The Future of Golf is Alive and Well in St. Lucia!

My name is Peter Trevor David, a United States Golf Teachers Federation and International PGA golf teaching professional with 27 years experience. In 1979 my father passed away, which was a shock to my family, he being the only breadwinner. It made life very difficult, so at the age of 12 decided to find a way to help my mother with my two younger sisters and went looking for some kind of employment. But, being 12 at the time, no one wanted to hire me, so I decided to go find a caddy job part-time at the Cunard Hotel Golf Course, which was only minutes away from my home. The professional there at the time was from Great Britain and he gave me a test in math and English, which I passed. He then offered me a position as a caddy, which was the beginning of change in my life, leading me to become a golf professional certified by the USGTF and the International PGA to date. In 1982 the transformation began when Stuart Woodman, the pro, called me into his pro shop and asked me to caddy for some VIP named Nigel Mansell, who I found out afterwards was a Formula 1 race car driver. As a caddy, I was able to carry the bags of many VIPs such as Nancy Lopez, Frank Carson, members of the band A-Ha, and many others. I eventually became Stuart’s assistant and he trained me like I was his own son. I was sent to the UK to train with other professional friends of Stuart’s every year in the summer, which exposed me to bigger golf courses and a change of climate to experience. In 1986 Stuart left, and I became the golf course manager and head pro, and in 1990 I was offered a job to manage a golf course in Torino, Italy, called Golf Club Igerasolli. In 1992 while on vacation in St. Lucia, I was offered the job to revamp the then-called Cap Estate Golf Course, and also to re-create an atmosphere which no longer existed at that facility, which had lost all its members due to the conditions and lack of golf course maintenance. I took up the responsibility, and within three months had the club up and running and had members returning and paying their memberships once again, as well as bringing in new members, which gave me the chance to give many golf lessons. Presently, I am setting up the island’s first golf academy, which officially opens on July 2 this year. I also have a program that started on May 4 for the less fortunate children in St. Lucia, to help create new opportunities and to help transform the youngsters into productive citizens. My dream as a West Indian professional golfer is to take golf to the ones who believed it was not possible, and being endorsed by the IPGA and the WGTF, I know that the sky is the limit.