Schimpf siblings share family 'links'
Sunday was National Siblings Day, and brothers and sisters everywhere united to experience the day.
For Abbey and Emma Schimpf, it was a time to share memories, celebrate their success and perhaps, get in a round of practice at a golf course on Daniel Island.
Abbey, 13, and Emma, 12, are two of the up-and-coming golfers in South Carolina, if not the Southeast. They have had great success on the golf course and in the classroom.
How they got there is a story itself. They are opposites in life and on the course. But on the course, well, they share the same success.
Need proof: Emma gets up at 6 o’clock in the morning to do her homework. She gets it done promptly. Older sis Abbey doesn’t start her homework until the clock nears midnight.
As they talk about their lifestyle and golf game, you know it was coming. Emma always colored inside the lines when it came to coloring books. Abbey, well, she wasn’t as neat.
“I draw straight lines,” Emma said. “Abbey uses squiggly lines.”
And then there is their golf. Emma is precise and coordinates the color of her golf shoes, shorts and shoes. Abbey puts on whatever.
“They have different personalities, different approaches,” said the girls’ father Dennis. “But they have the same success on the golf course.”
Need proof of their golf success? Check out the results of the recent Jekyll Island Cup. Abbey won the 13-year-old division by four strokes with a two-day total of 154, while Emma captured the 12-year-old category with a six-shot victory, recording a 146.
The victory was impressive. While Abbey was putting the finishing touches on her championship in Georgia, she did manage to see Emma record an eagle from about 100 yards out.
Their success is not fleeting. Abbey’s handicap is 1.6 and she’s headed to the U.S. Open qualifier later this year.
Emma has a 6 handicap and plans to compete in the USGA Women’s Amateur and USGA Girl’s Amateur this summer.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about their success is that their parents can put in the time to allow them to succeed. After all, Dennis and Lori are the parents of seven kids.
“It’s nice to live in this community, which makes it conducive to golf,” said Dennis, a plastic surgeon who moved his family from Buffalo, N.Y. to the Lowcountry 10 years ago. “Because of the size of our family, our kids can’t play six or seven different sports. We can’t run our kids all over to play six or seven sports.”
The girls are home-schooled. Their mother, Lori, was a teacher and she makes her daughters hit the books before they hit the links.
Once on the course, it’s not unusual for them to have a lesson from Michael Smith and play nine holes.
The work plays off. Abbey points out that one of her strongest phases of the game is her putting. She also is a good driver, but we’re not talking about cars. She can send the ball 230-240 yards down the fairway from the men’s tees. Emma’s drives are straight and consistent and usually travel 190-200 yards. Not bad for a 12-year-old.
“I really like golf,” Abbey said. “Success is something that’s not handed to you. You have to work at it.”
And that success showed up on Jekyll Island. It wasn’t a fluke. Emma has won 17 tournaments on the local Charleston tour while Abbey has been crowned champion 28 times on the Charleston U.S. Kids tour.
“It was sort of the perfect scenario, the perfect storm,” dad Dennis said. “They want to do well when they play in the same tournament, and they did. That made the trip home a little more enjoyable.”