The 13-year-old's aspiration has driven him to improve his handicap from 20 to 17.5 in about two months.

But, without a personal coach or regular access to golf courses - most in Singapore are at private country clubs - improving has been an uphill task for the Sembawang Secondary School student.

'It's hard to improve without a coach who focuses on my needs,' said Syarifuddin, who has to compete for coaching time with about 30 schoolmates in his school's programme.

'At times, I don't even know if my swing is correct.'

Yet, as one of Sembawang's better players, he had to shoulder much of the burden of helping his school at this week's Schools National Golf Championships (SNGC) at Marina Bay Golf Course.

He combined with teammate S. Vikkash Babu to finish ninth out of 12 teams in yesterday's team event.

Syarifuddin's tale mirrors that of many other young, enthusiastic golfers.

While there is no denying the increasing interest in the sport - a record 200 entries were received this year, resulting in organisers having to turn away some due to the 180-player limit - striving to improve and getting course time can be a frustrating experience.

For example, Syarifuddin managed only a couple of practice sessions on the course for the SNGC. Extra time cost $140 for two rounds.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.