Ben Bolton aiming to be a hit on the fairways

And now 11-year-old Ben Bolton is preparing to fly out to Asia for a major tournament featuring some of the best young players on the planet.

The young prospect, from Wombourne, has been impressing coaches since he first picked up a golf club aged four and is aiming to go all the way and make it as a pro.

Ben will be taking part in the Jakarta Junior World Golf Championships in Indonesia next week.

He picked up the golfing bug from an early age at Enville Golf Club, where his father Steve was a player, and quickly caught the attention of experts. Ben was signed up as a member at six, despite Enville normally accepting members from eight, such was his talent.

Heating engineer Steve, aged 50, said: “He has been playing since he was four. He started going to Enville and has been coached by Richard Copsey, who is a pro, ever since.

“His handicap is 5.5 so he has done very well. He qualified for this by winning the British Junior Golf series, a two-day event, and he won by five shots.

“He is really excited, he is buzzing about it. He has played in high-level competitions, he played in the European Championships with US kids and he will be playing this year in the Nick Faldo series, which has got the top kids in England in it.

“From an early age he has wanted to be a golf pro. He wants to be the best in the world and get to number one. That’s what his dream is. But a lot of other kids will be thinking that.”

Ben is aiming to put in a good performance out in Indonesia and Steve hopes he will be able to cope with the unfamiliar conditions.

He said: “He has got to deal with the 18-hour flight and temperatures out there will be 33C (91F) next week so it is going to be a gruelling event. It’s not a holiday.”