He started playing for fun with his mates now teenager James Phillips has bagged the ultimate golfing kick after winning through to the final of Europe's biggest pro-am.
The 18-year-old will lap up a five star experience on Turkey's Mediterranean coast after he and Forest Pines professional Daniel Greenwood won the Midland regional final of the PGA National Pro-Am Championship at Whittington Heath, beating more than 60 other teams from across the region.
The pair, just the third group out in the day, endured a lengthy wait, broken up by a trip to The Belfry and watching Euro 2008, before discovering their seven under par 63 had given them victory by a stroke from nearest challengers Chris Hall and his amateur partner Jamie Lynch from Rushcliffe.
Phillips, a student from Broughton, heads off to Teeside University in September but can now look forward to a week off from his studies in sport and exercise science to take part in November's grand final at Turkey's Antalya Golf Club where he and Greenwood will compete against 15 other teams from across Britain and Ireland for a £30,000 prize fund.
"I've played in this for the last six or seven years and never got close so it will be great to experience a grand final and I've heard a lot of good reports about Turkey," said Greenwood.
"It was a very good, consistent score today, and Whittington Heath is the kind of course that suits my game because you need to be straight off the tee and keep it in play.
"James had 14 shots, and was involved all the way, chipping in with four nett birdies."
Phillips, an 18 handicapper, who has been playing for less than two years, admitted he found Whittington's tight lay-out to his liking but not the hanging around which prompted a detour to the famous Belfry Ryder Cup venue.
"I was driving pretty well, which was a good job because this course is pretty tight," said Phillips.
"We thought we were in with a chance so decided to stick around but we got fed up of constantly nipping out to check the leaderboard so we decided to head off to The Belfry.
"It was a long day and my dad, who was playing golf at Forest Pines, kept ringing me to check if we were still winning and it was a relief to be able to tell him we'd won."
The winning pair will compete against 15 other regional finalists during the expenses paid five-day, five-star trip to the Sirene Beach & Hotel Resort on Turkey's Mediterranean Coast from November 30 to December 4.
The tournament, which attracts more than 100,000 entries, is now in its 24th staging and has been held in Portugal, Spain, Grand Bahamas and Sardinia prior to Turkey last year.