AUTHOR: KATIE HAWKINS
khawkins@ntpga.com
How many of you battle keeping up with one, two and three kids, involved in every other sport from grades 7 – 12? Athletics can be expensive! Imagine having four kids, let’s say, quadruplets. Add an older sister to that scenario. Five sets of clubs, five pairs of golf shoes and five kids actively playing on the Junior Tour at the exact same time.
MEET THE TRAYLOR FAMILY.
Lydia, Anna, Will, Caroline and Luke Traylor – all members of the NTPGA Junior Tour since they were beginners at the Prep Level.
 | The quadruplets are freshmen at Midlothian High School, while older sister, Lydia, leads the pack as a senior. On top of NTPGA tournaments, all five play high school golf. The Traylors weren’t necessarily born into the game. Manager of the five golfers and father Kent said, "I had a friend whose kids played in NTPGA tournaments in the West Texas Area. He said, ‘You should see all these kids playing Junior Golf. "I really didn’t know what that meant. I’d heard of golf, but not junior golf, and I thought, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity for our kids!’ So we started Lydia and the others just followed.” |
| As a Midlothian city judge, Mr. Traylor believes that kids need a chance to get plugged into something. "It’s a great chance to learn to compete and learn ethics and to respect the game. There’s just so many lessons wrapped up it’s hard to even list them all. There’s a certain age where kids start drifting and [golf] gives young players a chance to grow up and learn values.” |  |
 | Being a female that was intimidated by the sport and dropped it at nine years old, I asked Mr. Traylor how he kept his three girls involved for so many years. "I had to make my girls play early, and it takes a few years to be able to score. Anna’s on the JV team. She was the biggest when she was born and now she’s the smallest of her siblings, but with golf, you don’t have to be the biggest and strongest to be successful. "It’s impossible to hit a good shot at first. I put Lydia in a golf clinic and they called on her to swing in front of everyone. She was embarrassed by a 6-inch top off the tee, but the coach didn’t belittle her – he encouraged her. If you don’t get them to the point where they can hit a shot squarely, they’ll leave. But all it takes is getting them to hit it once in the sweet spot…and they’re hooked!” Lydia recently played in a tournament in Lubbock where she shot a 75-73 – 148. "She went from being 7 and not hitting the ball a foot to having some college offers from small schools.” |
Mr. Traylor believes even if Anna and Caroline never play in college, it’s going to be a lifetime sport for them. "The guy who told me about the NTPGA program – his dad would say ‘You have to get your kids playing golf. Even if you are the high school quarterback, that last game is it. It’s just over. Golf just doesn’t end. It’s a lifetime. It’s from now on.’ ”
