IF good things come to those who wait then Alastair Grindlay has suddenly found himself in golfing heaven.

The PGA Advanced professional, who runs an academy at Easingwold Golf Club, has been like a kid at Christmas over the last seven days - revelling in the new driving range and performance studio which have just opened at the Stillington Road course.

The studio, equipped with state-of-the-art launch monitors, club fitting equipment, LCD TVs and a putting surface, is the result of two years of dreams, fundraising and ambitions for Grindlay, who finally has the facilities he has always wanted.

"I got here about two years ago and I had to think about how it was going to work and what I wanted to do. You are taken more seriously as a coach when you have got a facility like this," he said. "It was a massive step for me (coming to Easingwold).

"This is a place that I always had in the back of my mind that I would like to be at. My dad was a member here years ago. I started my golf here. My first lesson was here when I was eight-years-old.

"I was always a member of Fulford but this was where I started. It has always been a great members club and a lovely place to be."

With ambitious facilities comes ambitious plans.

Grindlay, who counts Ladies European Tour prospect Charlotte Austwick among his students, wants to hit the big time. He is happy to be the man who sells the golf balls and gives members his time and expertise. But, underneath that, is a plan to hit a higher swing plane.

He added: "My ambition is two fold. One is to be here for members and serve them and keep them happy. Also, whether I realise it or not, my ambition is to teach tour players - elite players. Charlotte is part of that. It's a process and I might never get there but it would be great if I could.

"They have to believe that what they do with you is going to benefit them, and that comes down to money and performances."

Grindlay continued: "The vast bulk of people who have lessons with me are members. I am the man who sells the balls as well. I quite like the retail side. But having people like Charlotte, and I have got other very low amateurs who are good players, is also great."

Grindlay's work with Austwick, who plans to take on tour qualifying at the end of the year, has been striking. Since the pair teamed up, the Tadcaster golfer has won tournaments at Sunningdale and Whttington as well as recording a top-30 place in the Irish Open Women's Strokeplay.

"She was in a place that wasn't very good," Grindlay said of her arrival with him last year. "I could see the potential. We went at everything. We took her swing to bits. We changed chipping, bunkers, pitching - everything.

"We didn't just change it, we improved it. I think that was important to do that before she goes to have a crack at the tour. We did it in a very short time."

As well as offering traditional lessons, Grindlay is going into schools with a junior academy and also coaches mind techniques to players struggling with confidence and belief. He is excited about the future and, now he has the equipment he requires, knows there are no excuses.

"There are all of these segments that you have to get right - your course management, your technique, the mental parts - positivity and confidence," he explained. "There are all these different things that you have to work on and, for someone like Charlotte, the confidence and mental aspect was a big part of something we had to improve.

"I work with players on trying to get them to believe in themselves a little bit more and think less technically - going out there and playing golf and trying to enjoy it. It's trying to athletically hit shots rather than trying to join the dots, which a lot of us do.

"All of this (here at Easingwold) is great. This is what I have wanted for a long time. Now I have got it, I am going to use it and hopefully improve these people."