GOLF

I ran into T.J. Asbil last week and he said his dad recently repeated as the Senior Club Championship at the Ponderosa Club in Batesburg-Leesville.

T.J., 30, grew up playing golf with my children, won the Ponderosa Junior Championship 8 consecutive years. So now the Asbil father and son have bookend wall space at the Ponderosa Club.

Incidentally, if you could win the club championship at the Pondarosa, you maybe good enough to play on the PGA Tour. The Proveaux brothers play there as well as Zack McLain and other solid players.

Cody, who now coaches college golf, played in a PGA Tour event when he was still a junior player.

The reason I got into the game of golf and later the business of golf was the family picture. Tim Krapfel was one of my best friends in high school and his entire family played golf together. Tim would constantly talk about how much fun he had playing golf with his 2 brothers and his father.

I had 3 other friends - Terry Chappell, David Whittington, and Chris Newnham - that all played golf with their fathers. All these dads kept encouraging me to play golf throughout middle school and high school and, finally, I began to accept third invitations late in my junior year.

It completely changed my teenage perspective. By the time I graduated high school, I found a sport that I could pursue forever and that was a cool thought.

During my freshman year in college, I saw a 90-plus year-old couple playing golf at Camden Country Club. I loved this picture so much I knew this game would have me forever.

The most satisfying picture for me at this point is seeing children playing with parents and grandparents.

Here is the lesson for the day. Get off to an early start so there’s more time to play. If you are a parent or grandparent and have 4 to 8 year-old, there are wonderful developmental options.

In fact, business entities Timberlake Country Club, the Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission and Grow Golf Now are collaborating with individuals Matt Barton, Jimmy Koosa, Mike Author, Chase Butler, PGA golf professionals, and Angie Duck-worth, Fitness & Wellness Expert On Youth Family and Senior Golf on an initiative that is very special.

There will be more outlined later on this topic so stay tuned. For questions, email me directly and for a ready reference, go to www.growgolfnow.com .

A national golf qualifier for the 33rd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship will be taking place July 31 at the Country Club of Lexington.

All qualifiers will join a field of 156 golfers competing at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz. from Sept. 14-19 to win a United States Golf Association (USGA) title.

Any female amateur who has turned 25 as of Sept. 14 and whose USGA Handicap Index does not exceed 9.4 is eligible to enter. Those who are interested can complete application in visiting https://champs.usga.org/index.htmlthis . Entries will close on July 24 at 5 pm.