Spreading The Love

Sean McCauley teaches his daughters to play and love golf, and enjoys watching them pass it on.

Minnesota

Everyone has a different golf tale. How we first encountered the game, the way we play and where this leads us are as unique as our own swings. For many of us, this tale lasts a lifetime. Golf teacher and golf father Sean McCauley knows that well.

McCauley, a pharmaceutical salesman and former part-time golf instructor, spends his “golf hours” teaching his two daughters, Isabella and Reese, to play golf—and quite successfully so. For example, the pair finished first and second place in the Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship last summer. Each day his girls display a growing love for the game that matches his own—with talent that blooms like Augusta azaleas in April.

“My number one reason for getting them into the game was a selfish one for me,” Sean says. “I knew golf was something we could play together for the rest of my life.”

But Sean also knew his girls would benefit from learning and experiencing the game.

“I’m a firm believer that no matter how much they put into it, how hard they work at it and how good they get at it, the game gives back tenfold,” he says. “The people they meet, the places they go, the smiles they can put on other people’s faces. I’ve just always believed in the magic of this game.”

Overcoming Challenges

The McCauley golf story starts with Sean, who was born into an athletic family. Unfortunately, congenital heart defects and severe scoliosis prevented him from playing many sports early on. But when he was 13, his doctor from Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare handed him a book called “How to Perfect Your Golf Swing,” by Jimmy Ballard.

“He said, ‘there’s no reason why you can’t start playing golf. Do it this way, so you don’t put any pressure on your back,’” Sean recalls. “That day at Gillette Hospital set me off on a lifetime love of golf.”

Despite wearing a back brace then that limited his flexibility, Sean became very good at the game (reaching a 3 handicap). He worked part time at a hospital and did “have a cup of coffee” as an instructor with a company that Ballard started in Miami. He soon realized that pharmaceutical sales went a longer way in paying the bills, so he put golf aside—but never abandoned the idea of teaching it. Ultimately, he recognized a pair of decent golf students right in front of him—daughters Isabella and Reese.

Seventeen-year-old Isabella (who goes by Bella) started playing golf at age 6, as did Reese (now 15) two years later, and the duo took to the game quickly. A combination of their sibling camaraderie (and rivalry) plus their dad’s teaching methods grabbed the girls’ attention and fostered a genuine love for the sport.

Keeping the Focus on Fun

“He made it so fun,” Bella says. “As a 6- or 7-year-old, your attention span is short, so he would make up fun games and buy Skittles. If we hit a good shot, we would get Skittles. We would also run around some—we weren’t just standing over a golf ball for hours like we do now. It was very conducive to our age and, as a young kid, I would want to be at the golf course. As we got older, it just kind of progressed to where we loved golf. We didn’t need the Skittles anymore.”

“I wanted to make it fun,” Sean says. “I knew that their wanting to come back the next day was part good, old-fashioned bribery.”

It was effective bribery, as the girls became wired in with golf. Bella didn’t play other sports and Reese briefly dabbled in gymnastics, but golf quickly became the focus. Around age 10, Bella noticed just how much they were enjoying the game, playing or practicing at Southview CC whenever they could.

“We play together almost every day for fun and work together all the time,” Reese says. “But playing in a tournament is a little different dynamic because we’re playing against each other for real.”

That is where it can get interesting, particularly for the parents, who watched their daughters come down the stretch at the Junior Girls’ Championship.
“It’s a blast. It’s a true joy watching them play,” Sean says. “At the MGA Junior Girls’ Championship, they were in the same group and they were grinding against each other but still having a good time. We just enjoyed that day.” 

Bella and Reese finished first and second, respectively, at the 2020 Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship. It’s not quite the same inside the ropes: “We’re a little more focused,” Reese says. “Bella shows she’s pretty much focused all the time and when she saw me that focused, she was a little bit like: ‘Oh wow.’ Because she really hasn’t seen me in a tournament too much. We were definitely both competitive. But it was still fun.”

Bella is the more analytical of the duo, working intently on her body position checkpoints and swing mechanics, and allowing her competitiveness to show through on the course. Meanwhile, she calls her sister “more laid back and bouncy.” But they tend to arrive at the same place—near the top of the leaderboard.

A True Family Affair

The girls, who have been playing on the Simley varsity golf team since 2019, share their love of the game with the whole family. Bella has competed in two national Drive, Chip and Putt contests and the entire crew, even non-golfer Mom (Stephanie), enjoyed their time at Augusta. This past winter (when Sean was unable to attend) Stephanie took Bella to Kinder, La., for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship, where she finished second. 

“I’m talking about golf all the time with my dad and my sister, and my mom brings the balance of a non-golf aspect,” Bella says. “She offers perspective on things, because you can get so wrapped up in things, and golf is obviously just a game. It’s not the be-all and end-all. So she’s always been good at helping us see that a bit more.”

As the girls’ primary coach and instructor, Sean doesn’t miss much of the competition. He says they know enough about their swings to watch film and correct problems, but his counsel is never far away. Reese tells the story of hole No. 2 at Southview, where her dad told her the club she had was not the right one. Reese reluctantly changed to a 4-hybrid and made her first hole-in-one. 

Bella has her own tale: “Before every big tournament, my dad will write a bible verse or some encouragement on a 3-by-5 index card and slip it into my golf bag. Normally, it has something to do with how I represent myself. He always says, ‘it’s not your score that counts, it’s your character.’ That’s very cool for me.”

As much as Sean says he’s “living the dream” watching his daughters enjoy the game he loves, he takes even more pride in how they carry themselves, whether playing with top players or someone just learning the game. Bella further hopes this article encourages young girls or parents to get their daughters into the game, emphasizing all the help and encouragement she’s received.

“I’m so proud of them, not just how they play, but how they are to their teammates and coaches and everybody they come in contact with,” Sean says. “I love that, first and foremost, they notice if somebody else needs something, that they’re there for them.”