
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 9, 1993                   TAG: 9309100039
SECTION: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

If Wes Martin had to write an essay for his freshman English class titled "What I Did During Summer Vacation," it probably would read something like this:

On the first day, I got up, played nine holes of golf, went to work at the country club, got off work and played a few more holes, then went to the driving range.

"On the second day, I got up, played nine holes .

Of course, Martin didn't spend all his time on the golf course.

"Just five days a week," he said. "And some weekends."

For the past couple of summers, Wes Martin has been harder to keep off the golf course than gophers.

Blacksburg Country Club is just a tee shot away from his front door. He works there as a cart boy and practices with his Blacksburg High School teammates.

In just his first season on the Blacksburg golf team, Martin has developed into a golf prodigy with skills so extraordinary, he's already considered one of the top golfers in the New River District.

"When I took this job, people were telling me what a great player he was," said Blacksburg first-year coach Mike Delpercio. "My job has been not to screw him up."

Last month, four months after his 14th birthday and four weeks before beginning his ninth-grade year, Martin was medalist and co-medalist in the first two New River District mini-tournaments.

After shooting an 83 to tie teammate Kurt Williams for the low score in the first tournament, Martin fired a career-low 79 to claim medalist honors at the second district event.

Thanks in large part to the play of Martin and Williams, Blacksburg won the New River District regular-season title two weeks before the school's doors opened for fall.

Although they're teammates, Martin and Williams probably will battle each other for the NRD individual title next month at Christiansburg's Round Meadow Country Club.

Since Williams is just a junior, both players will be back next year, making Blacksburg the district favorite again.

Even if Blacksburg doesn't make the state tournament field this year, Martin and Williams stand excellent chances of qualifying for state play as individuals. Both shoot in the low 80s on a regular basis, and that likely would be good enough to make it to state play.

Martin might be the best golfer to come along in the NRD since his cousin, Matt, played at Radford a couple of years ago.

Now a sophomore golfer at Virginia Tech, Matt Martin was Timesland's No.1-ranked high school golfer before he underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in January, 1990. As he began to play his way back into shape the following year, he was joined on the links by his younger cousin, who was just learning.

"Matt has been real encouraging to Wes," said Phil Martin, Wes' father. "He's not just a cousin, he's been a real friend."

The Martins are an athletic family. Phil Martin was a standout athlete at Blacksburg in the mid-1960s and played football at Ferrum College. His brother, Buddy, was a basketball and baseball player at Virginia Tech and was a longtime basketball coach at Radford High School before becoming principal in 1991.

Tall for his age at 6-1, Wes Martin continues the family legacy by playing basketball, although putting a smaller ball into a hole might be his true calling.

"I'm leaning toward staying in golf," he said. "I think I should."

by CNB