A FEW weeks ago Bernard Gallacher suggested northerners should seriously think about moving away if they have ambitions of fulfilling their potential, citing the British winter as one of the reasons why players may never reach the heights they are capable of.

That is exactly what Chris Paisley has done, as he looks to make the most of warmer weather in Orlando in a bid to build on his achievements of the last 12 months.

Paisley, Close House’s attached European Tour pro, will be keeping his team together, which will see his long-serving coach, Wynyard’s Andrew Nicholson, and putting coach/brother Andy Paisley continue to advise and work with him to make adjustments to his game.

But his main base will be Stateside, where he has put down roots with his wife Keri, who he met while on a golfing scholarship at the University of Tennessee. He hopes the switch will help him to move on to a new level, having retained his Tour card for the first time in his career.

“We have always liked America so moving over here seemed the logical thing to do and it’s going to be great for me during the winter,” Paisley, who also works with trainer Kenny McKenzie and physio Karen Young.

“At this time of the year it can be hard because the conditions are not great for golf over in the North-East. But I have just joined a club over here, the weather is perfect and the courses should stay fine most of the year, at a time when courses can become quite bad back home.

“The other good thing is that the courses over here get you used to the sort of courses you will play on the European Tour.”

In an ideal world having moved to Florida, Paisley would force his way on to the PGA Tour. That challenge has been made all the more difficult in recent years, however, by changes to the qualifying school system.

A dream and almighty rise from 457th up into the world’s top 60 would be the ideal way to go. “That would be nice, a couple of wins next year and we will see!” he said.

It’s about small steps first for Paisley, brought up in Stocksfield, after taking a huge one in his career by ensuring he will play in back-to-back European Tour seasons for the first time.

He will be 30 in March and wants the 2016 schedule, which officially starts next week, to be the year when he really makes his mark and takes strides forward; as he looks to build on a year when he collected 125,000 euros for finishing third at the BMW International Open.

“I don’t set myself too many targets, I just want to keep improving my game,” said Paisley. “If there is one it would be to try to get in to the top 60 in the Race to Dubai rankings and get myself in to DP World Tour Championship next year.”

Paisley, who turns 30 in March, had to wait until his final event at the Hong Kong Open last month to be assured of his card for a further year after collecting 251,000 euros. Having done that he will head straight out to South Africa next week in the hope of getting off to a bright start.

“I am heading to Leopard Creek (for the Alfred Dunhill Championship) and will probably then have a break until heading for the desert in January, probably Abu Dhabi,” he said. “I love going to Leopard Creek, it’s a great place right in the middle of a safari park. I did OK there last year, so hopefully I can start well again.

“It might look like there’s a lot more travelling involved with me living over here in Orlando now, but there’s not too much difference from living in Newcastle really because you are still flying out to events in Asia, Africa or the Middle East. You get used to that.

“What’s more important is going there relaxed and in a good frame of mind, which is what I tend to do. I’m not the type of guy to get complacent, I just want to get better by improving things with my game.

“It would be nice next year if I could win a couple of events, but for now it does feel nice to know I will be heading back on Tour and I have not had to worry about Qualifying School (qualified for in 2013) or the Challenge Tour.”