Young golfer gets into the swing at Augusta National Golf Course
Cole Roberts, 10, found success soon after he took up the sport
Jeff Roberts always wanted to see Augusta National Golf Course and his 10-year-old son made it happen.
Cole Roberts was almost a novice golfer when he won three qualifying events in 2019 to reach the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at the home of The Masters. Postponed last year by the pandemic, Roberts finally got his chance to compete against nine other finalists from across the U.S., placing seventh.
Cole watched the event with his father on television one year and expressed interest in trying it.
“It just looked really fun and cool,” said Cole, a Grade 5 pupil at James Strath Public School.
Before moving to Peterborough last May, Roberts lived in Oshawa next to Kedron Bells golf course. Jeff never had a membership but he’d golf there 10 times a year and Cole tagged along with a golf club and hit a few balls while searching for frogs in the water or sticks. His only other golf experience at the time was attending a couple of summer camps geared more toward fun than instruction, said Jeff.
Family friend Tony Mills had taken his children to DCP qualifiers, which are all held in the U.S., so the two families decided to make a holiday of it and travel to Saratoga, N.Y. for a qualifier at Saratoga National Golf Course on June 29, 2019. Each competitor hits three drives, three chips and three putts to earn points.
To their surprise, Cole won the boys 7-9 division against more than 30 competitors.
“I was really surprised,” said Cole. “I was so proud I had won.”
“I knew Cole had some good hand-eye co-ordination,” said Jeff Roberts. “If it was a bat at the park or a hockey stick or lacrosse stick he always seemed to have the ability to pick it up easily.”
Cole plays AAA hockey and rep lacrosse. He started in Oshawa and transferred to Peterborough for hockey two years ago. Jeff and his wife Jennifer have operated Southern Comfort Hearth & Home in Lindsay for eight years and wanted to move closer to the business but remain in a city for their children’s sports. They also have a daughter Ellie, 8, who plays hockey, soccer and is beginning to golf.
Cole advanced to the sub-regionals in Verona, N.Y. at the Turning Stone Resort and Golf Club on Aug. 14, 2019. He again took first place.
He was then off to the regionals in Cromwell, Connecticut Sept. 29, 2019 where only one player advances to the national finals. Roberts won his third straight contest.
Along the way he met young golfers with expensive clubs, private club memberships, monogrammed golf bags, one boy who has a simulator in his home. It was only when Cole qualified for regionals that Jeff got him some lessons from pro Josh Growden.
“We showed up with a $200 set of U.S. kids clubs and a $20 golf bag,” said Jeff Roberts. “Most kids had push carts and Cole carried his bag.”
At Augusta, he had a tough start placing seventh in drive and ninth in chip. He rebounded for second in putt draining a 15-foot downhill putt on hole 18.
“This 15-footer I’ve seen Brooks Koepka and all kinds of guys miss,” said Jeff. “I get goosebumps thinking about him sinking that putt. It was the most amazing thing. “They’re talking about this Masters having the fastest greens in a long time.”
Jeff believes his son’s biggest accomplishment was doing so well considering he broke his thumb playing hockey in December, wasn’t able to golf in the winter or visit simulators during the lockdowns while many of his U.S. competitors practised regularly.
“He went into it just as a fun thing and discovered he truly has a bit of a knack for the game,” Jeff said.