A thread about Kirke

[GolfSpy MPR]

Periodically, I post here about my son Kirke. I thought I'd start a thread in which I can bring all those posts together, so that those interested can read them, and those not interested aren't seeing posts about him scattered all over the forums

Kirke started swinging a club roughly when he could stand up.

For whatever reason, he took to the game immediately, both in interest and in skill. Here's a YouTube playlist of videos of him swinging, starting when he's two up to the present:

 

Here's a quick catalog of some of the other things I've already posted here:

• Top of the list: Kirke's first hole in one.
• A post about the SuperSpeed sticks I just built for him.
• A handful of posts about him in this thread.

Just a word, then, about my approach with him. Kirke will turn six this weekend. The fact that he's ahead of the game for his age means very, very little for his ultimate peak. Might he play college golf? Yep, maybe. Or not. And that's OK. Does he want to tee it up with Rickie some day? You better believe he does.

We'll see. In the meantime, we're going to have fun. He plays soccer, and he's hoping to play baseball this year. I have no intention of paying multiple thousands of dollars a year for a big-name coach and travel golf. I also will not refer to Kirke's play as "we are doing this." He's not a proxy for me to live out my golf ambitions.

He's my son. And this summer, we're going to walk a bunch of rounds and build our relationship and make memories. And he'll enter Drive, Chip, and Putt for the first time. And this weekend, he's going to open a set of clubs that he's been pining for since he first laid eyes on them:

And I'll post about it here in this thread, because this is the best place to talk about golf. In a few years, maybe Kirke will have his own account here

[Kenny B]

Great idea, posting all of Kirke's golf adventures!!  He has a nice swing.  I am rooting for him to make it to Augusta for the DCP comp.  I would love to still be around when when he makes it to college golf if he chooses.  

Best of luck Kirke!!

[tommc23]

great idea if he makes it to DCP I will definitely watch it and root for him

[fozcycle]

That’s awesome Patrick.......


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[revkev]

Best wishes to Kirke


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[sirchunksalot]

That's awesome MPR, I can't wait to hear all about the golf memories you and Kirke make.

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[russtopherb]

Love this thread. You're taking the perfect approach to it IMHO, having a son who also started playing golf when he was 8 or 9. It's all about fun and making great memories together. 

[PlaidJacket]

I'm liking your post Patrick. You never know what will end up sticking to your son. I also like your approach with him. We don't try to make our First Tee kids golf only kids. In fact, we encourage kids/parents to let their kids try all sports they show an interest in. Many of our participants are multi-sport kids. I think at some point these kids will discover a sport they are good or better at and will focus more on one particular sport. Certainly, I favor golf but that's not how things workout sometimes. Kirke might figure out and decide later he prefers playing a trombone. Ha! You never know with these kids.

I think we had a PM once about The First Tee. You might take a second look at it in your area and see if it's available or doable. You could contact the nearest Chapter and see if they can help even though they might not be all that close to you. There's always the PGA Jr. League. It's another program for youngsters. If it's not available in your area at this time you could even start it. The PGA Jr. League is much easier to start at your course or hometone than The First Tee. Below are a few of links.  I see a program location for TFT way up in the northern part of Michigan. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help.

https://thefirsttee.org/locations/

https://www.thefirstteemidmichigan.org/

https://www.thefirstteenorthernmichigan.org/

https://www.pgajrleague.com/

 

[GolfSpy MPR]

I'll post the video once I have a wifi connection, but here's a picture of Kirke with his new clubs. He was incredibly excited. Honestly, I was almost as excited for him.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

This is super cool and a great idea MPR!  Kirke's swing looks good, who am I kidding his swing at age 2 is better than my swing now at 38!  Enjoy the time together.  i will definitely be following along and rooting for him in the DCP.

[HardcoreLooper]

Congratulations to Kirke on his new clubs!

@PlaidJacket has already covered the First Tee angle.  You know I'm a big supporter as well.

I'd also check with your state golf association and your local PGA section for events and activities.  I don't know how it is in Michigan, but here in Virginia, between the VSGA and the Mid-Atlantic PGA section, there are a ton of events to play in that are close enough to make it a day trip.

[GolfSpy MPR]

We even retrieved the ball from the frozen lake.

[PlaidJacket]

Bet that shot ended up on the other side of the lake. Ha!

[HardcoreLooper]

On 12/29/2018 at 11:58 AM, GolfSpy MPR said:

We even retrieved the ball from the frozen lake.

That's hardcore.

[GolfSpy MPR]

As promised: the video of Kirke opening his new sticks:

 

[Mr. 82]

Go Kirke GO!!!!!


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[GolfSpy MPR]

We're getting back into the SuperSpeed training. Kirke had a new high speed today with his mid-weight stick: 63mph!

[revkev]

We're getting back into the SuperSpeed training. Kirke had a new high speed today with his mid-weight stick: 63mph!

Inspired by this thread my 6 year old grandson, Kevin has started to participate in my training, too.

Maybe one day they will meet up on tour. :)

Wonder were my guy got his name from. [emoji847]


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[GolfSpy MPR]

A couple of weeks ago, Fox announcer Shane Bacon posted this on Twitter:

So I replied by posting the video (above) of Kirke hitting his new driver in the snow (and made it clear that the video had been filmed earlier). Shane picked Kirke to receive a hat.

It arrived today, and I hadn't told Kirke about it. So here's the video of him opening it and saying thanks to Shane for the gift.

 

[PING Apologist #9]

4 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

A couple of weeks ago, Fox announcer Shane Bacon posted this on Twitter:

So I replied by posting the video (above) of Kirke hitting his new driver in the snow (and made it clear that the video had been filmed earlier). Shane picked Kirke to receive a hat.

It arrived today, and I hadn't told Kirke about it. So here's the video of him opening it and saying thanks to Shane for the gift.

 

SO AWESOME! Go get 'em kid!

[PAgolfer2017]

Great thread! And go Kirke!!


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[GolfSpy MPR]

Temp was just above freezing today, so Kirke and I finally got in some SkyTrak time this afternoon. I also recently got a phone with a 480fps slow motion feature. So here's a little pitch from Kirke from the Konica Minolta Bizhub camera:

I was calling out numbers for him to hit; here, he was trying for 24 yards. Still needs to grow into the new Cobras.

[PlaidJacket]

I wanted to watch but the video doesn't load. I runs through about 10 seconds of loading and then goes to a generic youtube screen.

[GolfSpy MPR]

3 minutes ago, PlaidJacket said:

I wanted to watch but the video doesn't load. I runs through about 10 seconds of loading and then goes to a generic youtube screen.

What device are you using? Anyone else having the same problem?

[PlaidJacket]

home PC - windows.

No trouble here before or elsewhere.

[GB13]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

What device are you using? Anyone else having the same problem?

Works fine for me. iPhone. 

[toehold57]

Working fine for me on an iPad

Can Kirke come by and give me a lesson? [emoji6]


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[GolfSpy MPR]

4 minutes ago, PlaidJacket said:

home PC - windows.

No trouble here before or elsewhere.

Maybe this will work:

 

[PlaidJacket]

Nope. Now all I see is Kirke standing there. No motion. Beats me. Tried it 3 times. It runs thru 10 seconds but no motion. I just tried YouTube and it's fine. 

[GolfSpy MPR]

Some morning short game practice. We set the SkyTrak to ask for random distances from 10–25 yards. Honestly, I love the randomization features of SkyTrak, and hope they expand them to other parts of their software.