Giuseppe Licata faces the busiest time of his life when becomes the new Filton Golf Club professional on March 1 as he is also the 2019 captain of the West Region of the Professional Golfers’ Association.

“It’s going to be very stressful but exciting,” said the 33-year-old Bristolian whose family emigrated from Sicily. “I shan’t know which way to turn and it’s going to mean a lot of hard work.

“It’s a big honour to be appointed professional at the club where I grew up and to be PGA captain at the same time.”

The three-time Gloucester and Somerset PGA Order of Merit Winner and last year’s captain had hoped to play a full season of regional golf but now his role at his boyhood club takes priority.

“I started playing at Filton as a ten-year-old and my father has been a member for 25 years,” he said. “So clearly this was the job for me and I spent many hours preparing to make a success of the interview.

“I can hardly expect better support from a club than at Filton which I know so well. I have already started my preparation and can’t wait to take over and help the golf club succeed.

“This is an amazing club with so much potential. I hope to help create an atmosphere that the members are proud to be a part of every day.”

The former Bristol Golf Centre coach has been teaching pro at Chipping Sodbury for the past three years.

A Class AA Level 3 coach, his early ambition had been to play tournament golf but he never had sufficient funding. So he worked on teaching and become a successful player in regional and county golf.

He succeeds Daryl Kelley who left the club before Christmas and is now a teaching professional at The Bristol.

Filton chairman Dave Boyes said: “Finding the right head golf professional to suit the character of a club is always a challenging task, especially since so many things need to fall into place for the perfect match. We identified a great choice in Giuseppe and we look forward to having our members get to know him.”

Captain Darren McGee said: “He will be a very popular choice and will be a familiar face to many members. His experience as a PGA professional for over ten years will enable him to hit the ground running.”