68 thecut improve your game 69

where she was spotted by Zoe Brake,

a New Zealand representative player

who also happens to be coached by

Craig Dixon.

“Zoe came running over to me

and said ‘You’ve got to look at this

girl’,” he recounts, “and I was amazed

by how good she was. She is the

most talented kid I’ve seen. You see

a lot of kids with good swings but

with Silvia it is her short game.

“She has such an innate sense of

distance control, which is one of the

hardest things to coach and to learn.

To have that already at such a young

age is a great base for her to grow

her game. I really do believe she can

become a world champion.”

Pamela Leong knows a thing or

two about talented young golfers.

Her son Jack Green finished third

at the junior world championships

in the US a couple of years ago and

the lack of opportunities for young

golfers in New Zealand prompted

her to start Fairway Flyers. She is

convinced of the benefits of playing

regular tournament golf.

“Fairway Flyers has helped Silvia

understand the pressures that

surround tournament golf, which are

quite different from being coached

or playing casually. It has made her

hungry to win trophies. It has also

A star in the makingSilvia Brunotti began playing in junior competitions only last year but the six-year-old is primed to take on the world

STORY Robert Tighe PHOTOGRAPHS Desmond Frith/Getty Images

profile silvia brunotti

Silvia’s best round to date is a scarcely believable 71, and she recently had her first hole-in-one

Did you know that I’ve got a

nickname? It is kinda like my

professional name. It’s Champ. My

first name is Silvia and my last name

is Brunotti and my nickname is…

actually, it is not Champ, it is Star.

That’s better, Silvia ‘Star’ Brunotti.”

Out of the mouths of babes or, in

this case, a confident six-year-old kid

from Auckland’s North Shore who

has stunned seasoned professionals

with her rapid progress.

In July, Brunotti is off to the

US, but not for a holiday. She will

play in the Callaway Junior World

Championships in San Diego, the

World Masters of Junior Golf in Las

Vegas and the US Kids Golf World

Championship at Pinehurst.

Brunotti’s obsession with the little

white ball started with mini-golf.

“She liked mini-golf...” says her

father Claudio Brunotti before he

is interrupted by his daughter. “That

mini-golf wasn’t really good – the ball

kept going this way and that way and

too fast and too slow. And the golf

balls are ruined and stuff. And they

don’t go straight. And you couldn’t

actually see the hole really well.”

Seeing the hole isn’t a problem

for Brunotti anymore.

“Sometimes I get a hole-in-one

with my pitcher. I go like that and it

goes dum-dum-dum in the hole.”

Brunotti won the first

tournament she entered, held last

September, but even before that she

had her eyes on the prize.

“I have got six trophies but

one doesn’t count because I didn’t

actually win it,” she says. “I just

wanted it because I had no trophies

when I was five. I wanted a trophy

to keep and I got it from the Korean

driving range.”

When the family moved to New

Zealand from Italy, her father used

to practise his golf in the garden. His

then three-year-old daughter loved

to watch him so he bought her a

club and started taking her with him

to the driving range at Albany.

“Everybody was saying she is

not too bad and she started to get

a bit more balance, so I bought her

a set of clubs,” he explains. “We

went mostly to the driving range for

the first year and then last year we

started going to the course.”

In her first tournament Brunotti

shot 48 for nine holes at Whangaparaoa

Golf Club to win the Golden Bears

category of the Fairway Flyers, beating

girls and boys up to two years older

than her. A couple of months later

she was playing at the Junior Tiger

tournament organised by NZ Golf

‘‘ allowed her to experience playing on

many different golf courses that she

would not normally be allowed to

play on due to her age.”

Brunotti’s home course is The

Lakes, a short 18-hole layout just

north of Auckland. Her best round

there to date is a scarcely believable

71, and she recently had her first

hole-in-one.

The Lakes is also where she spends

most afternoons with her father.

“When I come home from work,

she is ready,” he says. “She knows

we go for golf. When we are there

sometimes she gets tired so she has a

rest and something to eat.”

Brunotti practises six days a week,

and according to Dixon every time

she turns up to the Institute of Golf

for a lesson “she runs in the door. She

is always happy to be here”.

But both her parents and her

coach are conscious of not pushing

her too hard, too soon. She still

has plenty of time to be a kid.

“In the holidays we went to

Rainbows End,” says Brunotti. “I fell

asleep in the car on the way home

and it was too late to do golf so we

didn’t do golf that day.”

A visit to Disneyland is part

of the itinerary in the US later

this year but as well as giving his

daughter the trip of a lifetime, her

father is confident she can make an

impression on the world stage.

“If it is not this year that she does

well, next year she will be in the

same division, seven and under. But I

think she could do really well.”

70 thecut

If the child thinks the club is light, then it’s good. If they think it’s too heavy, it’s too heavy

f your child is interested in playing

golf, it is important to give them

the best possible start. Institute of

Golf coach Guy Wilson works with

children aged from four to 15 and his

star pupil is 12-year-old Lydia Ko who

finished seventh equal in the recent

Ladies European Tour sanctioned

Pegasus New Zealand Open. We

asked him what tips he would give

parents looking to introduce their

children to the game of golf.

What age do you recommend kids start practising?There are no barriers, really. As long

as you find a club that is the correct

size for your child nothing should

stop them developing the motor

skills they need for golf.

What’s the first step?Most golf clubs offer kids’

programmes and kids’ golf

equipment but ensure that they have

specialised clubs for all ages. These

days most professionals should cater

for kids as it is one of the growth

areas in the game.

What’s best, specialist kids’ clubs or a sawed down 7-iron from the garage? No question, specialist clubs. This is

the primary reason kids are enjoying

the game a lot more these days – the

clubs suit them. The length, weight,

grip size, lie angle, shaft flex and

design of the head all promote ease of

use for the smaller player. Do not… I

repeat, do not give them a cut down

club. It nearly costs as much to cut

a club down as it does for a brand

spanking new one.

What kind of prices are you talking about for a set of kids’ clubs?You should be able to get a single

iron for about $35. A good set of

kids’ clubs, normally made up

of a wood, a hybrid, 7-iron,

9-iron, wedge, putter

and stand bag, will cost

about $220. Some

sets out there are

marketed as junior

sets, but they

are not really, so

be careful. Get

advice from a PGA

professional, they will be

able to steer you down the

right track. If your child is in

the eight to 12 age bracket

there is a big range to choose

from at really competitive

prices. Younger than that

and you should look into the US

Kids clubs. They offer by far the

most specialised junior club on the

market. It is the most dominant

brand in the world in the junior

market and they offer clubs that

suit very small, weak kids.

Any specialist retailers out there for kids’ clubs?

Again, talk to your local

PGA pro. They will

guide you through

the process of buying.

A good rule of thumb,

if the child thinks the

club is light, then it’s good.

If they think it’s too heavy,

it’s too heavy.

What advice would you give parents looking to get their kids started in the game?Give them a go. They will love it.

The game of golf teaches the child

so many life skills, and develops

all sorts of motor skills required

for everyday life. It’s a sport

the whole family can enjoy

throughout the whole year.

• For more information contact

guy@instituteofgolf.co.nz or check

out www.instituteofgolf.co.nz

I

Kids’ Clubs

Lydia Ko