A schoolboy from Shetland has become the first person from the north to be accepted into a top golf academy after beating off competition from thousands of other applicants worldwide.
Andrew Bain, 16, of Lerwick, said he was “still pinching himself” about being selected as one of 20 youngsters from around the globe to start this year at the Lee Westwood Golf School in Cheshire.
The six handicapper also worked out that he will be able to play more golf during his time there than he has done in the past five years in Shetland, as the season in the islands lasts no more than five months due to poor winter light and weather.
Golf facilities are also limited with just two 18-hole courses, Shetland Golf Club and Whalsay Golf Club, which means a 250-mile trip for coaching from Billy Fyfe at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre in Aberdeen.
Despite this, the Anderson High School pupil has won every junior scratch competition he has played in Shetland in the past two years.
He also beat a field of 70 to win the Kinross Junior Open last year and in July this year was selected to play for the north district under-18 team against the north-east side.
The teenager, who first picked up a club aged two, has his heart firmly set on playing on the European Tour.
When he was aged eight he met Lee Westwood and got his autograph during a practice round at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.
After applying online for a place at the fee-paying school, Andrew was selected for an interview on Skype.
He said: “There were thousands of applicants and even now I am still pinching myself and wondering how I got in.
“When I was asked in the interview where my nearest driving range was, I replied ‘250 miles away’, and the guy was stunned. I think one of the key points is that the Shetland golf season is just four to five months, and me being at the school is the equivalent of about five years of golf in Shetland.
“They have told me I have the potential and that I’ll need to put in the hard work.
“I don’t want to put Shetland down. It’s the most beautiful place in the world, but in terms of the facilities for golf and the weather it just does not do the job.
“My family have been incredibly supportive and my dad, who coaches me too, believes I have what it takes.”
Mr Bain is due to start at the school on September 7 and will be boarding at the five-star MacDonald Hill Valley hotel for 36 weeks.
Daily schedules are packed with a mixture of golf lessons, fitness and nutrition regimes, as well as psychology classes, in order to provide students with a strong base for following a golf-related career.