An eleven year old - IN THE ZONE!

[Gene Greco]

   The kid never had broke 95 before.

Yesterday, HE FINISHED WITH A 78!!!!!!!!

A 78...... 78!!!!

At Seth Raynor's 1925 Southampton Golf Club.

Last year he broke 50 for the first time by scoring 41 on the front side of Sand Hills!

Yesterday, he was in the zone like David Duval when he shot 59. Didn't miss a shot after the sixth hole. One over par from #7 through #18. I've never seen anything like it.

And he's my son!

And he's little  

Furthermore, tonight he talked to Jack Nicklaus.

And his dad finally met Tom Doak and Master Jim.

We're in the zone!!

[ed_getka]

Gene,
  Pace yourself buddy, you don't want to peak too soon. What will you have left to look forward too.
   That is awesome to have those experiences with your son, I look forward to it as my boys get older. Thanks for sharing.

[SteveC]

Great story!

Here's another. There is a young man at Brook Hollow Golf Club (Tillinghast, 1920) in Dallas who is 13 years old. Shot 6 rounds in the 60's this summer, including a 67, followed by a 66, which broke the 28-year-old club record for juniors. That 66 included 5 - that's right, FIVE - consecutive birdies on holes 5-9. From the tips. This kid is about 5 feet tall, tops, and probably weighs 95 pounds. Unbelievable. Except that I have seen him, and he is the real deal.

[RJ_Daley]

Gene, can Dad of the Year awards be far behind?

Congrats, Chris!!!

[ian]

Gene,

Nothing better than fathers and sons playing golf!

Congratulations to him.

[Tom_Armstrong]

Seventeen shots better than his previous low score?

WOW!

That must have been amazing to witness, Duval's 59 was cool but we all know he's flirted with it many times in his life.

For a 20 handicap to shoot 78?

That makes for a proud poppa. Congrats.

[Brian_Ewen]

Gene
Fantastic .

Is it just me or do you guys also see juniors with good swings much younger nowadays .

As an example , a friend of mine that knows I like pics of golf courses , sent me some from a nine holer that he played along with his son ,  on the West of Scotland called Lochcarron .

Among the pics was this one.

This is Bradley Adam and he is 9 years old , I cant believe how much his swing has came on this year .

And guess what , he doesnt have a handicap as our local club doesnt accept junior members until they are 10 ! .

[TEPaul]

Gene;

Jeeeeesus! Whatever you do don't tell your kid about something so mundane as par! Tell him the idea in golf is not to just hit every pin in reach of any club he has but tell him the idea is to sink every shot! This might get ten times better until someone finally tells him that isn't the way most people look at golf! I swear to God if someone had told young Moe Norman the idea in golf wasn't to just hit pins but to sink every shot Moe Norman would be a household name now.  

Your son has A-1 dead solid perfect action through the ball!!! I'll take 50% of the action putting him on tour in ten years and I'll settle for no less than 10% of the action!

[Mike_Sweeney]

 

[Steve Lapper]

Gene,

    Big Time CONGRATS!  I hope he gots lots of ice cream (ALL 31 flavors, in fact) and his choice of french fries!

   All good stuff!!!

   

PS...does this mean I only have to give him 5 a side next year at Mike's outing?

[bstark]

  Gene,

 He's got great concentration. Saw him on the practice green and he looked like a man, er kid, on mission! Great news, hope he remembers all of us when he's big time someday.

[Tom_Doak]

Gene,

Congratulations to your son.

It was very impressive to us that he waited until we were done with dinner [a very long dinner] to come over and ask for Jack N's autograph.  Jim Urbina and I were also impressed that he was sporting a Sand Hills golf shirt.

[Gene Greco]

Tom:

     Thanks much. Whether he scores lights out or foozles his way around, Christian's always a little gentleman.

      It was nice to finally meet you and Jim. Obviously, Dad's interest was two fold:

  A.  I had hoped Jack would sign a picture of the two of us taken at The 1993 Metropolitan Golf Writer's Dinner held in June during the week of the Westchester Classic, which he  did and always does so graciously. (Interestingly, my copy of "Anatomy of a Golf Course" I had purchased in the Crystal Downs pro shop and was signed by you also in June of 1993 - cosmic forces abounded that evening)!

  B.  *******There is not a person who posts on this board who would not have given a small fortune to sit in on that night's dinner conversation. I resisted the best I could not to look over but Christian had the best seat in the restaurant (prearranged two weeks prior) and asked me why Jack was shaking his head "no" so often?

We know you are not privy to reveal the contents of that nights conversations   nor is it any of our business. Though the clearing of Sebonak is virtually done it would seem based on Christian's observations that the real work has just begun.

[Brian_Gracely]

Gene,

Not to worry about what Christian overhead; I found this transcript of that dinner:

TomD:  Did you really want the President's Cup to end in a tie?
Jack: No

TomD:  Can you believe Sutton paired Tiger & Phil twice?
Jack: No

TomD: Can you figure out why nobody in the Hamptons seems to be able to consistantly spell Sebonac/Sebonack?
Jack: No

TomD: If I switch to the new AirBear driver, will I really add 20yds to my game?
Jack: No

TomD: Any chance you'll wear those yellow or red slacks from the 1970s to the Sebonack G.C. opening?
Jack: No

[Doug Wright]

Gene,

I could tell when we met Christian almost exactly two years ago on what I think was his first trip with you to SH that the kid had game!  He showed such joy, being in that beautiful place with his dad--I remember he had a lot of fun putting around the practice green that day.

As I recall, I spent more time "in the zone" on the golf course before I was eligible to vote (or dink--was that it??).

Congratulations Christian! (and Gene).

Best,

[THuckaby2]

YOWZA!

Fantastic stuff, Gene.  

So how many strokes will he give you now?

 

[John_Conley]

Question for all the Dads...

I noticed that many of the Olympic basketball players didn't take up the sport until age 15 or 16.  At first that sounds late, but then take a swing by any Rec Center and you'll see kids as young as 3, 4, and 5 shooting at 10' goals.  (They are hesitant to lower them because older kids may dunk and bend the rims.)  It's no wonder "we" (Americans) can't shoot because it is nearly impossible to learn proper form when the physical strength is lacking.

Does this translate to golf?  My 2 1/2 year old has two U.S. kids red clubs, but he struggles to swing them.  He can roll a full swing about 15 yards or so.  I'd like to teach him the putting part, but it isn't something he enjoys.  

My question for you is this... does it make sense to wait until age 10 or 12 and then immerse him in it with proper instruction and a focus?  (Team sports at that age may be meeting 6 days a week for games and practice.  You could do the same with golf.)  Do you know anyone who has done this?

I have poor fundamentals and wonder if I tried full swings too young before I had the strength for it.

[TEPaul]

Brian Gracely:

You forgot in that transcipt when TomD asked Jack a question and Jack didn't answer yes or no just sat there and looked at TomD with a puzzled look on his face for a while!

The question was;

TomD; "Jack, do you know who designed the course next to Sebonack?"
Jack: "aaah, uuuh, that's a tough one."
TomD: "It was Macdonald, Jack."
Jack: "Chip Macdonald?! I know about him! No kidding? I knew he was a good shaper but I didn't know he was that old."

[Evan Fleisher]

JC,

My older daughter is now freshly 6 years old and as of last summer she has become interested in the game.  At this point, there is no pressure on my part, just take her out to hit balls, chip,putt...whatever she wants when she wants.

This past summer I enrolled her in lessons at our club and they began the teachning process with many of the basics (putting, chipping, and very little "full shot" practice).

I say get them involved in whatever way you can at whatever level THEY WANT...if that simply means hitiing a few shots then chasing the frogs around the pond, so be it.  Anything you can do to encourage (but not push them) the game in them is a good thing in my book.