Joel’s hopes on the green

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Joel Landers was on the golf course at a young age, swinging clubs and sinking putts.

As a 13-year-old, Landers had no idea golf would grow into a burning passion, with the aspiration of becoming his career.

Eight years after Landers’ dad, Anthony Maxwell, enrolled him in golf classes, the 21-year-old is halfway through a three-year traineeship with the PGA of Australia.

A winner of the Kwinana Cup in 2010, Landers’ next challenge is the WA Goldfields PGA Championship in October. He said he hoped to qualify or be invited to compete in the WA Open later in the year.

Landers said he enjoyed the variety of his traineeship, where he works full-time at the Pro Shop Kwinana.

At the end of the traineeship Landers will have earned a PGA of Australia qualification to teach golf.

“It’s something to fall back on, you do retail, advertising and training — it’s all bundled into one traineeship,” he said.

Playing off a competitive handicap of +1, Landers said he hoped to achieve full professional status once he completed his traineeship at the end of 2014.

“It just opens up doors to play around the world, you’ve got to qualify obviously,” he said.

Landers said while he looked up to the great players, including Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, for inspiration, there was no substitute for hard work.

“The players that work the hardest at the game, but aren’t as talented as others, are usually the players that get the furthest,” he said.

“It’s not all about technique, it’s about how hard you try.”

Last week Landers received a donation of $1000 from the Kwinana Ladies’ Golf Association towards his travel expenses in the upcoming championships.