A PROMISING teenager with aspirations of becoming a professional has been banned from Worcester Golf and Country Club.

Will Burgess, from Leigh Sinton, is a former club champion and claims he’s been ‘treated unfairly’ at Boughton Park.

The 18-year-old, whose handicap is 4.9, has been expelled after damaging a green and failing to report it.

But club secretary Jon Holloway said the decision to bar Burgess was not made lightly and had been agreed by the management committee.

Now the teenager has joined The Worcestershire in Malvern Wells and vowed to follow his golfing dreams.

“I had an interview with the captain and the secretary but I don’t know how Worcester Golf and Country Club came to their conclusion to expel me,” said Burgess.

“I was pretty devastated when I received the news because I feel like I have been treated unfairly - there was no right to appeal.

“My parents have taken it badly and I think it’s a poor decision.”

Burgess had been a member of the club for four years, winning the men’s club championship (gross) and D'Arcy Hughes (nett) in 2013.

He studied a BTEC level three extended diploma in sports performance excellence in golf at Hartpury College and passed with a triple distinction.

He insists he was very happy at the golf club until last summer when he was involved in three incidents which led to a three month suspension.

Burgess claimed his trouble started when he was spotted under-age drinking at the club a month before his 18th birthday after a member bought him a pint of shandy.

“Before that, there had been a junior knockout competition and the junior organiser had not put my name on the sheet so I wrote in on there,” said Burgess.

The two matters were taken seriously - he was given two one-month suspensions by the club – and banned for a third month after an outburst on Facebook.

“I thought it was a bit harsh because, previously, when I collected a trophy at an awards presentation at the club, I was given a glass of champagne,” he said.

“I had a rant on Facebook because I was very angry and I let my emotions get away from me. Someone from the club read it because I was banned for a third month.

“Sadly, the suspension meant I could not defend the club championship I had won the previous year.”

Burgess was still on a probationary period when he said he accidentally took a divot out of the green at the second hole.

“I put my shot to within one or two feet of the hole and instead of picking up the ball I just went to tap it off the green but I took a divot out of the green,” he recalled.

“I rushed to repair it because I was very shocked. It was an accident but I should have reported it.”

Club secretary Holloway said: “We will not comment publically on what is a private and confidential conversation between the club and Will.

“We do not make these decisions lightly and was a management committee decision and was not the captain’s alone to make.”

Burgess, who took up golf at 14 years old, says he is more determined than ever to become a PGA professional.

“I will carry on playing and I am more determined than ever to get where I want to be,” he said.

“I have got my membership at The Worcestershire and I love the course and the people are great. I am not a troublemaker – I love the sport too much.”