stamford, conn. (ap) | Jared “J.D.” Goldstein is a serious student of golf. He spends hours at the driving range, studies his swing in a mirror at home and won’t stop playing unless his parents bribe him with ice cream.
He may be only a kitten compared to his idol, Tiger, but 2-year-old Jared is becoming quite a sensation as he tries to chip and putt his way to greatness.
“Put more balls down so I can hit,” he demands of his father, Craig, at a recent visit to Sterling Farms Municipal Golf Course in Stamford.
After driving the ball about 40 or 50 yards, he yells out, “That was crazy.”
The craziness started about a year ago, when Craig Goldstein and his wife, Beth, realized their child had a golf infatuation.
“He always wanted to watch the Golf Channel and play with the plastic toy golf clubs,” said Craig Goldstein, 40. “And then one day he didn’t want to play with plastic anymore.”
For the most part, the Goldsteins take their son’s skills in stride. Craig said the family’s priority is to see their son do well in school and become a well-rounded individual. Jared will take his first step in that direction later this month when he begins nursery school at the Jewish Community Center in Stamford.
Beth Goldstein, though, said she wonders whether Jared’s love of golf can help solve a little family problem.
“I’m hoping I can use golf as an incentive to get him potty-trained,” she said.