Simon Byford's golf column: Rising star Tyler Weaver set for another big year after signing scholarship with Florida State University

Tyler Weaver, if you haven’t already heard the name, commit it to memory now.

The Culford School and Bury St Edmunds Golf Club junior has already started to create waves in the golfing community, and nothing seems to be stemming the tide as we enter 2023.

With two European ranking victories in 2022, the carrot at the end of the season has been dangled with an inclusion into the primary squad for The Walker Cup, often seen as the pinnacle of Amateur Golf.

Be under no illusion that his +4.4 handicap, tournament victories or England Men’s Team play come through luck. His school schedule includes 10-12 hours structured golf practice, plus seven hours strength and conditioning training to ensure his body can hold up to the demands of the weekly schedule. All this on top of his A-Level studies and the practice he does of his own accord, and you can see he is definitely putting the work in.

Lawrence Dodd, head of golf at Culford says that the pupils with an appetite for sport have a unique opportunity. Having competitive and invested coaches, who create a fun and jovial learning environment helps the development process. Being able to structure their sporting programmes around the academic timetable, coupled with fantastic facilities gives these talented athletes every possibility. A mentor like Lawrence Dodd, who has been through many of the things that Tyler and the other golfers at the school face en-route to top level sport can only add to the list of positives these juniors have at their disposal.

Tyler himself is quick to point out that the main advice he would give to any aspiring sports person is to ensure fun and enjoyment are at the centre of the training concept.

“Keep it fun and that’s how you will get better,” he said.

Highlights for Tyler last season included winning the Lagonda Trophy, held at Gog Magog, and the Under 18 National Championships at Woodhall Spa GC.

Both of these victories came in tough conditions where Tyler came from behind on the final nine holes to claim the wins. Attributing his success to being able to stay in the present and stick to his process allowed him to feel comfortable to pull off the required shots.

He exemplified this during the Jaques Leglise Trophy, a matchplay event between GB&I and Europe. His Singles match was all-square on the penultimate hole where his opponent Marco Florioli had hit his tee shot two inches from the hole.

Tyler was able to roll his 25ft putt in to halve the hole and remain unbeaten for the entire tournament.

This ability to hone in on the task at hand often separates top performers from us mere mortals who have negative or distracting thoughts going on.

Big Signing

Above all the golfing excitement sits Tyler’s education. He has just received a scholarship to attend Florida State University, to gain his college degree and further pursue his golfing dream.

Aside from the obvious weather benefits, American university golf will pit Tyler against the best amateurs in the world on a regular basis, which will only help to build that confidence in his game he will need to succeed.

Tyler admits that he will miss some creature comforts from the UK, especially his mum making him sandwiches everyday.

However, he has been learning to cook and would like a repertoire of meals he can make while he is away at university.

Getting advice from the nutrition team at Culford and within the England Golf set-up, Tyler should be well set on the fuelling front.

Walker Cup Dreams

The Biennial Amateur Match between GB&I & USA is one of the highlights for any aspiring amateur golfer, and for Tyler as a junior to be included in the reckoning is already a great honour.

Being held at St Andrews in September this year, Tyler understands the path he has to take to get there.

It will actually be easier for Tyler to qualify for the following two Walker Cups, as the World Ranking points he can accrue while in America are greater, which would make a selection this year even more impressive.

As he is keen to point out, staying in the present will give him the best chance of the pieces falling into place, also essential with the schedule of events in front of him.

Being ranked in the top 20 in Europe, he can pick and choose his events for the year, so that he still has sufficient time to pass his A-Levels.

Next on the agenda is the Octagonal Matchplay series, where he will be representing the full England Men’s squad in a team event against seven other European countries. This kicks off on this week. Then he will head to Portugal at the start of February for the Portuguese Open, hoping to get as many ranking points before the exam prep really starts.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tyler and Lawrence for sitting down to chat, and wish them the best with their endeavours this year, both on the course and with the development of golf at Culford School.

Thetford GC

Thetford Golf Club held their 2023 Club Captains’ Drive-In recently. The event was well attended by many members who saw great shots from all on the first tee. The best of fortunes to the three captains as they embark on their year in office.

Winter Golf

The past week has given us beautiful scenes on courses in the area, but not necessarily great playing conditions.

With closures, temporary greens and competition cancellations, we should be thankful of any exercise we have got on the course. We shouldn’t worry about our scoring, but thank the greenstaff for looking after the course ahead of the main season. Have a great golfing week.

As always, please send any golfing news stories to simonbyfordgolf@gmail.com