Is it right to deny him dinner after a poor round?

The roller coaster, when high, inevitably falls to a low point.

Sean shot disappointing rounds of 78-75-74 to finish T48 in a field of 72 players this week

Sean started the week with a great finish in a National Qualifer, earning a tournament exemption for next year. The week began with great promise.

You see, there is a strategy involved in all of this. It is more than just going to events and teeing it up. What we want out of playing in these Gilchrist events this summer is to take advantage of his exempt status to earn some AJGA status for next year, so that he can get into some events then. It isn't just about playing on the big tour, although that is important. It is also about being able to map out a schedule, to be able to make plans for his golf events around our work and vacation schedules.

His round of 70 in the qualifier bode well for the rest of the week. The course seemed to please his eye. He was comfortable and thought he could do well. He said he left a lot of strokes out there.

But now after the second of his four scheduled Gilchrist events, Sean comes away with nothing in the bank. A top 50% finish would have earned him a performance star, whereas a top 15 (or whatever) finish would get him a tournament exemption. These essential trinkets are all far easier to earn in Gilchrist events then in the AJGA qualifiers.

We'll now have to go to plan B and add some more qualifier events to his summer schedule in hopes of making some of the lost opportunity up.

Where the roller coaster metaphor collapses as applied to golf is that, to the parent of the budding young golf star and no doubt to Sean as well, there is nothing at all thrilling about these falls from the highs. They are frustrating and, to some extent, aggravating. The reversal is inexplicable.

And spending a full week in a hotel room for this is not what we signed up for.

Or is it?

It just goes to show how we really have no idea where this is going. There is so much uncertainty. Is this as talented as Sean is, or can he really be better at this game?

I feel it is important to resist the temptation to demand more from Sean. Because you just don't really know. Is this as good as it can get for him? Or is there a lot more talent there, and he just hasn't found the key? He seems to work so hard at his game and is so absolutely obsessed with golf. But is he working at his game in the right way? With his obsession is he setting himself up for a big fall? We want this so much for him, but does he really want it for himself more?

Intellectually, he HAS to figure this out on his own. And he will do so on his own time. And yet, as a parent, how do we tell him that our reservoir of patience is not unending? That at some point, he will have to prove he belongs out there to earn the privilege of going to these events. At some point, we may need to guide him to other alternatives.

Given all this uncertainty, I'm now thinking the missing ingredient may be self-discipline. That, in the absence of raw unbridled talent where it comes almost too easy, there has to be a much sharper mental focus than what Sean is currently displaying. In every way he approaches the game, from practice to tournaments.

Sean isn't making mistakes out there because he's quit or is pouting. He has a great demeanor on the course, especially during tournaments. He keeps an even keel. As I've said all along, I'm convinced he wants to be a great golfer far more than I want him to be a great golfer. He has chosen this path for himself and he owns it.

Which together brings this final question to mind: If he misses one more 2 foot putt in a tournament round, would I be bad person to deny him dinner that evening? You know, for the sake of discipline?