the former European Tour player on his anniversary at the club to find out how he came to ply his trade in the historic Glamorgan hills.

Sion Bebb feels his seven years as head professional have "flown by". When he first applied for the role, he had never visited before, but was stunned by the quality of the course, the views overlooking Glamorgan and by how endearing the club's community was from the off.

From playing on the European Tour just a few years before, it was certainly a change of pace.

Life on Tour

Sion has faced of the pressure of playing alongside Lee Westwood when coming fourth in the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. There, he was only two shots off winning and recorded an eight under which earned him the lowest round of the tournament. Quite the achievement, considering the location atop a mountain, where the course was comparable to a ski slope.

This was one of many special golfing moments when he played competitively, another being his Challenge Tour win in Wales, 2006. Another jewel to his crown, he recalled somehow producing his best golf when arriving late and having not played for two weeks.

"They put me out last, and I hadn't even seen the golf course before. And I won the tournament - what does that mean, you know?". He had been so tired on that Thursday that by the time he was playing he was barely thinking about his golf.

Sion's second daughter had been born just two days before, and he capped it all off on the Sunday by celebrating his eldest daughter's birthday. A truly special week.

At one time, golf was the sport Sion was least likely to take up. Despite his childhood garden backing onto the local course, golf was of the last sports that he tried, focusing on football and rugby instead. His father, Dewi, was a winger for the national rugby side and golf wasn't among his talents - "he was more nervous on the first tee of a Pro-Am than he was playing in front of 50,000 people at The Arms Park".

Starting out

His brother, however, became a golf professional, and the opportunity for Sion arose to become an assistant professional and earn his stripes. This was at the age of 17, and it wasn't until Sion completed his apprenticeship and met his wife in his mid-twenties that he really started to get "in gear" and improve his golf.

The tide fully turned the day after he turned professional, when he played his last game of rugby. From thereon, he persevered through regional golf competitions, until he made the Challenge Tour. He eventually got his first Tour card at 36.

In 2002, Sion decided to solely focus on playing, having competed alongside his role as a teaching professional. Perhaps, he now concedes, he could have started working harder to improve his ability from a younger age - he used to believe it would all come naturally.

In reality, he attributed his growth to a good work ethic along with a healthy, competitive spirit and desire to better himself that anyone could achieve.

The Morlais Castle community

By 2011, Sion was looking to return to the role of a coaching pro. A lot had changed in his ten years as a professional player. Sion admits that when he took the role at Morlais Castle in 2014, it was a leap of faith; "I had no idea how it was going to go". Luckily, he bonded with the locals, who he described as a "different breed" in a pleasant way - no prejudice, open-minded and easy to get on with.

"They took to me straight away, as well, so it wasn't difficult. It was just a question of the business and getting things right."

The Sion Bebb Invitational held last July at the end of the lockdown is testament to the club's great community spirit. The members backed the idea and helped to get over 100 entrants, including professional players, some of Wales' best lady amateurs and European Tour winner, Bradley Dredge.

"That was a proud moment, getting a few of the members involved." Their work undoubtedly made the event possible, which is a great example of why Sion thinks of so highly of the community.

Even after this time, he feels the club is growing steadily and is still excited with what future holds. Sion was not able to celebrate his seventh anniversary in January as he would've hoped due to the current lockdown, but to him idea of returning to early-morning coaching, hosting the club competitions and getting involved in Pro-Am rounds at Morlais Castle GC is satisfying enough.

Now building on the ability to advertise his services and products through Foremost, he hopes his recent focus on renovating the shop will result in a fruitful year for both business and the club community.

"I hope [the members] can see little things can make the difference. The staff have been working every day to prepare for the return."

Sion wanted to end by letting people know he's very thankful for their support during the recent tough times, and excited to get people back playing as soon safe and possible.

If you would like to book a lesson with Sion when we're able to return to golf, let him know by clicking below.