WHO is the daddy now? That’s the question being asked of Phil Bills, for 12 years the PGA professional at Knutsford golf club Heyrose, and his son Daniel.

Daniel started his first job in golf, 13 years ago when he was 16, working part time for his father in the shop at Heyrose.

Daniel recently left Royal Aberdeen to land the head professional role at Astbury – and his first signing was Phil

Phil said: “I’m very proud of him getting one of the best jobs in Cheshire and really happy for him.”

Given how long it is since they last worked together, it has been an interesting exercise for Phil to see first-hand how Daniel has developed.

Phil added: “He has come on a ton.

"Danny is very professional, he has a good head for business and he is making a wonderful job of it.

“I can see how much he has learned from the different golf clubs he has been at and it is important he has been at places like West Lancs and Royal Aberdeen.

“You have to be at the top of your game to work at clubs of that calibre. They are very busy places and you have to get everything right.

“He has clearly gained a lot in terms of having the right sort of experience to bring to one of Cheshire’s leading clubs.”

Phil lives in Middlewich. He was brought up on the Wirral where he began his own golf career at Brackenwood.

He joined Astbury from Dunham Forest in Altrincham and has also worked at Bidston in Wallasey, Adlington in Macclesfield and Woodside in Holmes Chapel.

As for that million dollar question surrounding the father and son work role reversal, who IS the daddy now?

Phil says: “Oh, it’s still me. I do not call Danny boss or Mr Bills and he still calls me dad so it’s alpha male on that one.

“He is not allowed to give me any gyp or lip. I know he won’t, of course, but I can still give him a clip round the ear if he ever does.

“When it comes to playing golf though, it’s me who coaches him...and I still beat him, even at 57.”

Daniel: “We needed to get the pro staff up to strength quickly at Astbury but he took a lot of persuading to come and join me because he was enjoying it at Dunham Forest.

“It was hard to get him to step across but I managed to convince him to come and help me out.”

Daniel, who is a former pupil of St Nicholas High School in Middlewich, paid tribute to his father’s influence.

“After I started working for him as a teenager I quickly decided golf was the career I wanted to be in.

“Dad would not have minded whatever I did but I was enjoying it so much it was an obvious career choice for me.

“A lot of the way I coach comes from the way he always keeps everything really clear and totally simple.

“He never over complicates anything and I learned a lot from him. He is very clear and concise,” he said.

Daniel has built on the hands-on grounding gleaned at his father’s knee, initially by qualifying at the age of 23 as a golf professional with a PGA Foundation Degree at The University of Birmingham.

He arrived at Astbury after two and a half years at Royal Aberdeen, a club high enough up the R&A and European Tour pecking orders to have staged the Walker Cup, the Scottish Open and the Amateur Championship within the past 10 years.

He has also worked at the Bourn club, before it became Cambridge Golf & Country Club, and Dunham Forest.