Go to practically any city in America, visit a golf course and you’ll hear it at least once.
“Seen that kid play yet? He’s the next Tiger Woods.”
Once you hear it too many times, you reply, “Yeah, sure, buddy.” It’s not often you get to say, “told you so” because up to now, there has been only one Tiger.
I asked Fred Dula of Salisbury if he was hearing the “Tiger” references.
“A lot,” was the response.
No one is comparing Tiger and Fred. Instead, they’re using “Tiger” in the same sentence with Dula’s son, Stewart.
My first reaction to the Tiger reference was, “Puh-leeze.” But then, the facts started coming in.
Are there any 12-year olds around here shooting 77 from the white tees at the Country Club of Salisbury?
Any other 12-year old beat teenagers five years older to win junior championships?
Any other 12-year old invited to Europe to play St. Andrews?
Any other 12-year old around here have a putting green in a closet at home?
I had to seek out this young prodigy, and pronto.
n
It’s easy to find Stewart Dula. After school, he’s usually on the putting green at the Country Club. Alone with his thoughts and his clubs. Practicing. Practicing. Practicing.
“It’s an individual game so you can play any time you want,” Dula says. “You don’t have to think about anybody but yourself.”
Dula picked up a club when he was two. When his dad played, he would tag along, just for fun. But by the age of six, Stewart was using his dad’s driver.
And Fred Dula was in awe.
“I could see the timing,” he said of his son.
If Dad was in awe at six, think about now. Fred was on the telephone the other day, explaining, “Stewart plays in our men’s group.”
“And he usually beats us,” said a voice in the background, belonging to Paul Woodson.
“He is shooting mid-to-high 70s,” Fred said. “A lot of people tell me he has a future in golf and how talented he is — and he is very dedicated. I’d be proud if he beat me every time.”
n
The younger Dula has tried tennis, plays basketball and is an Eagle scout. But if he has his druthers, he’ll be on the golf course. So the natural question is, “Will he burn out by the time he’s 17 or 18?”
“I don’t think he will,” said Country Club pro Toby Lawson, who has worked with Dula since he was around eight years old. “Nobody pressures the kid. I don’t think Fred is putting any heat on him. He just enjoys doing it and working on his fundamentals.”
Stewart averages 225 yards off the tee but Lawson says the key for him in winning tournaments is his chipping. Lawson, sitting in a chair in the clubhouse, points toward a door about 20 feet away.
“He could put it right there. He doesn’t just bang a ball. Even at 8 or 9, he knew how hard to hit it.”
n
He hits it well enough to earn trips around the world. He beat Ian Woosnam’s 15-year old in match play while in Europe and met Sam Torrance. But beating the courses was much more difficult than beating individuals.
The roughs are 3 1/2 feet deep and the bunkers are 10 feet deep.
Of course, Dula did end up in one of those monstrous European sand traps. He pulled out his lob wedge, opened it up all the way and sent a shot he thought was enough to get out.
“I swung through it and it hit the very top and went back in,” Dula sighed. “I learned not to go back in it again.”
He explained it all with the calm demeanor a golfer must have to become this week’s “Next Tiger Woods.”
And believe it or not, Dula does hit bad shots.
“But I don’t throw my clubs or anything,” he said with a grin. “I just don’t let people know that I’m playing bad.”
n
At this point, I feel like Fred Dula. I’m in awe. Even though there is a tape recorder stuck in his face for the very first time, he speaks with Tiger-like ease.
I kept asking myself, “This kid is how old? 12?”
Lawson lets a grin purse his lips when asked about Dula’s unusual maturity.
Lawson says, “Two things he has going for him: he’s an intelligent kid and he’s focused on what he wants to do. Therefore, he listens to things I tell him and he works on them.”
n
But back to this Tiger stuff.
“It’s still too early to say that,” Lawson chuckles.
Maybe, but it’s still nice to hear.
“It feels good because he’s an extraordinary golfer,” Dula said of the comparisons. “My aunt and uncle say I look like Phil Mickelson.”
Dula does repeat one thing that Tiger said at 12 years of age.
“I want to be on the pro tour. I’d like to spend the rest of my life playing golf.”
His father has taken him to several PGA events, including the The Masters, where, as Dula puts it, “they treat you like Gods.”
He is only watching now but one day, who knows? We may be standing behind the ropes in Augusta cheering on the next Tiger.
And saying, “Told you so.”
n
Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com
.
Today's News
