Not for Me...

In the dreary golf-parenting business today, there's no couple like Scott and Judy Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla. Their oldest, Nicholas, 28, is a tour pro with a homemade swing and more than $3 million in earnings. Curtis, 18, is a freshman at LSU on a full-ride golf scholarship. Lexi, 16, turned pro last June and the next month finished second in the Evian Masters, earning nearly $250,000. The kids inherited the golf gene from Judy, who played junior golf in South Florida in the 1970s. It was Scott who gave them their edge.

I was a little put off by "Titanic Thompsons." It's pretty clear that these people have turned their children into golf monsters. Sure, perhaps it would have been their destiny without all their parents' influence. Maybe they love golf that much.

But I'll tell you this: no way for my kids. I'll encourage them in whatever they want to do, but one thing I'll always admire about my own folks is how they were supportive throughout my life without dictating my future.

There's a telling paragraph near the conclusion of the story:

"If the LPGA goes out of business, I'll bulk her up, get her to hit it 320 and have her start playing the men," Scott said the other day. He was joking.

Not so sure about that, buddy. When you read stories like this, it perhaps sheds a bit more light on sad stories like this one, about Erica Blasberg...