YEARS of slogging a golf ball around a remote property in Moree has led local golfer Michael Cutmore to where he is today.
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Plenty of practice and a dream to go pro, Michael has just landed himself with an acclaim no one else in Tenterfield can lay claim to.
“I now have a -1 handicap – the best anyone has had in Tenterfield,” Cutmore said.
Buoyed by his continued rise in the local golfing stakes, Michael and partner Chloe Shead say his eyes are firmly set on attaining a professional card.
While not a fresh faced teenager anymore, at 36 Michael says he’s only ever wanted one thing.
“I’ve been playing since I was 10 and never had any proper training, my old man taught me.
“At Top Camp Mission in Moree, dad made a six hole course to play on,” he said.
Moving up through the junior ranks in Moree, he went on to win a string of competitions.
But it wasn’t until Chloe bought him a membership to the Tenterfield club years later that Michael was certain of what he wanted.
He won the Tenterfield Open earlier in the year and has since continued to train and play regularly.
“He’s really focused – he goes out once or twice a week and on weekends,” Chloe said.
This year’s Open was the first he’d competed in and blitzed it to win with a score of 2 under off a scratch 0 handicap.
“I’m going for my pro card now – hoping that will kick everything off,” he said.
Players need to hold a -2 handicap for three months before they can be handed a step into the professional arena.
Once there, player prizes are significantly higher as well as opportunities to play in reputable tournaments.
He says he never expected in the days of hitting a ball around Moree that he would be so close to realising a dream.
His son, Michael Junior, is continuing the family tradition and has taken up the game.
“He loves it too – the other week he played in an 18-and-under tournament in Glen Innes and came second. He’s only 10,” Michael said.
Michael said he owed a lot of gratitude to the Tenterfield Golf Club for their continued support.