WHEN Graeme Storm tees off in Abu Dhabi today he will be the only golfer from County Durham on show. That in itself is not unusual. In fact it is what the area has got used to over the years.

Durham County Golf Union is not the biggest, so it is wrong to expect a glut of competitors from that association rubbing shoulders with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose on the European Tour year on year.

But is it wrong to want more? Storm certainly doesn’t think so – and he would love to put his experiences of the last 15 years as a Tour golfer to good use by aiding the development of the next generation of promising golfers.

Storm has already taken his first step. When he is not on Tour, he has taken on a consultancy role to help guide golfers on a scholarship programme at Dyke House Sports & Technology College in his hometown, Hartlepool.

Offering guidance is not something he imagined doing a couple of years ago, but now he is keen to ensure the area is well placed to provide the ideal grounding to give talented young golfers the perfect platform to target a career on Tour.

“If the kids want to ask me anything I am there for them. It’s a great opportunity for them to get whatever they can from me,” said Storm, who is helping England regional squad golfers Jack Ainscough, Cameron Wallace and Will Skipp. “That side of the game has just come in to my thinking over the last 18 months.

“As I have got older, looking at different aspects of the game, I see different things. I have helped younger Tour players like Oliver Fisher, in terms of maybe being a shoulder to cry on. He went through a bad spell and he thanked me when he won a tournament because I’d helped him. That kind of opened my eyes - and inspired me.”

Storm, who started playing golf aged 11 and had a fantastic amateur career before turning pro in 2000, has offered his advice to Durham County Union, while he believes the whole north region might need to reassess how things are done to try to help more young golfers fulfil their potential.

The 36-year-old former British amateur champion said: “Over the last 20 years I think there have been six golfers who have graced the European Tour from the North, excluding Yorkshire because that’s a huge county with a number of golfers on its own. I’m meaning Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria. There’s not been many.

“Myself and Kenny Ferrie (Ashington) have been the mainstays, Rob Dinwiddie (Barnard Castle) has been on and now Chris Paisley (Close House) is on there. David Currie, Philip Harrison, Gary Lockerbie and David Whelan were on in previous years.

“But David Whelan, from Seaton Carew, is now coaching Paula Creamer. When he was at Wynyard, why was he not utilised more by Durham? He is now teaching one of the best lady golfers in the world. Over the years he has coached many top European Tour golfers, so why wasn’t he utilised properly up here?

"I made an approach to Durham County in 2014. It was not just about coaching, more of a general enquiry to see if I could get involved and share some of my experiences to add value to the whole set up in general. I do feel strongly that we - in Durham and the whole of the north of England - should try to do whatever we can to see if we can develop new talent."

Storm would like his opinion to be heard in the hope of helping the North-East produce Tour pros of the future. He said: “It is not for me to say that what’s being done is wrong because people are trying to develop local golfers in the county and that’s great.

“I’m not saying I am right either, but there has to be something not quite right because there are not enough coming through. That could be a number of things: Wrong information? Is there a conflict of too many coaches/people being involved with individual golfers? I don’t know.

“There are those out there with the talent like the boys I’m working with. Jack's results tell you he has potential, you see him hit a ball and he has the potential. It is nurturing that potential in the right way. There will be plenty more out there. It is about having a conversation with them and trying to help.”

Having travelled to the Middle East, Storm’s concerns this week are how to get 2015 off to a positive start in Abu Dhabi. Having finished last year strongly, including narrowly missing out on the Omega European Masters title in a play-off, the Rockliffe Hall Tour pro is in a good place.

Storm said: “I feel better than I did four months ago. I am not expecting any great shakes at the beginning of the year. I am not one of those who plays really well straight off. But I feel like I have worked on the right things this winter. I feel a little wiser and I’m looking forward to getting started again.”