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6-Year-Old Shoots Hole-in-One With SpongeBob Golf Ball

by Susan Wagner (Subscribe to Susan Wagner's posts)
Jul 16th 2009 8:00PM

9Comments

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Amazing Kids, Sports

Was it the SpongeBob ball that brought this 6-year-old a hole in one? Photo: Deena Lynn Furlow/Manistee News Advocate

Braeden Furlow, an adorable six-year-old, is just discovering the joys of golf. Like the rest of us learning how to swing a 9-iron, he's getting the hang of it.

So much so, that when he hit the links with his parents on July 6 -- his fourth time on the course -- he teed up his SpongeBob ball on the eighth hole and hit it 85 yards for a hole-in-one.

His parents -- who both play golf but have never gotten their own hole-in-one -- were properly awed.

"It was wild," laughed dad Travis Furlow, describing how his son's ball bounced down the fairway and landed in the hole. "It was a lot of fun to watch it happen."

But Braeden's dad doesn't want this one success to go to his son's head.

"I told him he should stop playing because I don't want him to set the expectations too high on a regular basis," Furlow told the News Advocate of Manistee, MI. And while telling a 6-year-old to quit a new sport might seem extreme, Furlow clearly knows his son. "I want to play golf," Braeden told the paper. "When I'm golfing, I'm going to work on getting a hole-in-one."

We hope he'll work on more than just an ace -- clearly, he's got the potential, or luck, to be a great golfer. We see SpongeBob endorsement in his future.

Kid Sports Phenoms

    When six-year-old Braeden Furlow hit a hole in one this week, he joined the ranks of other phenomenal kid athletes.

    Deena Lyn Furlow/Manistee News Advocate

    LeBron James

    An outstanding high school basketball player, LeBron James was named Mr. Baseketball of Ohio three years in a row. In 2003, at the age of 18, James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the overall number one pick in the NBA draft.

    Tony Dejak, AP

    Michelle Wie

    WIe began playing golf at four; one week before her 15th birthday, in October of 2005, she announced that she was turning pro. The LPGA requires that professional golfers be 18, so for the first three years she played professionally, Wie was only allowed to participate in a limited number of tournaments.

    Mary Ann Chastain, AP

    Oksana Baiul

    Fifteen-year-old Baiul, an orphan from Ukraine, celebrates her gold medal performance in the ladies' finals of the 1993 World Figure Skating Championship in Prague. In 1994, she won an Olympic Gold Medal.

    Pavel Horejsi, AP

    Shannon Miller

    Gymnast Shannon Miller is the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history, winning a combined total of 16 World Championships and Olympic medals between 1991 and 1996. In 1996, at 19, she capped her career with an individual Olympic gold medal in balance beam.

    Tony Duffy, Allsport / Getty Images

    Tiger Woods

    Golf prodigy Tiger Woods single-handedly changed the face of the USGA. Woods turned pro in 1996, at the age of 21, but by then he was already a phenom, having appeared on the Mike Douglas Show at age 2 to putt with Bob Hope. In April of 1997, he became the youngest player ever to win the Masters.

    Ken Levine, Allsport / Getty Images

    Tony Hawk

    Tony Hawk fell into skateboarding; when he was 8, his older brother bought a used skateboard, and their father built a ramp in the family's back yard. Hawk won his first competition at 12 and turned pro at 14.

    John Storey, Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images

    Tracy Austin

    Teen tennis phenom Tracy Austin won the US Open twice, in 1979, at age 17, and again in 1981. She and her brother Jon won the mixed doubles trophy at Wimbledon in 1980. Austin is shown here playing at Wimbledon in 1977, when she was 15.

    Tony Duffy, Getty Images

    Serena and Venus Williams

    Sisters Serena, left, age 10 and Venus Williams, 11, shake hands after a 1991 match in Compton, CA. Serena and Venus have each gone on to be individual tennis powerhouses, most recently facing off in the 2009 Wimbledon finals; Serena walked away the winner.

    Paul Harris, Online USA / Getty Images

Tags: photo gallery, PhotoGallery

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