Oliver Smith (Y7) was thrilled to learn he was selected for the England Golf U18 East Midlands Regional Squad over half term—a remarkable achievement at just 11 years old.
“It’s really cool to have that experience playing for them,” he told us.
Before the school break, Oliver was invited to the squad selection weekend at Woodhall Spa. He explained, “There were a lot of drills and tests based on short game and long game. We also played a round on one of their two courses.”
Oliver knows this next stage in his golfing journey will be challenging, but he is very excited about the opportunity, which is a stepping stone to the next level in his golf.
Oliver is no stranger to playing with older golfers. He is a member of the school’s senior squad and joins boys from the Upper School each Saturday after lessons and three nights a week in the school’s Golf Performance Centre.
His teammates are hugely supportive of Oliver and impressed by his success. Fin Rennie (Lower Sixth) commented, “It’s an unbelievable achievement considering he’s only 11 years old. I got selected for my region when I was 14, and I thought that was a decent accomplishment, and he is three years younger than I was.”
James Dooley (Lower Sixth) added, “He’s really good—a very tidy golfer who’s already won international events worldwide.”
Resident School Golf Pro, Sam Smith, was also full of praise, explaining, “Oliver has a brilliant attitude and is a very mature, measured individual. He is a pleasure to teach and help and a member of the senior squad on his merit—and he’s only going to get better as he gets older.”
“It’s a real sign that our golf programme is moving forward and attracting talented golfers like Oliver to join us. It is also a credit to the boys who won last year’s HMC National championship.”
Friendly competition with his teammates is another aspect that helps Oliver in his game. He explained, “They are really nice boys to play with, and they are very good golfers, which spurs me on to want to be as good as them.”
Oliver has already had his first regional training weekend. He attended armed with his extensive player development plan, which he studied and wrote over the half term. Based on his playing statistics from the previous season, he set challenging performance targets for the 2024/25 season.
Throughout the weekend, Oliver focused with the squad on putting calibration and challenges, data-driven course planning, playing on The Bracken Course, playing analysis and evaluation, on-course wedge challenges tested using Trackman, and strength & conditioning for golf.
Oliver left the weekend inspired, excited, and eager to commence his off-season action plan. We look forward to following his progress.
