a lot of ground in a short period of time.” For this, Jim credits the work of Castle Pines Golf Club’s PGA Director of Instruction Don Hurter and Cherry Hills Head Professional John Ogden, as well as Pebble Beach Golf Academy Director Laird Small and Denver Country Club’s Alexandra Braga, a TPI-Certified PGA Professional. “It’s now in higher powers,” Jim says. “I just stay out of the way.” But it’s Jim who shows Charlotte videos on his iPad, watches golf on TV with her, wears matching hats and shirts with her and takes her to out-of-state tournaments, where he never misses the chance to join her for a practice round. “And he’s trying to beat me!” Charlotte says with mock exasperation. “I’ve never played a practice round with another junior.” “You can imagine what kind of fun that is,” Jim says, adding that even though she has to give him strokes when they play (he’s currently a 6), he only has a “one in ten chance” of beating her. “The torch passed about a year ago when Charlotte shot a 64 in a little tournament,” he admits. “At that point, I knew I was history. I’ve only been in the 60s twice, and now we even hit our drivers about the same distance
from the same tees.” “When my dad practices with me, I feel more focused and on top of things,” Charlotte says. “My practice is more purposeful because he’s been there and asking me questions and asking me to look at his swing, asking me what drills I’m doing. It’s helpful to have that, especially if you forget or are feeling lazy for some reason. He’s the most passionate person about golf I’ve ever seen. Not more than me, but equal.” This surprises Jim, who says Charlotte often discourages him from watching her practice. “I like to have my space sometimes,” Charlotte says. “But I’m just being honest.” Honesty, perseverance and the other values golf preaches form much of Charlotte’s identity. “Golf is kind of a package,” she says. “It teaches you a lot of mental life lessons. You can’t fall asleep for a second.” That focus has led to great success at Kent, where she carries an unweighted 3.93 GPA. It’s also translated into self-confidence and self-reliance. “In golf, unlike team sports, you don’t have to depend on someone else,” she says. “If you miss the putt, it’s your fault.” “Or Grandma’s,” Jim teases. He’s referring to the time, during
Charlotte’s first-ever competition, that his mother—77-year-old Toni Hillary, the woman who introduced him to the game the same way he introduced it to his children, the same woman he moved to Colorado, the same woman who plays in a golf league at Meridian—showed up as Charlotte carded a triple-bogey. “Get grandma off the course!” Charlotte remembers ordering her mother. “Poor grandma had to hide in the bushes. I banned her for about a month. It was so ridiculous. I still feel bad about it.” Toni now goes “everywhere” to see her granddaughter play, and the two plan to team up in the Meridian member-guest. Charlotte still burns with the same competitive fire as her favorite player, Jon Rahm, but she expresses it appropriately, having matured as player and as a person. “Charlotte is wonderful on the course, a great competitor,” Jim says. “She’s humble in both victory and defeat. I think one of the proudest moments a parent can have is when their kid starts to exceed them in whatever they’re doing. It happened with my son and now my daughter. They took something I really enjoyed and have become great ambassadors of the game.“
Come for
the birdies.
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June 2018 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER