Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2021 - 22

started in Miami. He soon realized that
pharmaceutical sales went a longer way
in paying the bills, so he put golf aside-
but never abandoned the idea of teaching
it. Ultimately, he recognized a pair
of decent golf students right in front
of him-daughters Isabella and Reese.
Keeping the Focus on Fun
Seventeen-year-old Isabella (who goes
by Bella) started playing golf at age 6,
as did Reese (now 15) two years later,
and the duo took to the game quickly. A
combination of their sibling camaraderie
(and rivalry) plus their dad's teaching
methods grabbed the girls' attention and
fostered a genuine love for the sport.
" He made it so fun, " Bella says. " As a
6- or 7-year-old, your attention span is
short, so he would make up fun games
and buy Skittles. If we hit a good shot,
we would get Skittles. We would also run
around some-we weren't just standing
" I knew that their wanting to come back
the next day was part good, old-fashioned
bribery. "
It was effective bribery, as the girls
became wired in with golf. Bella didn't
play other sports and Reese briefl y
dabbled in gymnastics, but golf quickly
became the focus. Around age 10, Bella
noticed just how much they were enjoying
the game, playing or practicing at
BELLA, SEAN, REESE McCAULEY
over a golf ball for hours like we do now.
It was very conducive to our age and, as
a young kid, I would want to be at the
golf course. As we got older, it just kind
of progressed to where we loved golf. We
didn't need the Skittles anymore. "
" I wanted to make it fun, " Sean says.
Southview CC whenever they could.
" We play together almost every day
for fun and work together all the time, "
Reese says. " But playing in a tournament
is a little different dynamic because we're
playing against each other for real. "
That is where it can get interesting,
particularly for the parents, who watched
their daughters come down the stretch at
the Junior Girls' Championship.
" It's a blast. It's a true joy watching
them play, " Sean says. " At the MGA
Junior Girls' Championship, they were
in the same group and they were grinding
against each other but still having a
good time. We just enjoyed that day. "
Bella and Reese fi nished fi rst and second,
respectively, at the 2020 Minnesota
State Junior Girls' Championship. It's not
quite the same inside the ropes: " We're
a little more focused, " Reese says. " Bella
shows she's pretty much focused all the
time and when she saw me that focused,
she was a little bit like: 'Oh wow.' Because
she really hasn't seen me in a tournament
too much. We were defi nitely both
competitive. But it was still fun. "
Bella is the more analytical of the duo,
working intently on her body position
checkpoints and swing mechanics, and
allowing her competitiveness to show
through on the course. Meanwhile,
she calls her sister " more laid back and
bouncy. " But they tend to arrive at the same
place-near the top of the leaderboard.
A True Family Affair
The girls, who have been playing on
the Simley varsity golf team since 2019,
share their love of the game with the
whole family. Bella has competed in two
national Drive, Chip and Putt contests
and the entire crew, even non-golfer
Mom (Stephanie), enjoyed their time
22
MINNESOTAGOLFER Spring 2021
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Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2021

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