Peter Finch’s Visit to Hawarden Golf Club Draws Huge Crowd
One of golf’s most influential YouTubers recently visited a North Wales-based golf club as part of a special head-to-head series for his channel.
Peter Finch, who boasts more than 650,000 subscribers on YouTube, played Hawarden Golf Club’s head professional Alex Rowland during the Welsh leg of his quest to face club professionals in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in the same week.
The match, which was filmed for Finch’s channel, drew more than 150 spectators.
“It was all a bit surreal,” said Alex.
“Many of the people watching were Hawarden members. Some of my family from Liverpool came to watch, my brother came up from South Wales, and my wife Becky was there too. It was great.
“Peter wanted the spectators to be really close to us as we were playing to add some atmosphere for his video.
“I played in front of more at Open Final Qualifying at Dunbar in the early 1990s, but I’ve never had spectators so close. I felt like I was in a goldfish bowl at times, but I really enjoyed it,” added the 54-year-old, who lives in Mold.
“I felt like there was a little bit of extra pressure on me with it being my home course.
“The wind was really strong and made it so tough to score well. It was like a three or four club wind.
“The last hole, for example, is 170 yards long and was only a wedge because the wind was behind.
“Without there being any real quality, the match was always close and exciting. We both made a few silly mistakes, but it was great fun.
“It was just nice to play in front of so many of the Hawarden members and for them to see I don’t just sell Mars bars!”
A Chance to Boost the Club’s Profile
Finch, who was heading to Holyhead to catch a ferry to Ireland after the match, had reached out a few weeks earlier to find Welsh professionals willing to take up the challenge.
Hawarden’s chairman of marketing, Ian Dunning, saw the opportunity as a great way to raise the Flintshire club’s profile.
“We had fellow YouTuber The Average Golfer here a few years ago, and that was really well received, so Ian was keen to do something like that again.
“When he saw online that Peter was looking for a head-to-head challenge with a Welsh-based golf professional, he didn’t hesitate in putting my name forward,” explained Evertonian Alex.
“It was the first time I met Pete. He was a lovely guy and was really easy to talk to.
“He has such an advantage with his golf over people like me. His ball flight and the distance he carries it is ridiculous.
“To some extent, that didn’t really help him at Hawarden as it’s shorter and tighter than a lot of courses, so you don’t need to hit driver all the time.
“He seemed really impressed with the condition of the course.
“Our aim is to keep raising standards and keep raising our profile.
“The greens were absolutely immaculate on the day and have been for the past 12 months – even during the incredibly wet winter we had.
“We have worked really hard on the drainage and re-bunkering too, so now we are hoping the exposure will provide a real boost to visitor green fees.
“We may even pick up some new members too. Our green fee revenue has already shot up before the match has even been aired.
“The whole experience of being involved has been fantastic and one that I’ll never forget.
“I’m sure Pete enjoyed it and got what he wanted from the day, and hopefully the club will prosper as a result too.”
Header photo courtesy of Hawarden Golf Club.
