---

This past weekend I saw a glimpse of Bermuda's golfing future and I can tell you this - it looks pretty darn good.

Earlier this year, Lee Elder was quoted as saying that, in his opinion, Daniel Augustus had what it takes to make the grade on the professional circuit.

That's a very big claim and there would have been some amongst us who would have brushed that aside as being just polite talk.

Frankly, I was one of them. Making the grade on the professional circuit is tough, very tough.

Week in, week out, professional golfers are trying to make a living based purely and solely on merit. Make the cut or go home empty handed, holding only your week's expenses.

Professional golf can be summed up like this - small steps forward fraught with the risk of large psychological steps backward.

Last Saturday, I had the good fortune of playing with Daniel Augustus and I was curious if I would see what Lee Elder thought he saw.

The short answer is this - while I do not know exactly what Lee Elder saw, I now have a lot more faith in what he said.

Daniel can hit the ball a long way, but I already knew that.

Long ball hitters are a dime a dozen today so that's not the separator it once was.

Daniel has the desire to compete but so do all competitive people. I know a guy who can't break 80 but he is one of the most competitive players I've ever met.

Daniel makes the grade

So what is it about Daniel Augustus that just might enable him to make the grade?

For me, there were two things that stood out.

First, Daniel has a great short game.

He's got wonderfully "soft" hands and, on Saturday, he consistently got it up and in from around the green. His putting stroke is smooth, not jerky, and, most importantly, he believes in it.

To survive in professional golf, it's important to have a good tee to green game but it's essential to have a great short game. You need to have unquestioned faith in your ability to putt, especially when you start missing putts. Making putts will lower your score but believing in your ability to putt will keep you alive.

Second, Daniel has a great temperament. He doesn't get upset when he hits a bad shot and he doesn't get excited when he makes a couple of birdies.

He plays one shot at a time, whether it's a booming tee shot, a feathery little green-side bunker shot or a reloaded golf ball following a lost ball. On Saturday, he faced all of those situations with hardly a change in demeanour.

There are a few young Bermudians who are in Daniel's league, such as Camiko Smith and Jarryd Dillas.

Sadly, Bermuda cannot provide these young men with the competition they need to continue to improve.

Now that golf is in the Olympics, maybe our Government will be encouraged to provide increased funding to golf so that these young men can travel overseas to get the exposure they need.

If not, then some very real potential will likely be lost.

---