Speedy Kent has a "real" first name but it will not be divulged here. Her performances as a track star led to the apt nickname and after she made the transition from swimming to golf it carried over. She was fast on the golf course as well.
With an older sister who excelled at swimming and her own success, stepping away from the pool to commit to golf was not an easy choice. There was support within her family to stick with both sports but eventually golf became her singular passion. But Speedy is not what one would call a one-dimensional, 13 year-old seventh grade student and she is definitely not from the mold of Michelle Wie. With parents who understand the value of a well-rounded set of pursuits, Speedy excels at everything she does....but not without an enormous amount of concentration and plain hard work.
Speedy is a straight "A" student and she plays the viola in her school's orchestra: and well. She answers questions only after giving them some thought and looks directly at her interviewer with sparkling blue eyes which belie her ample spirit. She explains the excitement of playing in a combined orchestra. Her idea of drama is the cannon's boom in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which her orchestra played recently. Her orchestra director got special permission to use a real cannon.
Speedy first picked up a golf club at age 4. She discovered one in her basement and asked her father, Rick, what it was. "It's your grandpa's golf club", Rick said. That was the beginning.
Speedy is a goal-setter. At age 6 she started taking lessons from Steve Friebert, a former tour player, at Nichol Park golf range. She didn't hit a golf ball for several months at the beginning. He is the only teacher that Speedy has had. When it's time to revisit Speedy's goals, she and Steve go out for dinner and "negotiate" the new terms. This year's goals relate to "delay and path" and becoming physically stronger. I wouldn't want to engage in a push-up contest with her!
Her winter practice takes place in the Nichol barn, just north of the range on 76th St. Heated bays and a targeted chipping area help her to stay sharp and focused during the long winter months. Her accelerated workouts have resulted in more distance and a long-range goal is to shoot par on an AJGA golf course. Her best round so far has been 75....a score that most of us would make sacrifices for.
Speedy's favorite LPGA golfer was Lorena Ochoa, now retired to raise a family. She struck up a friendship with Waukesha golfer Emily Joers who figured prominently in Wisconsin girls' golf. Speedy considers Emily to be her golf mentor and stays in contact. Jors will play at the U of I at Champaign-Urbana next fall.
With no organized golf opportunities available in the school context, Speedy will spend many days on the road this summer playing in Wisconsin junior PGA events and practicing at the River Club of Mequon...and anticipating the new practice area there. The RCM is Speedy's home course and she will, no doubt, return from the road this summer with humbly stated success stories. She is also excited about playing in the championship girl's program at HHS.
Hello world! It's me, Speedy.
