Some 1,500 miles away, Landon Weber, 11, and Preston Weber, 7, of Madison will take part in the 2009 Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, N.C. The competition will take place Thursday through Saturday and will feature golfers from around the world.
The Weber brothers will travel with their parents, Scott and Alison Weber.
"Last year it was really cool -- and hot. I think I can do better than last year, but just being down there is fun," said Landon, who shot a 31 on the back nine at Prairie Green Golf Course in Sioux Falls in a SDGA Junior Golf competition earlier this season.
Preston agrees that the North Carolina golfing competition will be exciting.
"The course is hard, but it's nice and really different," Preston said.
Landon, who will play 18 holes a day for three days, will tee off at 9 a.m. Thursday with hopes of earning a top-10 finish. Last year as a 10-year-old, he placed 64th.
In order to do that, he must keep his scores low on the green.
"I need to putt," Landon said with a smile. "If I can one-putt holes, then I have a good chance of getting in the top 10."
Preston, who will play nine holes for three days, indicates that the course or shots won't be his biggest problem.
"It was really hot last year. The shade of the trees was good to have," said Preston, who will tee off at 10:40 a.m.
With temperatures reaching the triple digits and the humidity also high, having his sons get used to the hot weather was important to Scott Weber, who ran track for South Dakota State University.
"I'll make sure they'll drink a lot of weather and sleep right, but this trip is more about enjoying golf than being number one," said Scott.
In order for the brothers to become accustomed to the conditions and the course in North Carolina, the Webers have played four practice rounds there since Sunday. After over a week on the east coast, it might be hard for the boys to return to their Madison home. Landon has asked his father more than once if they can move to Pinehurst. Scott, who is a real estate appraiser, said that his eldest son loves the course's trees and the smell of the pines.
Preston said that the water cautions and green grass are some of the highlights at the famous golf course.
"You can hear the birds chirp and it echoes," said a soft-spoken Preston.
While the boys enjoy taking part in the world championships, they would rather not take part in one event. At the Festivities of Champions (opening ceremonies), every U.S. state and country has a member carrying the flag, much like the Olympics. Since the Webers are the only competitors from South Dakota, one of them must carry the flag around the assembly.
"Landon will ask me, `Oh dad, do we have to carry that stupid flag around?'," said Scott. "I tell them the night before [that] they get to represent South Dakota -- after they have their ice cream."
Scott said that Landon, at age 7 or 8, could beat him on the golf course. "It's not that hard. But at an early age, I knew he was going to be good," said Scott. "He just seemed to be really enjoying himself."
Scott, who didn't golf as a youth, thinks that Preston will also be able to beat him soon.
The two brothers sometimes play against each other at the Madison Country Club, but they don't usually keep score. The two are more competitive about who wins more times in the Nintendo Wii Tiger Woods Golf game.
Both boys say that they push each other to become better golfers.
"I give tips to Preston about golf, and that helps me. It makes me learn about different stuff," said Landon.
Preston tries not to copy his older brother, but he enjoys it when Landon does well.
"Going with Landon is cool. I cheer for him and I know he does the same for me," said Preston.
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