Tricky Business from World Golf Trick Shot Champion Geoff Swain
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Almost a decade has passed since the world’s finest performers last battled it out for the title of World Golf Trick Shot Champion. Geoff Swain won the title back in 2006, and is still the reigning champion. Nine years since the win, Today’s Golfer caught up with him to see where the trick shot journey has taken him.
It was one afternoon on the driving range that sparked Geoff’s career, watching the trick shots of former European Tour Professional Noel Hunt. He thought it looked like a good laugh, so gave it a try and hasn’t looked back since. His trick shot show was soon in demand at large scale events, with Polo Ralph Lauren ensuring he would be seen by the crowds at the Volvo PGA at Wentworth, and then the Smurfit European Open in 2005.
The World Golf Trick Shot Championship in 2006 gave Geoff the title that he still holds today; “Not having a championship since 2006 has been a great result for me! Although I am sure we will get everyone back together at some stage, it was great fun!” He fought off other esteemed trick shot performers to finish top of the leaderboard.
“It was the chip and drive that really won the championship for me, which I only conjured up about fifteen minutes before I went on stage to compete. If it worked then it was a winner, if not I would have made a gag out of it. My good friend Jez Tomlinson chipped the ball from behind me, and as it came past me on the fly I took it out of the air with my driver!”
The chip and drive shot has now been repeated on numerous occasions, and most probably came to fame when Geoff filmed a promotional video for Cobra Puma with Ian Poulter. Two young American’s filmed themselves trying it on a driving range in the USA, their video went viral and prompted Sky Golf and BT Sport to have a go too.
“Hopefully I have helped to make the game a little bit more interesting, encouraging youngsters to pick up a golf club when perhaps they wouldn’t have thought about the sport previously.”
In 2007, a year after the championships, Geoff went into business with two partners and they acquired The Bedford Golf Club. An American style links course, (which Geoff tells us is a bit of a weird concept!) it boasts USGA specification tees and greens alongside fantastic drainage, which means the course is in great condition all year round. The sweeping driveway through Great Denham Golf Village creates a memorable first impression, “I still love the drive into the club, and the taxi ride out!” says Geoff. “I was there daily for the first few years, but we now have fantastic staff that run the club really well. I’m travelling more than ever so it’s great to know the club is in better hands when I’m away than when I’m at home!”
Geoff’s show, called Golf Unplugged, is full of fun, mind blowing golf trick shots, audience participation and fantastic banter. It is all about golf, but it’s a show, and a very funny one. Geoff’s interaction delights audiences large and small, and he has become a master of adapting his show to overcome any language barrier. Not only are you guaranteed a visual feast of inspiring golf shots, Golf Unplugged is interactive, educational, and totally enthralling.
Geoff regularly performs his trick shot show at golf club, prestigious tournaments, and corporate events. He has had the fortune to meet, perform with, and interview some of the sports greatest characters and golfers (such as Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Paul McGinley and Colin Montgomerie).
“Gary Player was probably my most memorable interview. It was at his Invitational at Wentworth, and I was told I had three minutes with him after Mark Roe had interviewed him for Sky Golf. Waiting in the wings whilst Roe finished up, I was nervous but three minutes would be no problem, I planned to ask him about the charity which his event was in aid of. Roe comes out, acknowledges me and Players assistant says ‘right there you go, thirty minutes and that’s all you’ve got!’… Thirty minutes?? I thought I only had three!”
“Player was so engaging he made the thirty minutes a breeze. Immediately after the interview I phoned my dad as Gary Player was one of his heroes. I can’t tell you what his reply was… he was so excited!”
Geoff’s ‘master stroke of an interview’, as he puts it, was with Jeff Stelling, Phil Thompson, Matt Le Tisier and Paul Merson from Soccer Saturday. Following a successful golf day, the four football pundits all sat waiting for questions, and Geoff’s master stroke was to ask Stelling the first question, “Jeff, what is it like to work with the guys beside you?” Well he was off, and Geoff ended up just sitting in his chair for the remainder of the evening.
“The silliest question I have ever asked was probably to Paul Lawrie, Peter Hanson and Eduardo Molinari at Gleneagles following the Ryder Cup, and I’m surprised I managed to get away unscathed! All of the grandstands were still up, and a Pro-Am was underway with the players from 4Sports. I came out with “Don’t you think it would be great for the game, and the Ryder Cup, if America won the next one?” TG isn’t surprised to hear it went bizarrely quiet after that.
“I’ve also interviewed Hank Haney on Tiger Woods, and Bernhard Gallacher had me hanging on his every word about his experiences in the Ryder Cup. Three times a non-playing captain, eight times a player. Just Brilliant!”
“I guess after learning a lot from those experiences I decided to introduce after dinner speaking to my golf days and related events. So now I perform my trick shot show, and then host the evening presentations too. It seems to work!” With clients like Audi regularly asking him to appear for their Quattro Cup tournaments, it’s obvious that his talents lie in both on and off course events.
Over the past three years Geoff has partnered with his good friend Kevin Carpenter, and they perform together as the Golf Trick Shot Boys. It’s a trick show double act, with Kevin hitting shots from a unicycle and standing on an exercise ball, and Geoff intercepting golf balls mid-air after jumping off a ladder (even though he’s afraid of heights!). “It really has taken trick shot golf to a new level as there is so much more you can do with two people. Especially when you have different skill sets as Kevin and I do.”
The Golf Trick Shot Boys have been fortunate enough to perform at prestigious tour events such as the HSBC Championships in Abu Dhabi and The Volvo World Matchplay, and they have just returned from appearing at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and Waste Management Pheonix Open. He is currently in the throws of editing trick footage from his time at Amendoeira with Oceanico, and when we asked what was up next, it was evident the only way forward for Geoff is up.
“The next stop is the Volvo China Open in April, and then back home for summer shows in the UK. We’ve already had a booking for the USA for 2016, and it’s great because we just keep thinking of new things to do.”
Geoff’s journey since the World Golf Trick Shot Championship has been fantastic. He has been travelling all over the world and meeting new people in places that he would never have had the opportunity to see if it wasn’t for his trick shots. One thing’s for sure, travelling the world and mucking about with a golf club and ball makes for a pretty good job!
Geoff doesn’t see a downside to what he does, although he misses his family when he is away. He loves his job, but when he finds himself falling off ladders instead of jumping from them, what will he be doing?
“Propping up the bar at The Bedford Golf Club boring everyone with my stories!”
You can see more from Geoff and the Trick Shot Boys on their social media channels.
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