Teenage talent aims to reach scratch

ARCHIE PALMER: the 15 year old impressed both in team and individual golf in 2015.

WITH a surname like Palmer, it looks like a Stamford Golf Club teenager is destined for the top.

The club has a great recent record of producing some outstanding golfers - and one of their current young stars is Archie Palmer, also a member at Bramhall.

The 15 year old saw his handicap drop from five to two last year, and is aiming in 2016 to reach scratch.

Palmer’s best competition result was in the North of England under-16s championships at Heswall, where he claimed a superb runner-up spot among 164 top young players from the north. He scored rounds of two over par, three under, one over and three over.

Palmer was a regular for the Cheshire under-16s team, and helped Bramhall to the Mid-Cheshire Junior League title with an unbeaten record. Individually he won the club’s president’s day competition and was third in the men’s scratch championship. He also took the Lancashire schools south-east under-16s event, and was runner-up in the Delamere Forest junior open with a level gross score. he did the same in the Ashton-under-Lyne open on two over par.

Those excellent performances have seen Palmer selected for the England under-16s coaching squad for this year, and he will enjoy winter coaching with Peter Barber and strength and conditioning coaching from Nick Jones. He is also a member of the Cheshire under-18s team.

This is a big year for Palmer away from the fairways and greens: he is also taking his GCSEs!

Palmer said: “I would like to thank Peter Barber for his continuing support, the coaching and support team of England Golf and the Cheshire Union, the junior organisers at Bramhall, my dad for his coaching and of course my mum for her never-ending support.”



A TUESDAY roll-up at Stamford saw Garry Foster, with his new custom-fitted woods, lead the way with a fine haul of 36 points from 14 holes. Kevin Duffy staked his claims for Stamford Winter League honours after scoring 27 points to defeat Brian Thomas, but the latter remains at the head of the standings, 10 points clear of Steve Finan.



PETER Sidebottom won a Stableford event at Ashton Golf Club with a return of 42 points.

The runner-up was Dave Hufton (40pts), with Neil Sidebottom taking third place on a card play-off (39pts).