Photos courtesy of Chase Strickland
Heading into the final discipline of the Drive, Chip & Putt Regional Qualifying at The Golf Club of Tennessee, the odds weren’t entirely in 9-year-old Shane Strickland’s favor.
The third grader from Aiken, S.C., sat in last place on the scoreboard after the drive and chip portions of the qualifier didn’t go how he would have liked. Last place received first honors for the putting competition, and Shane seemingly needed a miracle to advance.
“Twenty percent of me said I could do it,” he said. “Eighty percent said I couldn’t.”
It’s a good thing odds don’t always equate to outcomes.
Strickland sunk all three of his putts, adding the maximum of 75 points to his score and moving his name from the bottom to the top of the scoreboard. As Strickland’s competitors attempted their putts, Strickland waited, counting the minutes until his final score of 93 stood above them all.
“It was shocking,” Strickland said. “It was really, really shocking. It was blowing my mind that I just did that.”
Drive, Chip & Putt, held the Sunday before the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, is a joint initiative between the Masters Tournament, the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Professional Golf Association of America (PGA). Young golfers compete in local, sub-regional and regional qualifying events before making it to the finals.
During the competition, golfers are scored in the three categories as reflected in its name.
First, competitors hit three drives into a 40-yard-wide fairway, with longer ones scoring more points. Next, golfers take three 10 to 15-yard chip shots onto a green, with shots closer to the pin scoring more points. The final three shots are putts from 6, 15 and 30 feet, with more accurate putts scoring higher point values.
With the highest score from his regional, Shane will compete for the trophy with nine other 7-to-9-year-olds from across North America. It might be his first appearance, but he’s no stranger to the game.
From Watching to Playing
A young Strickland was introduced to the game in his grandparents’ backyard, hitting apples with a rigged PVC pipe his Papa Vince crafted. His older brother, Sawyer, wanted to play golf with his grandparents, and Shane followed in his brother’s footsteps, trading fruit for fairways. The boys went to the driving range, hitting practice balls before they worked their way to full courses.
The Strickland family’s ties to the game were influential to Shane’s development as a player, his father, Chase said.
“His brother was the one who really enjoyed the game and wanted to be a part of it early on,” Chase Strickland said. “Shane was a year and a half when he watched his brother do it, so he kind of was around it more often early on and grew up with the idea of going to the golf course as a family. I think he fell into it early and it was a unique part of his journey.”
Today, Chase Strickland takes his sons to practice their putting daily at Aiken’s Woodside Country Club, the family’s home course. The brothers attribute much of their development to Kenny Evenson, the boys’ coach at nearby Cedar Creek Golf Course.
As the boys have grown older and into their games, the Stricklands have been involved with Drive, Chip & Putt for several years. Shane’s invitation to the national final represents a new level of achievement for the family, and Chase Strickland is grateful for a chance to share a special moment with his sons and wife.
“I’m really proud of him,” he said. “I’m really excited for the opportunity that we get to share together, as well as what Shane’s accomplishment allows our whole family to share at that great golf course.”
Chase noted that Drive, Chip & Putt has taught Shane the ideas of motivation and learning from mistakes, skills that not only develop his play on the course but also impact him through life.
“As someone who never played golf growing up in any official capacity, watching Shane do it has been great just because he is doing it for the love he has for the game,” Chase said. “Every time he would go to Drive, Chip & Putt — and I think everyone experiences this — there’s some success and some failure. I think Drive, Chip & Putt gives them an opportunity to see what it is like to compete with other kids who are trying to achieve the same goal.”
Counting Down the Days
Just as big as those three October putts were, Shane Stickland is no stranger to big moments on the course. As an 8-year-old, he made his first hole-in-one, recording it on a 136-yard par 3 at Chambers Bay Golf Course in Washington. He used a fairway wood to find the No. 14 green, watching the shot roll from its edge into the cup.
And rather than running away from the spotlight, Shane is embracing it. With Golf Channel broadcasting the event, he’s ready to play in front of the camera. It’s an aspect of the game the youngster will have to get used to if he one day accomplishes his dream of becoming a professional golfer.
“I’ve always wanted to be on TV, and I get to be on TV doing my favorite thing — golfing,” Shane said.
In early April, the Stricklands will make the brief trek from Aiken to Augusta National Golf Club. It’ll be his second time on the property — the first as a competitor — but he’s thankful he sunk three putts when he needed it most. More importantly, he’s looking forward to spending time with his parents and brother on one of the world’s most iconic courses.
“It’s great, and I’m really excited,” Shane said. “I’m happy for myself and happy for my family to be able to experience it with me.”
Seen in the 2025 April issue of Augusta magazine and the Augusta magazine Tournament Guide.
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