Growing up only a few hundred yards from Rossdale Golf Club- located just outside the famous Sand Belt area of Melbourne- meant one thing. Practice. I practiced a lot in my formative years.

Not only did I spend 10-12 hours a day at the course in an effort to improve,  I loved it. I truly loved practicing.

I sometimes slept in a tent on the driving range having the birds or the grounds crew mowers wake me up at first light so I could be first there to dust the dew off the grass. Call me dedicated or stupid but I was infatuated with golf and learning how to control the ball and get it into the hole in as few a shots as possible.

Do you expect results because you put the work in? Do results come from loving what you do? It's a question for any form of life- not just golf.

How do you practice? Are you practicing to improve and practicing because you love it OR are you practicing because society says you have to if you want to become better. It may not sound much of a difference but there is a unjumpable chasm stuck in between those two ideals.

Read more: Practice For The Good- Not Just The Bad

Golf- particularly professional golf- is having a tough run at the moment.

Players are being called for penalties that are probably a bit harsh and have no bearing on the result of the shot. Players have been disqualified from events for temper tantrums. Guys are having to contort themselves into a praying mantis position just to drop their ball back into play. And now we have the ugliness of slow play again rear it's early head.

No matter how many hours are in a day the tortoise like play at yesterday's Genesis Open.. damn I hate calling it that (lets name it properly) -The Los Angeles Open presented by Genesis- the golfers would have had a hard time finishing before dark.

Plumb bobbing one foot putts. Reading green books to determine break rather than using instinct. Flag in- whoops hang on the next guy wants the flag out. All made the final round a real snoozefest for the viewer.

I always thought if I was going to miss it, I may as well miss it quick. Al Czervik of Caddyshack fame would've lost his voice yelling out at players "Come on while we're young" if he was at Riviera Country Club this weekend.

Read more: A Slow Game Is A Bad Game

A number of years ago I started writing down my recollections of my life in golf.

Whilst laid out in book form there is no real desire to write the book in it's entirety, more just something my kids can have one day.

I thought I would share the chapter about my early life in golf. Everyone has a start in their chosen career. Here's mine... Enjoy.

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I was recently looking at my first baby book that my mother had saved. She had penned some happenings from my early childhood. Besides the hair clipping and the family tree history I was interested to note that I received a set of clubs (probably only 2 plastic ones) for a gift for my first birthday. So I was no Tiger Woods at such an early age but I guess I was swinging a golf club much earlier than I could ever remember doing so.

It’s hard to believe that I have been travelling the world playing professional golf for a living for half my life. It only seems like yesterday that I was a participant in the 1982 Victorian Open being the youngest player to ever tee off in a major Australian PGA event on my 15^th birthday. That was my first big taste of golf on a stage and I wanted to do nothing else since that February 1982 date.

Read more: Beginnings In Golf- My Story

I stopped putting videos out on YouTube long ago as I wanted to give my followers even greater resources to building a better game.

And the perfect way to do that was to make better videos with more interesting insights and more in depth details on a members only site

Now you get more bang for your buck. Become a member at bradleyhughesgolf-members.com

Loaded with over 530 videos and articles  and growing monthly- all available to members only.

Every future new video will be posted here- the ONLY place you will find my new content.

I cover new topics and post videos relating to members questions.

Sign up now at Bradley Hughes Golf Members Site

Hi- allow me to introduce myself.

I am a golf course.

That little slice of heaven you trekked around when you were a youngster. You were captivated by my charm and challenge.

Initially my appearance changed solely with the seasons.

Sometimes I was green when the skies opened up and gave me the nourishment to bloom.

Sometimes I was brown when the summer heat parched my roots and made me thirsty.

I was your friend and sometimes your foe, but we both held no grudges.

I was that contouring, doglegging, hazard abound landscape that tested your physical and mental abilities on a daily basis.

Read more: Conversations With A Golf Course