Welcome to The Opening Tee Shot

Presented by Line Lion

Be clutch every time.

Welcome to this Thursday edition ofThe Opening Tee Shot!

Is it me or does it feel like the summer golf has increased at warp speed now? Just when we check off one tournament or thing to do, then along comes the next!

The excitement is building over here as we get ready to head to Shinnecock Hills next week. Watching our son compete in the U.S. Open as an amateur is a dream come true not just for him, but us as parents.

Prepping for the U.S. Open has been unlike any else we've experienced, too. First, there's the logistics piece. We're completely unfamiliar with the Hamptons-area and have only been to Long Island once. We're coordinating with the friends and family joining us, but Hamilton has to do everything on his own as a player.

Then there's the practice piece. Hammy's practice schedule and strategy looks a lot different compared to getting ready for competitions. He's getting in lots of time playing challenging courses, but still dividing up time to focus on specific aspects of his game. 

No matter what tournament he's prepping for though, he always has a gameplan with his practice schedule ahead of it. This is something he's done since he was about 12 years old or so and it's helped him tremendously. I encourage your junior golfer to try it out for themselves and see if it helps their focus.

Next week I'll share some behind-the-scenes looks while we're up at Shinnecock and I hope you'll join us here again next week!

-Sara and Chili

🏆 Junior golfers in the U.S. Open!

Did you catch the coverage during Golf's Longest Day? It's always exciting day seeing who makes it past one of golf's most grueling tests.

One of my favorite storylines from this year is the number of amateurs — and junior golfers — who punched their tickets to the U.S. Open.

Prior to Monday, I believe there were 6 or 7 amateurs in the field. Now there are 19 and 2 of which are still high schoolers! Miles Russell (with Charlie Woods on the bag) and Giusseppe Puebla made it, plus Jackson Ormond, who graduated from high school this year. 

We've competed with all three of these juniors over the years and I can tell you the one trait they all have in common: the relentless pursuit of getting better and better. Even when scores don't reflect the work or the results aren't what they hoped, the grind has never stopped and each one pushes through to the next competition.

If your junior golfer gets down on themselves when something doesn't go their way in a tournament (or even a practice session), I hope these handful of junior golfers can inspire them to keep grinding. You never know what's waiting for them around the corner...and what they can learn from what's happening today.

The clubhouse at Baltusrol in New Jersey.

The famous windmill at National Golf Links of America in Southhampton, New York.

Thank you to UP Consulting and Line Lion for your continued support as a sponsor and drop us a line if you're interested in affordable sponsorship opportunities with Junior Golf Playbook.

Do you know another junior golf parent who would like this newsletter? You can send this link.

Don't forget, you can always hit reply to this newsletter or email us at [email protected].

Follow Us!