by Mike Yorkey

Someone once said golf, like chicken pox, should be caught young. If that’s true, then 10-year-old Beth Sellers has a bad case of golf.

Beth loves to hit golf balls, chip out of a sand trap and make long putts. Nearly any afternoon after school, you’ll find her at the Chula Vista Golf Course practicing her pitch shots, hitting long drives and playing putting games with her father. Because Beth lives in sunny San Diego, California, she can play year-round.

Even before Beth turned 1, she had a golf club in her hands. Her teeth were coming in at the time, and it felt good to gnaw on the smooth grip of a putter that her dad gave her. Not long after, Beth started swinging her club—but not in the house, of course!

She began hitting balls when she was 3 and could really send the ball into flight by kindergarten. That’s when her parents signed her up for her first tournament. Beth pooped out after two holes, however, which was fine with Mom and Dad; they just wanted her to have fun.

Golf Game
These days Beth can’t get enough of the sport. As soon as she graduates from fifth grade at South Bay Christian Academy, she has big plans for the summer. In addition to watching a little television, going to church and practicing the keyboard, she hopes to play in the Junior World Golf Championships in July, which will be played in San Diego.

Beth enjoys competing in tournaments and participating in events like the Golf Channel’s "Drive, Chip and Putt" Junior Skills Competition—similar to football’s "punt, pass and kick" contests. Two years ago she won her local and regional contests, which qualified her for a free trip to the National Finals at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida.

But she almost didn’t make it. The night before regionals, she and her older brother, Jonathan, were playing in her room—okay, they were roughhousing—when Jonathan jumped on her bed, causing the bed to fall and smack her right hand. Ouch!

Beth screamed in pain, and everyone thought there would be no way she could hold a golf club the following morning. Her mother told Beth that God let the accident happen for a reason.

"God’s going to work this out," her mom promised, and then the whole family prayed that Beth’s hand would get better so that she could compete the next day.

God answered her family’s prayers, and her hand felt much better in the morning. She won regionals, earned the Florida trip and visited Disney World. Even better, she placed third in the National Finals!

Sport of a Lifetime
Another thing Beth likes about golf is that it’s a sport she can play with her dad, Ken Sellers. Ken is a golf nut. He played professionally in California and is her coach. They practice together every chance they get.

Although the Sellers can’t afford to play 18 holes very often, it doesn’t cost anything to chip or putt in the practice area and just a few dollars to hit balls at the driving range.

Beth practices a lot because she has a dream.

"I want to be the first African-American woman to win a major tournament," she says. "I know it will take a lot of practice and praying, but I think I can do it."

She knows all about Tiger Woods and how his family couldn’t afford to join a fancy country club. Those disadvantages didn’t stop him from becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world.

"If he can do it, so can I," Beth says. "It would be a good chance to give God the glory."

Recently, her parents took Beth to watch a professional tournament at Torrey Pines, where Tiger was playing, along with other stars. When you watch a golf tournament, you can either follow a player around the course or sit next to a green and wait for the players to come to you.

During a lull in the action at Torrey Pines, Beth thought up a new song, which has the same tune as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Here’s Beth’s version:

Take me out to the golf match.
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me a periscope and a hat,
I don’t care if we ever get back. I will root, root, root for the Ti-ger.
If he don’t win there’s a catch.
For it’s one, two, three putts you’re out
At the old golf match!

Maybe someday there will be a youngster in the crowd singing the same thing about Beth!

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