Golfer Park happy to give up Tour

David Park joined the Herefordshire Golf Club aged 10

Former Herefordshire golf professional David Park said he has no regrets about giving up playing on the European Tour.

Park, 34, has taken on a full-time role as the charity executive of the Tour Players Foundation since giving up the game earlier in the year.

Park told BBC Hereford & Worcester: "My enthusiasm for playing Tour golf had dropped and my form suffered, so my enthusiasm diminished even more.

"I was struggling for a good 18 months to two years."

He added: "It was something of a Catch 22 situation and I was slow to realise what was going on.

"At the end of last year I realised it was time to move on and my new job has given me a fantastic opportunity."

Park took up the game after watching his father play at the age of six.

I thought I might miss it when I got off the course but I knew I had made the right decisions as I had no hunger pains to get out and play

David Park

After a steady climb through the amateur ranks he turned professional after representing Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1997.

"When I played, I tried to do as much as I could for local charities and things I was interested in," he added.

"The job is a lot different to playing, which is nice when you are playing well.

"You get up in the morning, you are your own boss, and you decide what to do, although it's tough when you are struggling. So it's nice to have a line manger to answer to."

Park made an astonishing start to his European Tour career back in 1999.

He was edged out in a play-off in Morocco in his first event, then won the second - the European Grand Prix at Slaley Hall.

However, in recent years his standard slipped and at the age of 34, he decided to retire from professional golf.

"I don't miss the golf and the travelling," he said. "But I did have a panic attack in Italy on the way to the course form the airport and realised I hadn't got any clubs.

"I thought I might miss it when I got off the course but I knew I had made the right decisions as I had no hunger pains to get out and play."