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Lewisville teenager will get a chance to train with famed golf teacher

Brant Wilkerson-New/Winston-Salem Journal

Ryan Birkedal will have a hard time ever equaling Tiger Woods’ success on the golf course.

After this week, though, the two will have at least received some of the same training along the way.

Through The First Tee of the Triad, Birkedal — a 14-year old Lewisville resident — was selected to participate in The First Tee Training Program at Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head, S.C.

Haney, who also coached two-time major champion Mark O’Meara, gained famed as Woods’ coach from 2004 through ’10; Woods won six majors during that time.

“He’s getting everything that Tiger Woods got back when he was working with Hank Haney,” said Brandon Redmond, who works with Birkedal through First Tee. “When you watch the Hank Haney Project on the Golf Channel, that’s what he’s doing — it’s pretty cool.”

Birkedal’s mother, Mary Lynn Birkedal, was on the phone with a friend when Ryan received an email informing him that he had been selected. That didn’t stop him from coming into the room, and jumping up and down in silence until she hung up.

“I was really excited, and am looking forward to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Ryan Birkedal said by email.

The program was open to participants from all 189 First Tee chapters. For consideration, golfers had to submit a “golf resume,” as well as an essay about how one of the nine core values of First Tee had impacted them.

Birkedal’s resume was lighter than he had hoped, because a broken hand in 2012 meant that he had to spend a long time time away from competition. It was a major setback, as he had hoped to begin competing in tournaments more regularly.

Instead, he got to work with Redmond, and did what he could in practice to fix some deficiencies in his swing. Redmond played golf at North Davidson, and served as an assistant coach after graduation. He now works at Pine Brook Country Club.

Birkedal’s essay topic was perseverance, referencing his time away from the course, and how he pushed to return to the course. Still, it seemed his candidacy would be a long shot, given that he was lacking the tournament experience that the program typically looked for.

“We figured there would be so many kids far more qualified than Ryan,” Mary Lynn Birkedal said. “We did it, and hoped for the best.”

Redmond believes Birkedal was chosen because of his essay.

“He expressed true character by expressing why he should be selected,” Redmond said.

While First Tee initially reaches children through golf, their mission is a larger exercise in character building. Established in 1997 by the World Golf Hall of Fame, the program teaches children about life skills. It is open to kids of all ethnicities and economic backgrounds, with about 50 percent of local participants being on scholarship.

As the young golfers progress, they are given instruction on everything from how to give a firm handshake to how to apply for college.

“When I first met Ryan, he was a very shy kid,” Redmond said. “He’s come out of his shell a lot, and he’s gained a lot of confidence.”

Mary Lynn Birkedal said that the change was obvious in early June, when Ryan’s sister, Shelby, was given the Congressional Silver Medal by U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx. According to Mary Lynn, Ryan shook Foxx’s hand, looked her in the eye, and made conversation. Before his involvement with First Tee, his mother said, he would have been intimidated in such an environment.

“Building my confidence on the course has carried over to my school work and other sports,” Ryan said.

Academically, he has set his sights on becoming an engineer. He would still love to pursue a career as a professional golfer — but first wants to play in college, at an ACC school.

On the course, he is already a national champion. In his first season with the Forsyth Home Educators’ golf team, they were able to bring home the title at the Home School Golf National Championship. The team consisted largely of upperclassmen, cutting into Birkedal’s playing time, but there were still positives.

“They spent time with him, and he was able to learn a lot from them,” Mary Lynn Birkedal said. “They were very encouraging of him, and being able to go outside and play alongside of them brought him up.”

Now at the fifth level in First Tee’s six-level development program, Birkedal works with some of the younger golfers in the program. Redmond hopes that his success is able to rub off on some of the others.

“He gets to be a living proof that dreams can come true, and these opportunities can come to them if they stay in The First Tee,” Redmond said. “He definitely leads by example.”