Ty Steinbring may not have been born with a golf club in his hand, but it was close.
By the time the Barrhead native was three years-old he was already hitting the links with his first set of golf clubs.
That is what Ty Steinbring and his mother Trisha told the Barrhead Leader in an interview at the Barrhead Golf Club on Tuesday, June 23, just before the he hit the driving range to practice for the upcoming Alberta Provincial Junior and Juvenile Golf Championships taking place in Lethbridge on June 29 to July 2.
Steinbring qualified for the tournament by placing in the top 21 junior golfers in a tournament at the Twin Willows Golf Club in Edmonton on June 9.
However, his mother said she can track Ty’s involvement in golf even further to when he was a baby.
“I remember his father and I strapping Ty into his car seat in the back of a golf cart when he was just a few months old,” Trisha said.
Ty agreed, saying that although he doesn’t remember being strapped in a child safety seat in the back of a golf cart, some of his earliest childhood memories are that of watching his parents and especially his father on the golf course.
“My dad was a really big influence on me,” he said, adding that he would watch his dad and think to himself that he wanted to be out there too. “My dad really kept me interested in golf and hockey.”
Ty’s dad, Trevor Steinbring who passed away two-years ago, was a fixture in Barrhead’s sports scene. Besides being an avid golfer, Trevor also coached Barrhead pee wee hockey and encouraged Ty to play a number of different sports.
Which he did, besides playing golf, Ty is an integral part of the Barrhead Pirates Bantam hockey team, where he plays goal and in his younger days also played on one of Barrhead’s minor baseball league teams.
However, about four years ago, Steinbring decided to devote his spring and summer sporting activity to golf.
A decision he doesn’t regret.
Although Steinbring credits much of his success in golf to his father and having a natural affinity and talent for the game, he is quick to point out that he has received a lot of help from other people in the Barrhead golfing community.
He points two people in particular, Danny Grant, the golf professional at the Barrhead Golf Club and Barrhead native and multiple Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship winner, Jessica Luciuk.
“Danny and Jessica have really helped me a lot over the last few years,” Steinbring said, adding that this year he is also receiving instruction from an Edmonton area golf coach.
Besides training and golfing in local tournaments, Steinbring has been able to improve his game by competing in the McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour. For the last two years, Steinbring has qualified for the elite level junior golf tournament tour. Every year the tour hosts about 30 events all over the province.
“I try to play in about 10 to 15 McLeannan Ross tournaments a year,” he said, adding that those tournaments were good practice for the upcoming provincial championships.
Championships that Steinbring just about didn’t qualify for. To be able to play in the provincial championships, one must first place in one of four qualifying tournaments.
“You can only play in one of the tournaments,” he said. “If you miss the cut you can’t just go to the next one.”
Steinbring chose the Twin Willows qualifier. The tournament was a one day 18-whole tournament where only the top 21 golfers would qualify to move on.
For the first eight holes, Steinbring was on the top of his game and it looked like he would easily make the cut, but after having some trouble on the ninth hole put his trip to the provincial championships in doubt.
“I took a 10 on a par five and that almost cost me. Until that hole I was playing how I wanted to,” he said. “After the ninth hole I said to myself that I had put myself in a bad situation and let’s see if you can’t get yourself back into this thing.”
Which he did, for the remainder of the tournament, Steinbring played an aggressive game and ended up taking the last qualifying spot.
As for playing in his first provincial championship tournament, Steinbring said, he has never played the Henderson Lake Golf course, but he understands it may suit his game.
“Jessica said the course would suit my game. It’s open with big trees and greens, which will be an advantage for me because irons are not the strongest part of my game,” he said. “But if I can get it on the green I am pretty confident with the putter.”
When asked if he had any specific goals in mind for the provincial championship, he said not really.
“Yes, I would like to make the cut and continue to play in the second and third day of the tournament, but more importantly I want to shorten those goals. Start off with having a good front nine and carry on from there.”
