11-year-old golfer working his way toward pro status
Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
BENTONVILLE - Summertime for Skyler Young is not spent the same way as other children living in the area. While some kids take the few months away from school to perfect their cannonball in the local swimming pool or to finally conquer a few new video games, Young can more likely be found on the golf course working on his swing.
"It's just a great sport," he said.
Young, 11, dreams of becoming a professional golfer one day, and he uses the hiatus from academics to pursue that goal.
"When summer starts, he's in tournaments all the time," his mother, Diane, said.
This young Bentonville resident often shoots par or better and consistently places near the top of the leader board in tournaments. His natural ability is mixed with family support and a devotion to practice that has helped him achieve more accolades by the age of 11 than most golfers get in a lifetime.
Young was introduced to the game of golf at the age of 4 by his father, Dr. Jimmy Young. Before the boy turned 10, he had sunk his first hole-in-one.
The feat was impressive, but some could dismiss it as a fluke or beginner's luck - until he disproved the theory by sinking two more in the following years. Young landed his latest ace May 25 on the Branchwood Golf Course in Bella Vista by using an 8-iron to take the ball 110 yards to the hole.
After making three holes-in-one early in his career, Young is hungry for more, he said.
Young's parents are supportive of his hobby, and so are his five sisters and two brothers, but Skyler plays the most golf in the family, he said.
His love of the sport and his natural ability are credited in part to his grandfather, the late Ted Harmon from Texas, Diane Young said.
"I kind of attribute that talent to the genes a lot," she said. "My dad was very close to being a pro. He played golf all the time."
Skyler Young also remembers his grandfather's golf stories.
"He made eight holes-in-one, not counting par 3 s."
While summer is sort of golf season for the Young family, Skyler admits the sport is on his mind during the school year. He plays a round or two when he gets the chance and often thinks about it when not actually on the course, he said.
He enjoys playing on Bella Vista courses when he can. The Dogwood Hills course is a personal favorite, he said.
When he was asked by his teacher to write a report on a notable figure from Arkansas, his mind naturally drifted to one of his heroes, longtime Arkansas resident and golf legend John Daly.
"He got 100 percent on it," Diane Young said.
Skyler later got to meet Daly at a golfing event, along with another one of his personal heroes, Tiger Woods.
With role models such as those and a love of the game, it is no surprise that Skyler Young is banking on being a professional golfer when he grows up.
"I don't really have a backup," he said.
If his drive and determination hold out, his chances are pretty good, his mother said.
"Failure is not in his vocabulary."
Marshall Smith, Skyler's golf instructor, agrees that the boy's future looks bright if he continues to work hard.
"He'll get a scholarship in golf at any place he wants to go," Smith said.
Smith, 82, has had 54 years of experience teaching golf and has helped legends such as Chi Chi Rodriquez and Craig Stadler.
Although Smith only started working with Skyler Young at the beginning of spring, the improvement to the young player's game has been noticeable, Diane Young said.
"My swing coach has helped me tremendously," Skyler Young said.
Changes were needed in Young's swing and body position, Smith noted.
"The biggest thing right off was that Skyler was getting his head out in front of his right foot," Smith said. This caused him to get off balance, he explained.
"The first thing you need as a golfer is balance," Smith said. "If you're a little off balance in anything, you can't do it very well."
The weekly advice from Smith helped Young take a first-place finish in a golf tournament in Little Rock on June 8 - something he has struggled to do over the past few years.
"The first year I was in it, I shot 113, the second year I shot an 88 and this year I shot a 70," Young said.
The victory in Little Rock is hopefully the first of many, Young said. There are still several tournaments he is scheduled to tee up for this summer, including a trip to Florida in July for a national competition, he said.
If all goes well, next year, when Young turns 12, he will be eligible to take a stab at a number of other tournaments he hasn't competed in before because of age restrictions, he said.
"When you turn 12, it really opens up to you."
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