A year ago as a seventh grader, Wilson Palmertree wasn’t even playing golf.

He and his father were regulars at the Vicksburg Country Club and would play now and again, but the younger Palmertree was not experienced as a player.

Wilson joined a youth golf clinic in the summer of 2014 and was one of the more serious participants in the camp. No one knew how good he’d be at golf, not even the camp director.

“When he first got started, he had a lot of trouble and needed some direction,” said Chris Rutherford, the youth golf director for Vicksburg Country Club. “When I look at the before and after pictures, he’s changed a lot.”

A year after that clinic, Palmertree has picked the game up quickly. As he prepares to head into eighth grade, he’s playing with the high school team at St. Aloysius and has taken off on the state’s junior circuit.

Golf is a sport that takes an immense amount of time to get down and master every aspect of, but that hasn’t stopped Palmertree from picking up the game in just a year.

After his first lesson, Palmertree knew it was a game he would like to learn more about.

“I started to really pay attention and get into it after my first lesson with coach Rutherford,” Palmertree said. “I’ve been coming in every day that I can to play since then.”

Palmertree credits his coach, Rutherford, for keeping him interested in the sport by making it fun and easy to learn. If it weren’t for his coach, he said he wouldn’t be where he’s at now.

Playing against older — and often better — competition isn’t easy, especially after only playing golf for a year. Palmertree has gotten used to it and thrived off it so far. He competed in the MHSAA Class 1A championship this season as St. Aloysius finished second in the team standings.

“It’s been pretty fun so far,” Palmertree said on playing against high school opponents. “They taught me not to get frustrated, have fun with it and just go out there and play my game.”

Palmertree compared his game to professional Jordan Spieth and models it after the Masters champion. High ambitions can give a young player like Palmertree confidence, but his coach said it’s hard to tell how good he can be as of right now.

“It’s impossible to tell. You just never know,” Rutherford said. “Wilson has picked it up extremely fast and he could end up being one of the best players around here.”

Rutherford said golf has changed Palmertree’s life and taught him to be actively dedicated to the sport. The dedication Palmertree has shown led his coach to call him a “course rat.”

“Kids like Wilson and others I teach are always out there on the golf course constantly improving their game,” Rutherford said. “I’m proud of him in that he’s worked hard to get where he’s at and he’s practiced and played the game in all the right ways.”