It was early in the morning in London when Zbynek Strnadova’s devices all began to buzz. On the other side of the Atlantic, golf Twitter had discovered his daughter Lucie’s sweet golf swing.
“I just opened Twitter and saw hundreds of notifications,” Zbynek remembered. “I was like, ‘What’s happening?’”
Scroll 10-year-old Lucie’s Twitter line and you’ll be hypnotized by the cut she takes with her driver – or with any other club. In a clip posted to her @LucyGolfer page on March 2, Lucie – wearing pigtails and a pink jacket – pops a drive in a covered hitting bay then turns around to the camera, jumping up and down, and flashes a thumbs up.
The post has since been retweeted 168 times and liked 3,600 times. Among the 272 commenters was Phil Mickelson.
I don’t know Lucie, but the speed,💣, joy on her face and the thumbs up 👍at the end make me want to introduce myself. Well done Lucie😎 https://t.co/CmFtaXGpaz
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 2, 2020
In a Skype interview with Golfweek, Lucie grinned at the mention of all the comments on social media.
“I liked how they retweeted it because they’re sharing it,” she said.
On her web site, Lucie says driver is her favorite club in the bag, but the 10-year-old has a full Ping setup – 3-wood, hybrids, a 6-iron through a pitching wedge – to take on the course. Her longest drive is 220 yards, she wrote on her site, but she says she more frequently hits it about 150.
Lucie likes to practice her putting and go to the driving range the most. Chipping – particularly downhill or short chip shots – are most difficult for her.
The Strnadova family, originally from the Czech Republic, now live closer to London. There are seven or eight courses in the area on which Lucie can play. She takes lessons from Jack Frances at North Middlesex Golf Club, generally seeing him twice a week.
“I’ve been teaching her since she was about the same length as a putter really, about four years now,” Frances said. “It’s been a good little journey with Lucie.”
Zbynek gave Lucie a putter when she was 6 years old – right around the time he was becoming interested in the game. He slowly added more and more clubs. Now, golf is the family game, even though he plays less and less.
“When she started playing her first tournament I really gave up my game,” he said. “I’m usually her caddie so I didn’t have time for my game at all. Now I’m trying to get back, playing with her as a family. Mom is about to start playing golf as well, we just bought her clubs.”
“I really like to have it as a kind of family game. We can enjoy together, we go for holiday.”
Last summer when the AIG Women’s British Open came to Woburn Golf Club, about 40 minutes from the Strnadova’s home, Lucie attended all four days to watch LPGA players Jessica and Nelly Korda.
Asked what tournament she aspires to play someday, Lucie named the Women’s British Open without quite being able to put her finger on why. In the short-term, she’s working to bring her handicap down. She’s a 22 now and hopes to be a 10 by the end of the year. Her best 18-hole score is an 88.
Frances would like to see Lucie test her game in more U.S. junior golf events, when possible. She played the 2018 IMG Academy Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines, finishing 46th (83-81-77) in the girls 7-8 age group, and is slated to play the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina, in July.
The junior golf program at North Middlesex is strong, and Frances estimates that Lucie is one of 15 or 20 kids learning the game. He imagines himself a big kid, and thus gets along well with younger students. Frances gets particular satisfaction from watching members as they watch Lucie swing the club. She typically leaves their jaws on the ground.
Sometimes, Frances will play a few holes with Lucie, and sometimes in a “match” mindset. Frances remembers one of their early games, when he gave his student two shots a hole.
“I’m shaking hands with her by the fourth hole, I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s beating me,’” he said. “I like that. I like seeing someone beating me. I played well.”
Lucie will continue to improve, Frances says, as her short game tightens up and her patience grows. He wants her to learn not to get down on herself after a bad hole or bad round, and instead shake it off and move on.
“We work a lot on her short game, that’s where the most important shots happen,” Frances said. “She’s got such ability and such belief in her own self. She has a lot of natural talent.”
The secret of Lucie Strnadova is out.
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