Satchel Pierce looks to keep calm and Drive, Chip and Putt at Augusta

 

ELKHART, Indiana – Satchel Pierce will be demonstrating his golf skills on a big stage this weekend.

 

But the 11-year-old will try to relax and pretend he's hitting balls on the practice range.

 

"I'll be staying relaxed," said Satchel, a Christiana Creek Country Club member who has qualified in the Boys 10-11 age division for the National Drive, Chip & Putt Championship in Augusta, Ga., site of The Masters. "I don't get tensed up."

 

A 2014 Indiana Golf Prep Tour Boys Player of the Year, Satchel is ready to compete Sunday, April 6, in an event airing at 8:00 a.m. on Golf Channel.

 

Using a point system, Satchel and other competitors will drive into a 40-yard grid for accuracy and distance. Two chips and three putts (6, 15 and 30 feet) will be measured for their closeness to the pin to determine a winner.

 

The Edwardsburg Middle School sixth-grader has been practicing on a mat at his Union, Mich., home, and at Christiana Creek, the semi-private club his grandfather, Mac Pierce, owns.

 

Like favorite PGA Tour golfer Phil Mickelson, Satchel plays golf left-handed and does everything else with his right hand. He appreciates Mickelson for his attitude and thinks that Arizona State University, where Mickelson went, would make a nice college choice.

 

Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler are also among Satchel's faves for their friendliness toward young golfers and their sense of style. Like Watson, Satchel carries a pink putter and often wears bright orange, a hue favored by Fowler.

 

While Satchel will be on TV, plenty of family will be watching him in person. Not only will parents Terry and Amanda Pierce and older brother Carter Goodson be in attendance, but so will grandparents Mac Pierce, Lori Schultz and Harold Fought and Christiana Creek general manager Mark Dennison.

 

After Augusta, Satchel said he plans to play in the Indiana Golf Association and Elkhart County junior golf tours as well as the Golf Week Junior Tour event at Notre Dame.

 

This article was written by Steve Krah from The Elkhart Truth, Ind. and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.