A thread about Kirke: a return to Medinah!

[GolfSpy MPR]

We've had an incident:

I was actually in the garage when this happened and I heard the muffled crush of the rear window. Kirke was pitching a ball around the yard, and he said he caught this one thin. Given the angle (going from our front yard, which is behind and to the right of the perspective of this photo) to the grass to the left of the van, I'm assuming he actually shanked it, which would have given it the low-ish right flight needed to pop the window.

He looks pretty down here, but like most bad shots he hits, it really didn't seem to bother him long. He shakes off bad shots quicker than anyone I've seen.

I told my wife that this comes from Kirke's part of our stimulus check

[Shankster]

Tell him to leave the Shankerooskies to me... no one deserves to experience their nasty word.

[RollingGreens]

Priceless!

[MattF]

I know I've already commented elsewhere, but .

[Hook DeLoft]

Hosel fade!  One of my most effective shots.  BTW, great thread!

[tchat07]

O wow impressed you took it so well. Poor guys face says it all.

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[GolfSpy MPR]

35 minutes ago, tchat07 said:

O wow impressed you took it so well. Poor guys face says it all.

Sent from my SM-G950U using MyGolfSpy mobile app
 

I certainly wasn't thrilled, but he wasn't doing it on purpose, nor was he being extraordinarily reckless. He pitches balls around the yard all the time, and controls his ball really well. Eventually, one was going to get away, but it isn't something I can get mad at him for.

But if he does this much more, I'll start pressing him to turn pro sooner.

[Rickp]

Man, does he look guilty!!


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[00sportsman]

I love that you got him to pose for a picture with it. That looks like a senior yearbook picture if ever I saw one!

Not fun now, but you guys will laugh for a lifetime about it.


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[GolfSpy MPR]

1 hour ago, 00sportsman said:

I love that you got him to pose for a picture with it. That looks like a senior yearbook picture if ever I saw one!

Not fun now, but you guys will laugh for a lifetime about it.


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Literally, the picture is why he looks so down, not the window. He was in the backyard playing; I really don't think he was bothered about the window in the slightest. But I called him over and said, listen, this is going to be a memory, we need a picture. So that's the look I got.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

1 hour ago, EasyPutter said:

it will be very interested to see where this odyssey takes him!

Looks like a Dodge to me 

[Shankster]

4 hours ago, Hook DeLoft said:

Hosel fade!  One of my most effective shots.  BTW, great thread!

Strange... with a name like Hook DeLoft, ida thought you duck hooked them?

1 hour ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Looks like a Dodge to me 

Amazing.  Best one liner I’ve heard in years.

[GolfSpy MPR]

Kirke and I got out for our first 9 holes of the year yesterday. We drove about 50 minutes south to a course called Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin. Our home course has announced an opening this Saturday!

Whenever I bring Kirke somewhere new, I have to make sure I know what his course is going to be, because there aren't many courses with tees for his age group (US Kids recommends 1,800 yards for nine holes for 8 year old boys). Typically, I divide Kirke's yardage by the the total yardage to get the percentage the course needs to be reduced, and then do that for each hole. Most times that works just fine; occasionally, it would put Kirke in a water hazard or right in the end of a dogleg, and then I need to make adjustments. Happily, Trout Lake's layout worked perfectly for Kirke:

Hole 1: 190
Hole 2: 230
Hole 3: 95 (par 3)
Hole 4: 315 (par 5)
Hole 5: 100 (par 3)
Hole 6: 240
Hole 7: 270 (par 5)
Hole 8: 85 (par 3)
Hole 9: 300 (par 5)

He and I both got off to solid starts, with FIR/GIR/2 putt pars:

That's the end of my round highlights, but Kirke was just getting started. On the second, his approach just missed the green, ending up in the fringe to the right of the hole. So Kirke chipped in for birdie.

The next hole, the 95 yard par 3, Kirke hit hybrid pin-high then rolled in a smooth 10-12 footer for another birdie:

He concluded his round without further fireworks: par, bogey, par, par, par, par. 13 total putts.

I'm gonna be honest: had I played from his tees, he probably would have beaten me yesterday. The kid's in midseason form—or if he's not, midseason form is going to be crazy good.

I do so much work on my swing, and it will never look this good:

All told, it was a perfect day. Great weather, great walk, and a lot of fun. I'm thrilled that spring came early up here, because it means lots of days like this with my son:

 

[GolfSpy MPR]

Looking for some ideas, guys.

For each of the past two years, I've put together a video of Kirke's swing for this contest for the best junior golf swing. Kirke's never placed, and that's totally OK. We have fun making the video, and I know that in the future, I'll be glad to have these year-by-year memories of how his swing developed.

The first year we did this (age 6), the deadline was early in the year, which means we still had snow on the ground. So I compiled a video that was mostly his swings in our basement along with some clips:

Last year, we made two versions of his video. Initially, they had the same earlier due date, so I just put together mostly videos of Kirke from the previous summer:

But then the world shut down, and for that reason, they extended the deadline late enough for the snow to melt. This enabled us to go to the course one evening a shoot a bunch of footage especially for the contest. And it was the first time that I did a little more work on the editing side. I'll be honest: I've probably watched this video a hundred times, and I enjoy it every time:

In the next few weeks, we're going to start assembling his video for this year's contest. At this point, it doesn't have much of anything to do with winning the contest. That would be fun, for sure, but I honestly just enjoy putting together a showcase of Kirke's swing, and Kirke also gets a kick out of it.

I've got some ideas for shots I want to capture for this year's video. Two so far:

• The opening shot this year will be a drone shot from directly overhead, with Kirke's name and age on the grass to the side of his swing.
• I'm planning to bring a couple of tripods, and I want to have at least one swing in which I put the down-the-line and face-on video playing at the same time.

