KIMBERLEY — Most of the time Dean Reddicopp spends on the golf course these days is to watch his two sons play competitive junior golf.
This week is different. All three of the Reddicopps — Dean, 16-year-old Isaiah and 15-year-old Noah — are playing in the 123rd edition of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Bootleg Gap in Kimberley.
The Reddicopps travelled from their Abbotsford home to compete against one another and also root for one another. It figures to be an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.
“I picked up golf a little bit late in life so I played in a few Mid-Ams, but not the B.C. Am,” Dean said before Tuesday’s first round at Bootleg Gap. “I only decided to try and qualify because the boys were. So I figured I’d give it a shot, too. It’s definitely neat for the three of us to be able to do this.”
Isaiah and Noah are both accomplished junior golfers who are also competing in their first B.C. Amateur. Both made the cut at last week’s B.C. Junior Boys Championship at Quilchena Golf & Country Club in Richmond.
“It should be fun because most of time he is just out there watching, so this week we get to play along with him and against him,” said Isaiah, who is heading into Grade 12 at MEI Secondary.
Noah, who won last year’s B.C. Bantam Boys Championship at Bowen Island Golf Course, made it clear he’s out to beat both his brother and his dad this week. “I definitely don’t want to let them beat me, that’s for sure,” he said.
“I play with Isaiah a lot, but it’s cool to have all three of us here playing like we do at our home course of Ledgeview. It should be a lot of fun.”
It certainly was a lot of fun for Noah in the first round. He birdied his final two holes to shoot a four-under 67 to grab a share of the lead.
A running tally of those family rounds at Ledegeview were kept to keep track of who was beating who. “They are starting to beat me pretty regularly,” Dean, who is 44, said with a chuckle.
“Last year, we had a sheet on the fridge with check marks on who won in every round of the year, so we had a good battle going. It’s probably the first time in my life where I can say I actually enjoy watching my kids play more than playing myself.”
The Reddicopps didn’t play together in Tuesday’s first round, but they went off in consecutive groups on the first tee in the early afternoon. Isaiah led the way, followed by Dean and then Noah. Dean, an industrial land developer in Abbotsford, can still keep up with his boys off the tee, but joked that they hit it straighter than he does.
Straight is often necessary on many of Bootleg Gap’s tree-lined holes. “I played all sports as a kid other than golf,” he said. “So I am fighting hockey swings, baseball swings, I’ve got everything going on. There was a time when the boys were younger that I put more effort into it and did all right.
"Now I spend a lot more time watching them play than practising. This course is great, but it definitely puts a premium on the tee shot. You have to get it in play which the boys have a little more advantage over me. That’s definitely the key on the course.”
Wife and mom Stephanie also made the trip east. “I find myself in the supporting role,” she said. “There is a joy that comes with seeing the three of them do something they love and for Dean to have the opportunity to play because it’s few and far between with us at so many of the kids’ tournaments. So that is fun.”
Dean persuaded his wife to caddie for him on Tuesday. “That should be interesting,” Stephanie said. “I think he just wants me to help him find some golf balls. But you know what, I walked with him at the qualifier and I really enjoyed that, so that is what today will be. I will be a supportive wife and then hopefully a loving mom. It is special, for sure.”
CHIP SHOTS: Two other father-son duos — Dean Huston and his son Drew, also of Abbotsford, and Rob Hornsby and his son Owen from from Chilliwack — are in this week’s field.