Bears prepare for upcoming CYO golf championships
Ever wonder what a golf ball tastes like? Ask St. Brendan School sixth-grader Logan Lee.
“Logan eats, drinks and sleeps golf,” said Tim Lee, golf coach at St. Brendan School. (The two are not related.) “That’s all he does. He watches golf on TV. He reads about it. He talks about it.”
Diligence
It would be difficult to find a more dedicated and disciplined athlete than Logan Lee. When the rest of the city has entered that deepest stage of sleep, Logan is starting his day.
“He wakes up every morning at 4:30 a.m. so he and his dad can go play nine holes of golf before he has to be at school,” said Lee.
“The whole house lights up for him in the morning,” said Logan’s father.
Logan’s day always ends at a driving range hitting golf balls, then he’s in bed by 7:30 p.m.
THESE ST. BRENDAN BEARS participated in the CYO Spring Tournament. From left to right, seated: Avyn Lee, Jacob Kim, Jayden Park, Logan Lee, Aiden Cha, Lacy Park. Standing: Ryan Bae, Daniel Baik, Arram Kharrazi, Teddy Weller and Colin Lee.
This diligence has paid off. The CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) held its Spring Tournament at Arcadia 3-Par Golf Course in February. This was the qualifier for the upcoming invite-only CYO Championships, which will be played on Sat., April 5, at Hartwell Golf Course in Long Beach. Logan finished first in the Boys B Division (players in grades five and six) and won the entire par-3 tournament, which meant he beat all seventh to eighth graders, too. Logan was the only golfer to finish under par; he scored 25 for nine holes on a par-27 course.
“There were over 300 golfers, and St. Brendan finished second out of 40 schools,” added Lee.
Momentum
Tim Lee took over the head coach position at St. Brendan this past summer. Last year, there were just nine players on the golf team. This year he has 28. How did Lee grow his program so quickly?
“We have friendly golf outings with other schools,” he explained.
The St. Brendan golfers meet once a month on a Friday afternoon with other schools’ teams at Rancho Park 3-Par Golf Course, a charming 9-hole short course on West Pico Boulevard between the communities of West Lost Angeles and Cheviot Hills. The course is picturesque with bluegrass greens and fairways, and the tree-lined holes range in length from 82 to 148 yards.
“We hold unofficial mini-tournaments at these outings,” said Lee. “It takes some of the pressure off and lets them just have fun.”
Rancho Park is also one of two sites where St. Brendan’s golf team practices. They work on putting and chipping at Rancho Park and driving at Aroma Golf Range on Wilshire Boulevard, which is just blocks from St. Brendan School.
For those who have never been to Aroma Golf Range, it’s worth the visit. Golfers tee off from the back of a high-rise building into an immense netted area suspended over a rooftop parking structure overlooking mid-city Koreatown. This is where Logan Lee ends most of his days.
Camaraderie
Tim Lee’s son Colin also golfs and is Logan’s teammate. The two met while on swim team together.
“They both hit from the white tees now and can drive the ball 250 yards,” said Coach Lee. At a golf course, the white tees are where the advanced players and pros hit from.
Golf is predominantly an individual sport, but being surrounded by teammates who can push each other is important. St. Brendan has plenty of exceptional golfers who challenge one another, and six qualified for the CYO Championships in Long Beach. Those golfers are Arram Kharrazi (seventh grade), Logan Lee (sixth grade), Aiden Cha (fourth grade), and Colin Lee (sixth grade), and for the Girls Division, Lacy Park (sixth grade) and Avyn Lee (fifth grade).
Good luck, St. Brendan Bears golf team!
Category: People
