Hamer still hopeful of tour place

LOCAL golf professional Martyn Hamer has by no means given up hope of playing on the European Tour despite deciding to opt out of the Tour School which recently teed off.
The 24-year-old from Chadderton Fold took the brave decision after realising his game wasn’t good enough to be competitive at the highest level.

Hamer, who is assistant professional at Ellesmere, believes competing in Tour School might have done more harm than good and that when he returns it will be as a better player.

He said: “I felt my game was not where I wanted it to be which is why I decided to pull out.

“I might have somehow managed to win my card at Tour School but, had that happened, I knew my game would not have made me competitive on the European Tour.

“I am going to work hard over the winter and hopefully 2010 will be a big year. I definitely want at least one more tilt at trying to win my card.”

Hamer, who has twice won through to the final stage of Tour School in Spain, has been disappointed with his form for most of the season.

“I have had a couple of decent finishes, including being runner-up in the Northern Open at Spey Valley, Scotland, but some of my results have not been what I would have wanted,” he explained.

Hamer, who is this week competing in his final Europro event of the season at St Andrews Bay, Scotland, has transformed the garage at his family home into a gym/practice area with a running machine, weights, putting green and practice net.

He has also started a part-time driving job for the Oldham Co-op delivering shopping for the elderly as part of their partnership with Age Concern.

Hamer intends to work for six months to raise funds to compete next year. He will also be sponsored again by Brookdale member Dave Fricker, through his company TouchStar.

He continued: “I have not worked outside golf for about four or five years and it has made me realise what a great opportunity I have.

“It is making me practice even harder and, given I have less time, it has to be quality practice.”

IF YOU have seen a stranger pacing the fairways at your local club, the chances are it was Howard Barker.

He works for GolfBuddy, a Global Positioning System (GPS) company which aims to have 20,000 courses on its database.

By using the GPS for their course, players will be able to calculate the distance for their next shot, either to the green or to avoid a hazard.

Further information about the GPS system for golfers is available at gpsgolfbuddy.eu