The metro Detroit area may have a future professional golfer on its hands.
Caleb Lee, all of 5 years old, shocked his parents earlier this summer by hitting a hole-in-one off the youth tee on the ninth hole at Copper Creek Golf Course. Caleb was out at the golf course with his brother, Landon, and dad, Brian, who caught the shot on video.
“I’m gonna remember this forever,” Brian said in the video.
Although Brian and his wife, Taylor, knew that Caleb’s early love of the sport meant he could one day achieve this feat, they had no idea it would come at such a young age. Caleb, on the other hand, has been practicing for this moment for the last two years. The young golfer started out with plastic clubs at age 3 and has since worked his way up to real ones.
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Caleb said he used his driver and was just trying to hit it close to the hole. Then the ball continued to roll until it went in.
“I jumped up and down because I was so excited,” he said.
Although Caleb was happy to hit the hole-in-one, he was equally excited about the Leo’s Coney Island grilled cheese and ice cream sundae he got to celebrate.
His parents believe his love of golf came from watching the PGA Tour on TV with Brian. While his dad watched the tournaments, Caleb used his plastic clubs to putt around the house. He began to learn the names of the golfers and quickly became a fan of Scottie Scheffler and Rory Mcllroy, among others.
Despite knowing when his love for the sport began, Brian and Taylor were still surprised he picked up the interest so quickly. Taylor isn’t much into golf and Brian only hits the course three or four times per year and describes himself as coming from a long line of average to below-average golfers.
“He’s a pretty hyper focused kid, so when he wants to do something, he’s very like, ‘Yeah, I’m, really into it,’ and so that was kind of his path to golf,” Brian said.
If it were up to him, Caleb would spend all day on the golf course.
“I think his first official round of golf, it was a full 18, and it took like 5½ hours to get through because he was young,” Taylor said. He was like 3 or 4 at the time, but even after the 5½ hours, he was bummed.”
In addition to playing golf, Caleb has also taken up coaching. His first student? His 3-year-old brother. His tips include always keep the club straight when you’re swinging, use the little arrows on the ball, always swing hard and keep your eye on the ball.
Although Caleb would love to join the Tour someday, he has a lot of time to decide what to do with his future. Before then, he wants to follow in his parents’ footsteps and attend Michigan State and become a member of their men’s golf team.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mett the 5-year-old who already has a hole-in-one