Don’t tell Zach and Fraser, but here comes Liam

The Wodonga Catholic College student was last week added to Golf Victoria’s under-18 development squad.

Gransden, 16, took up the chance to join Commonwealth late last year to further his game.

It’s the metropolitan nursery that has also provided the path to recognition for Zach Murray and Yarrawonga’s Frazer Droop.

And while his dream of playing Melbourne pennants for the club this summer came too soon, recent events have seen his handicap dip below scratch and put him on the Victorian high performance pathway.

“I think I’ve just got smarter,” he said.

“In Melbourne, it’s more about position on the fairway than pulling out the driver on every tee,” he said.

“It took me a while to adjust — I was struggling at first, shooting around 80.

“But two weeks ago, I finished square with the card and the email from Golf Victoria came a few days after that.

“It’s another step forward but I need to be able to reproduce that in state and national competitions to go to the next level.”

His coach, Wodonga Golf Range’s John Rogers, said dedication and commitment were the keys to the right-hander’s improvement.

“I don’t think I’ve seen someone work so hard on their game. He’s a quiet achiever and sometimes they are the ones who end up the better players,” he said.

“Liam deserves his chance at the next step — he has jumped other kids in development and, hopefully, he just continues to get better.”

Golf Victoria’s Ashley Marshall said Gransden was one of 13 in the junior development squad that is the first step on the high-performance path.

“After the squad camp and sessions later this year, Liam may be selected for a junior performance camp’ in February from which our junior state team is selected to compete in Tasmania in April,” Marshall said.

“That selection is primarily based on tournament results across spring and summer.

“This is the same path Zach Murray followed to now be in the VIS and Golf Australia squad.”