With outstanding results both in his playing and education performance, Boyd has been selected as the 2020 Trainee Professional of the Year after deciding to pursue a passion for coaching and postpone the prospect of becoming a touring professional.

Having played his junior golf at Toukley Golf Club on the Central Coast, Boyd moved to the South Coast of New South Wales with fellow first-year trainee Danielle Vasquez three years ago and continued to excel in amateur tournaments.

The Australian Amateur medallist in 2018, Boyd has been working casually in the pro shop at Kiama before embarking on the membership pathway program under Toby McGeachie at the start of 2020.

McGeachie and fellow PGA Professional Elle Sandak have instituted a flourishing junior program at Kiama and it is an area in which Boyd has found himself passionately drawn to.

“I was lucky at Toukley Golf Club to come through a great junior program under John Lewis and Trent Wieland,” he says.

“We had a great bunch of juniors and they had that at Kiama too because of Elle and Toby but they were dropping off a little bit. They were getting to a certain age and then not hanging out at the golf club anymore.

“We’ve tried to develop a tiered junior program with holiday clinics and then into a development program on a Saturday.

“That’s the most rewarding part, just sharing some of my knowledge with those juniors and seeing them having a great time and enjoying the game. That’s the most rewarding aspect.”

With an academic score of 90.64 Boyd topped all first-year trainees in the educational component of the pathway program, which is perhaps not surprising given his family background.

Boyd’s mother is a teacher and comes from a family of teachers so the importance of education has been impressed upon him from an early age.

“Education has always been something that has been important to my mum and her family so that was passed on to me,” explains Boyd, who achieved a HSC score in the high 80s and began studying psychology at Macquarie University.

“I started doing a psychology degree but I wasn’t really enjoying it and I just love golf so much so I decided to get into the traineeship.

“Even though I had put the books down for 12 months to play a lot of amateur golf, once I got back into the rhythm of studying again and stayed on top of it it wasn’t too bad.”

Boyd’s playing highlights over the past 12 months include a win at the Brighton Lakes Trainee Match, a tie for fifth at the Rich River Classic and a strong showing in elite company at the Murray Open at Corowa Golf Club in February.

It raises the possibility of pursuing playing opportunities in Japan or Europe at the completion of his traineeship… and why his relationship with Danielle is one of mutual understanding.

Based at Shellharbour Golf Club, Danielle herself has enjoyed an outstanding first year as a trainee and Boyd conceded that while their schedules don’t always match up for study sessions, sharing the journey makes it even more rewarding.

“It’s such a busy commitment with 38 hours of working and a lot of time spent on your game but we do try to sit down and do the assignments at similar times,” Boyd explains.

“With the junior programs we both do that’s not always possible and you’ve got to use every single minute you’ve got to stay on top of it.

“Living in Kiama we have to travel a couple of hours each way most weeks to get to the events and if we weren’t both doing the same thing we wouldn’t see each other much at all.”