Imagine how good a player you would be if you started at just 3-years old. Stephanie and David Dick’s daughter, Mykayla Grace is already hooked on golf and she doesn’t turn 5 until January 2017. In our latest Girls Golf feature, we talk to her parents about Mykayla’s instinctive delight in the game.
Tell us about how Mykayla got started
Mykayla started practicing and learning her golf swing at the age of 3. She started playing at an afterschool program at her Pre-K Christian School, St. Thomas Episcopal. The school had various activities with teachers that would give lessons in various sports and arts.
We bought a toy set of plastic clubs and balls and Mykala couldn’t get enough of them, of course hitting many things inside the house. We couldn’t believe she was actually making contact with the ball. After she was so insistent and had a passion for playing golf I started researching private coaches in the San Antonio area who worked well with children. In May of 2016, Mykayla started weekly private lessons and has been at it since then and will continue.
Mykayla also plays other sports and activities such as swimming , dance, and gymnastics, but nothing compares to her interest in golf.
Where does Mykayla get her lessons and practice?
Mykayla currently plays and practices with lessons at Joe Caruso Golf Academy & Driving Range in San Antonio, Texas. We love this facility because everyone is so welcoming and passionate about the sport of golf. Mykayla has access to state of the art equipment and various training resources to improve the fundamentals of the game of golf.
Mykayla’s coach is “Coach C” (Tom Covino) and it is amazing to watch a 4-year-old bond and take direction so well from a Golf Coach who has been so involved in the San Antonio Golf Community. Mykayla really enjoys going to practice and it is because of her coach who makes golf fun and allows Mykayla to play and practice to her limits.
At that age, young children typically will get bored or lose focus very quickly due to the attention span… but for some reason when she is at the Golf Academy and working with Coach C… she instantly focuses on the sport of golf and learning.
As a parent what do you think are the benefits of children playing golf?
It is a sport that requires discipline as well as intense focus and concentration. You can play golf no matter how old you are, and it brings you together with other people who enjoy the game as well. Mykayla really enjoyed watching this year’s Olympics and she said she wants to be an Olympic Golfer one day. We hope and have a pretty strong confidence that she will stay focused on the sport to hopefully have dreams of playing in the LPGA one day. Mykayla’s love for the sport of golf is evident and we can see her wanting to take the sport as far as she can.
What part of the game is her favorite at the moment?
Mykayla tells us she loves hitting the driver right now to swing with form and power as well as watch the ball go far in the air. She definitely loves hitting the driver the best but she has an uncanny natural putting stroke and has knocked in 20-foot plus putts on many occasions.
Speaking of the LPGA, I bet Mykayla loves watching the stars on TV. Who is her favorite player?
Stacy Lewis is her favorite golfer currently. Mykayla loved watching her in the Olympics and both mommy & daddy kept emphasizing the fact that she is an American Olympic golfer from the great state of Texas…. And Mykayla’s mommy’s hometown of Houston/Spring Texas, just south of the Woodlands.
How lovely to see such joy and enthusiasm. Thank you, Stephanie and David, for sharing your daughter’s wonderful story. We really look forward to your updates on Mykayla’s progress in the future.
