Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Beat Goes On
East Bradford 12-year-old Davis Conaway runs circles around golfers twice his age. All the while, the game he loves fills the literal hole in his heart.
While many 12-year-old boys are awaiting the release of a new video game or eyeing a new motocross bike, Davis Conaway is counting the days until his brand new Callaway golf clubs arrive.
“I’ve gone through a ton of different sets, but I’m getting big-boy clubs,” he said. “I can’t wait.”
A resident of East Bradford, you could say that Conaway is obsessed with golf. He was fitted for his new clubs and they’ve been ordered. “I was hitting my 7-iron about 20 yards farther,” he said excitedly. Conaway loves the game, and right now, it loves him back. He is the most accomplished golfer in his age category in the entire Philadelphia PGA Section. The feat becomes even more impressive, however, when you consider that a dozen years ago, he was born with a life-threatening heart ailment.
“Davis knows all about what happened,” said his dad, Jeremi. “He has a scar from his neck to his belly button and he’s seen the pictures.”
FIVE WINS IN 10 DAYS
The eldest of three children to Jeremi and Greta Conaway, Davis is a rising seventh grader at the middle school at Malvern Prep. During the current 201920 season, Conaway’s won seven tournaments out of 12 total outings. His worst finish was a tie for seventh.
“Every shot is different in golf,” he pointed out. “It is such a challenge. It’s played within the six inches in your head. It’s one of the most challenging sports you can find.”
Currently ranked number one in the region’s 12-and-under category, Conaway vaulted into the top spot after a red-hot stretch in early June, where he prevailed five times in a 10-day stretch. He is now nearly 200 points ahead of his nearest competitor in the Philadelphia Junior Tour rankings, which is substantial. His short-term goal is to finish on top and wrap up the Philadelphia PGA Player of the Year age group award. You can probably guess Conaway’s ultimate goal.
“I want to eventually be on the PGA Tour,” he said.
‘EVERY DAY IS A GIFT’
It’s all quite amazing when you consider that Conaway was born with a hole in his heart, as well as a leak in his atrium, which is a chamber that leads to the ventricle.
When asked about it all, Conaway simply says: “Every day is a gift.”
The heart issues were first detected on a routine check-up with the family’s pediatrician. He was referred to Dr. Paul C. Anisman, a cardiologist at Nemours/Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington.
“We were told that he had a rather large hole in his heart and that he needed open-heart surgery,” Jeremi said. “It was extremely stressful for us as firsttime parents.”
At just five months of age, Davis underwent ventricular septal defect surgery to address the heart defect, and mitral valve repair for the leak. The surgeon was Dr. Christian Pizarro.
“It was very eye-opening to us,” Jeremi said. “You think your problems are big and then to encounter something like that and you realize that most things going on around you are not as important as you think they are.
“It made us realize that nothing is guaranteed. You hear people say that, but then you go through it and it is like, ‘wow, now I get it.’”
The procedures were successful and recovery lasted about four weeks.
“We were very fortunate,” Jeremi said. “When we were checking out, there were kids Davis’ age that had the same surgery and were still in the ICU.”
Except for yearly checkups – which have all been excellent -you would never know that Conaway had such a serious health issue as an infant.
“He has no limitations,” Jeremi said.
“It hasn’t affected me at all,” Davis added.
GOLF IS NO. 1
Playing golf is one of Davis’ first memories. His dad first took him to play at Fieldstone Golf Club in Delaware at the age of three.
“The first shot that I remember is that I made a six-foot putt to win a competition at a (Fieldstone) camp, and everybody went crazy,” Davis recalled. “That was fun.”
He’s been hooked ever since. It is very rare for Conaway to spend a day without swinging a golf club. Even during the cold months of winter, you can find him hitting balls at the indoor hitting range in the family garage. He usually spends 1-2 hours per day on his game.
“If I didn’t like it, it would be hard to go out there and do it every day,” Davis pointed out. “But to me, it isn’t a chore – it is fun.”
Conaway also plays basketball at Malvern Prep, but he is readily admits that golf is his favorite.
“Golf is definitely my number one sport,” he said. “I’m smaller than everybody in basketball, but that isn’t an issue in golf. Being bigger can definitely help you, but it isn’t as important as having a good swing or having as good attitude, or confidence.”
Conaway is now about 5-foot-2 and 95 pounds, and yet he averages 200 yards off the tee with his driver.
“They said his heart surgery would stunt his growth initially, so that’s one reason he is a little smaller than his classmates,” Jeremi explained.
When asked about his strengths, Davis first mentioned that he hits it straight and long.
“My driver is usually longer than everybody, which is a big advantage,” he said.
“My irons are getting more accurate by the day. That’s an area I’ve been practicing on lately.”
Responding to the same question, his dad’s response focused on his son’s short game and putting.
“Oh, my short game is good. I practice that a lot too,” Davis said.
“Short game is what saves you strokes. You drive for show, you putt for dough.”
OUT-WORKING THE OPPOSITION
Conaway has received plenty of professional instruction all among the way. At Fieldstone, it was Director of Golf James Larkin, and head pro John Rudolph. He now trains at Applebrook Golf Club in East Goshen. And the family has a membership at nearby Radley Run Country Club in Birmingham Township.
“Davis also puts in the time on his own,” Jeremi said. “We just walked 18 holes (last Wednesday) and then he went to the range, on his own, for about two hours.
“The progression has been fun to watch. His short game is very good. He has good hands and is a solid putter.”
Don’t be surprised if Conaway competes at the high school junior varsity level at Malvern Prep for head coach Gary Duda this fall as a seventh grader.
“It would be cool to compete with older guys and see what the competition is like and where I fit in,” Davis said.
“It is better competition, but I prefer that Davis plays with older kids and adults because they are better, and if Davis gets beat, it only makes him better,” Jeremi added.
His first Philadelphia Junior Tour win of the season came last fall at an event at Odessa National Golf Course in Townsend, Delaware. And then, following a lengthy hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, Conaway prevailed on June 7 at an event at the Pine Meadows Golf Complex in Lebanon.
Three days later, he won a Junior PGA Qualifier at Wild Quail Golf and Country Club in Wyoming, Delaware, followed on June 12th with a dominating 7-stroke victory at the two-day Precision Pro Golf Open at Hickory Valley Golf Club in Gilbertsville. He sank a 20-plus-foot putt on the 18th green to card a 79.
Two days after that he won another Junior PGA Qualifer in South Jersey at Scotland Run Golf Club, and capped off the incredible 10-day rampage by taking medalist honors at the Rehoboth Junior Open at Rehoboth Beach Country Club on June 16.
And finally, on June 29th, Conaway fired a 9-hole 38 to win a tournament at Medford Lakes Country Club by 2-strokes.
“I was expecting (the hot streak) because I worked as hard as anybody in the off-season. I put the time in every single day,” Conaway said.
“You always have to grind because the next day you may not be playing your best. This is only the Philly area and not the whole country. There is always going to be somebody out there that is better than you, and that motivates me.”
CAN’T OUT-DRIVE DAD … YET
These days, Conaway is working on accurately shaping his shots from left-to-right (draw) and right-to-left (fade). He also admits that he hasn’t run across many other 12-year-olds who love golf as much as he does.
“I am definitely (the most into golf) of anybody in my school,” he said. “I love it. I know some guys who are into it, but not as much as me.”
The Conaway family just completed a golf-centric vacation to The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, (WV). Davis and his dad played three of the four courses on the property.
“You still can’t out-drive your dad,” Jeremi joked.
“I’m sure it will happen by next year,” Davis replied.
“I can’t wait.”