I'll have with me at least three HD cameras (my current phone, an iPhone 6, and a knockoff GoPro) and a 4K drone. I also have a mirrorless Sony with a lens that zooms (though not extreme).

What golf swing video shots have you seen that you thought were pretty cool? I thought I'd tap into the experience of the Forum for different ideas that would be fun.

[cnosil]

Do it for the personal memories.  you will always be able to go back and see your son growing up.  Those are memories that cant be replaced and will cherish forever. 
 

But from a contest perspective We’re you able to view the winning videos?  How are they judged?  What do you think separates them from yours?  

[GolfSpy MPR]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Do it for the personal memories.  you will always be able to go back and see your son growing up.  Those are memories that cant be replaced and will cherish forever. 
 

But from a contest perspective We’re you able to view the winning videos?  How are they judged?  What do you think separates them from yours?  

The judging is done based on the swings, not the video per se.

Here were the winners from last year, and I've linked it to where Kirke's age group starts:

All three of those chosen to win have great looking swings, so I don't have any complaints there. Cameron's swing is not only good-looking but incredibly powerful; I've chatted with his dad on Twitter and Cameron is definitely a lot bigger than Kirke is.

So I honestly don't sweat the results. Obviously, I think Kirke has a good-looking swing and I know he can also play really well. Other kids also have good-looking swings, and judging who has the "best" swing is not easy and it's not something that has clear objective criteria.

For instance, if you're on Twitter, you should be following Donnie Solesbee. Just an absolutely awesome story: he's been a golf fitness instructor. He and his wife adopted a young girl named Autumn. They took her to play golf (she'd never swung a club before in her life). Just over a year later, she has one of the prettiest swings you'll ever see and has qualified for the US Kids World Championship at Pinehurst. Look at this swing!

I have no idea if Donnie and Autumn are submitting a swing for this contest, but if they are, Kirke has no chance. I mean, I'd vote for Autumn over Kirke just on swing aesthetics.

So while it would be fun to place or win, this really truly is a chance for us to make memories and to put together a swing video that we can enjoy and that (I think) other people can enjoy as well. I'm obviously biased, but I love watching Kirke's swing and I like sharing it with others.

[GolfSpy MPR]

A couple of Kirke updates.

The most important news is that next week, Kirke has both his first tournament of the year and his first round of Drive, Chip, and Putt. These are back-to-back days, 2+ hour drives each way in totally opposite directions:

I think his game is in pretty good shape right now. He had a few weeks during which he insisted on teeing his drives really high, only to continue to hit weak skyballs. But he's stubborn. Evenually, he decided to lower his tee a bit and is back to driving the ball pretty well.

A couple of weeks back, I was attending a conference. An acquaintence invited Kirke to play at his country club down in the Chicago area, so I got to tag along and play (probably not the last time I get to play golf somewhere nice because of Kirke). Our host graciously extended the invitation that, should Kirke get through his local qualifying at Spooner and then the next round at SentryWorld, we could stay with him for the DCP event at Medinah. I'm really hoping Kirke makes it that far.

Last night, we went to the course to begin filming Kirke's entry for the swing video contest I mentioned above. I've come up with a handful of ideas. One drone shot I wanted just wasn't happening, but we got a couple of others that should look good. I also really like this split screen view:

I've got one more video idea that we attempted to film last night, but I don't think the footage we got is going to work. So it might be a little bit longer before I'm able to get this year's video in its final form.

[Lacassem]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

A couple of Kirke updates.

The most important news is that next week, Kirke has both his first tournament of the year and his first round of Drive, Chip, and Putt. These are back-to-back days, 2+ hour drives each way in totally opposite directions:

I think his game is in pretty good shape right now. He had a few weeks during which he insisted on teeing his drives really high, only to continue to hit weak skyballs. But he's stubborn. Evenually, he decided to lower his tee a bit and is back to driving the ball pretty well.

A couple of weeks back, I was attending a conference. An acquaintence invited Kirke to play at his country club down in the Chicago area, so I got to tag along and play (probably not the last time I get to play golf somewhere nice because of Kirke). Our host graciously extended the invitation that, should Kirke get through his local qualifying at Spooner and then the next round at SentryWorld, we could stay with him for the DCP event at Medinah. I'm really hoping Kirke makes it that far.

Last night, we went to the course to begin filming Kirke's entry for the swing video contest I mentioned above. I've come up with a handful of ideas. One drone shot I wanted just wasn't happening, but we got a couple of others that should look good. I also really like this split screen view:

I've got one more video idea that we attempted to film last night, but I don't think the footage we got is going to work. So it might be a little bit longer before I'm able to get this year's video in its final form.

GOOD LUCK to Kirke next week!!!!!!!

Cant see the video (work firewall) but I am sure is a great video like all the others.

[DMDoran]

I had the privilege of playing with Mike and Kirke in Chicago and I can testify from firsthand experience that the young man has some serious game. It was also encouraging to see the fun and enjoyment that father and son have playing. Golf is not a labor for these two. Excited to see how he develops.

[GolfSpy MPR]

Just got an email with details for Kirke's first round of DCP next week. He's off at noon on Wednesday; that's a good starting time, because it means that he can get there without us having to hit the road at 4:30 in the morning.

The other good news: at least right now, there are only five boys in his division (boys 7–9). The rules sheet with the tee listings still says that the top 3 advance. I don't know if there are exceptions made with the "field size" is so limited, and I'm absolutely not telling Kirke about there being so few, but if everything is as it looks, his odds of making it to round 2 seem to have improved.