Jordan Celeste Lee
(August 2, 2013)–Jordan Celeste Lee is a prodigy of golf. The active youngster was exposed to the game by her loving grandparents, ‘Nana’ and ‘poppy’, who live in Roosevelt, Long Island (NY). 6-year old Jordan enjoys participating with the Darby Foundation in Roosevelt. “My Nana and Poppy watch golf on TV and play all the time and, they work with the Darby Foundation.”
The active, bright-eyed youth is growing-up fast. She just lost a front tooth and is heading to the first grade this September. Jordan loves the outdoors and gets out to play a round of nine holes about every two weeks. She also goes to the driving range in preparation of upcoming contests. Her two best golf companions on the course: “Nana and Poppy!” she says.
“I really like seeing how far I can make the ball go when I hit it. And, I really like riding in the golf cart because my mom (Melissa) drives it like crazy,” confesses the youngster. “When my ball goes in the hole: that’s exciting!”
“I just played my first-ever, round of nine holes recently at Cantiague Course in Hicksville, Long Island, says Jordan, whose favorite class in school is art and favorite food is pizza.
The Cantiague course is a perfect practice facility for her. The public course, opened in 1970 and owned by Nassau county. It features 1,878 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 30 and is open year-round. There is also a golf pro onsite for clinics and personal training.
Manytimes youngsters who are learning the game are challenged with stress and difficulties while on the golf course. Playing nine holes for them can be equally mentally and physically tough. However, Jordan is building her mental stamina and, each time she goes out, she is accepting those challenges that Cantiague is giving her.
As each month goes by, Jordan is working through her game and formuating positive solutions that are helping her to gain greater confidence, on and off of the golf course.
Her strong family support system is also keeping her motivated: “My Nana and Poppy are both golf instructors. They are helping me to become better each time that I play. When Nana tells me how to stand and hit, I usually listen to her. When Poppy tells me, I usually argue with him,” admits Jordan.
With her growing ambitions, Jordan is becoming quite a good little golfer, too. She even made the Regional Qualifier round of the LPGA Drive, Chip & Putt contest, held at the end of August 2013 at Eisenhower Park on Long Island. The Drive, Chip & Putt was created by the Masters Tournament Foundation, USGA, and PGA of America.
“Sometimes, the way I am told to stand feels weird at first, but if I keep doing it, I’ll get used to it.” Finding the right club to use throughout a round is also challenging for Jordan. But she is learning to keep her eye on the ball and practicing hard to concentrate.
Every seasoned golfer knows that how you choose to place your focus on the golf coures and on your score can have a measurable effect on the way you play and, ultimately, the score you shoot. This imperative can be a source of frustration for young golfers, and can lead to a point where they shy away from playing. Having a good support system and golf coach is the key to overcoming at this point in their learning stage.
Jordan is keen and refuses to give up. With each practice drill she is showing tremendous tenasity. From her swing to putting, the youngster is learning more about golf, and more about herself. It’s this type of rigerous performance that will aid her in better shot-making.
We’ve all heard of “staying in the moment” and “focusing on the now”. In golf, that means completely forgetting about previous holes and shots (good or bad) and eliminating any thoughts of holes and potential scores to come. For young Jordan, she’s on the right track with her trainers and pretty soon, everything she’s facing today will even out and become almost second nature for her.
“I am learning not to get too frustrated with myself. Because, playing nine holes takes a long time. But I know that if I keep practicing, I will get better and better.”
With that type of dedication and assertive attitude, little Jordan is certainly ahead of the game and destined to reach all of her lofty goals.
