Was it love at first swing for Archie Cook when it comes to golf? Even he couldn’t say for sure. But his passion for the game, and his proficiency at it at the tender age of 14, is certainly beyond dispute — as is the formative role Goswick Golf Links has played in all of the above.
Archie says his parents first put a club in his hands when he was just 4 years old. He played his first round at Goswick when he was 7. And he became a junior member when he was 9. Just five years later he was playing off a 7 handicap. All quite remarkable.But it turns out that was just the beginning. Over the past two years, Archie has methodically whittled his handicap down to scratch. He’s cranked up his swing speed to 110 mph, extended his average driving distance to 280 yards and has begun to figure out how to unleash that firepower in competitions.
Case in point: He just shot a 1-under-par 68 at Swanston Golf Club to claim the Turnbull Cup, awarded to the champion of Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. Archie has been a student there the past two years, during which his game has matured by leaps and bounds.“I’m in their golf academy,” Archie says. “I have all of the regular academic classes of every other school. But I also get to work on my game and play golf virtually every day. I used to try many different sports, such as football, rugby, cricket and tennis. But since coming to Merchiston, it’s been pretty much all golf. And I love it.”
Archie credits Alan Murdoch, Director of Golf at Merchiston, for much his improvement. Though, he readily admits, it certainly hasn’t hurt that — at the same time — he’s grown bigger and stronger and now stands 6-feet tall.
“I used to try to hit the living daylights out of the ball,” he says. “But now I feel like I have a more natural and controlled swing. It’s not so forced. My short game has improved massively. And I’ve really worked on my irons. They’ve become the strength of my game.”
He’s now on summer holiday from school which means the chance to play in high-profile junior tournaments in England and Scotland, such as the Scottish Boys Amateur, Stephen Gallacher Foundation events representing Scotland and the St Andrews Boys Open where he posted a 1-under-par 71 on the Eden course in 2021.He’s also looking forward to some low-stress rounds back at Goswick where his golf journey all began.
“I try to play there every chance I get,” he says. “I thoroughly enjoy it. Goswick is a great links course. And I really love the atmosphere at the club.”
What does the future hold for Archie? If he continues on his current trajectory, a scholarship to play golf at a U.S. university could well be in the cards. That’s his dream. And he still has the next four years to make it come true.
“I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” he says. “I absolutely love it.”