On Course for Greatness

Father’s Guidance Keys Briar Woods’ Birmingham

By Paul Tenorio

Sunday, October 7, 2007

The story always starts the same: The summer before his freshman year, Michael Birmingham would join his father Mark's foursome at Evergreen Country Club on Sunday mornings. Then, in preparation for tryouts at Briar Woods, Michael stopped playing soccer and started to practice golf daily.

His game began to progress quickly — and that's when the storytellers begin to differ.

Michael Birmingham said it took him just two months to start beating his father consistently. Mark says it took until the end of Michael's freshman year before his son overtook him.

Whether you believe father or son, one thing is for sure: After posting eight birdies en route to a 4-under-par 68 to claim the Region II championship last Tuesday at Brambleton golf course in Ashburn, Birmingham has developed into one of the top golfers in the state. He will look to prove that when he and his team compete in the AA state tournament tomorrow and Tuesday in Bluefield.

Photo: John McDonnell

Michael Birmingham tees off on the 11th hole at the Dulles District Golf Championship last week.

"Eight birdies in one round. That's pro-caliber stuff," Briar Woods Coach Bob Vitti said. Pros "come out with doubles and bogeys as well in an average round, so 68 is good for anything. And in high school, you just don't hear of many rounds in the 60s."

Shooting a 68 was surprising even for Birmingham, who said he had simply hoped to qualify for the regional tournament. (Birmingham also won the AA Dulles district title). But shooting such a low score, he said, is a payoff he knew would come with the work he put in over the past three years.

"The first time I played 18 holes was frustrating," Birmingham said. "But I knew I could get better. I knew it would take a while, but I looked forward to the practice. To look back from then to now, I always knew back then if I worked hard enough, I'd get to here."

Birmingham has gotten "here" by finding a balance between his technical skill and his mental fortitude on the golf course. He credits his former and current coaches at Briar Woods, Tom Buckley and Vitti, with helping develop his swing and mechanics. But Vitti said the other part of Birmingham's game, "the part between the ears," is a strength the junior has developed on his own.

Birmingham said he looks at that ability as his most important aspect for success.

"There are some players that are more talented than I who can't put the ball in the hole when the tournament's on the line," Birmingham said. "Some players get the yips. I just don't second-guess myself. You can almost say I'm in my own little world. I just worry about what I can control, not what I can't control."

One thing Birmingham will attempt to control is how well he performs at states. And although he and his father differ on recalling just when Michael became the top golfer in the family, the days the two spent together on the course still help guide Michael, even as he prepares for the state tournament.

"I just have to approach it as another round," Birmingham said. "Just like [regionals], like districts, like playing Sunday morning with my dad."

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks