As Erica and Myah Jackson were growing up on the southside of Chicago, they tried other sports but nothing came as natural to them as golf. By the time the girls were six years old, they were winning youth tournaments and MVP trophies.
“Well, their very first sport was dancing. They started dancing at Mayfair Academy at three years old. Then, they tried tennis and a couple triathlons,” their father, Eric Jackson said. “Erica was hitting a tennis ball probably at the age of five, but they didn’t stick with it long enough to see if they could become the next Williams sisters. We clicked in with golf around six [years old].”
Though Eric says they are gifted athletes across a number of sports, he said there was one moment where he knew they had a special aptitude for the golf course.
“I first knew that they had a gift for golf during Erica’s first tournament. It was a three-hole at a little tournament, which seemed insignificant but she wanted to play,” he said. “There was a hundred yards from the tee box to the flagstick and we hadn’t hit a ball that far ever at that point. On the very first shot, she hit the flagstick.”
From there, the sisters would dominate the inner-city golf circuit as they became more polished and experienced. In 2011, 11-year-old Myah placed first and Erica (13) finished second at the Illinois Elementary School Golf Tournament. Myah was also named the player of the year. The duo were the only participants from Chicago invited to the competition.
Despite the disparity of representation for black women on the LPGA tour, the girls sought to master the game because it had become a welcomed piece of their regular schedules.
“I can remember when they went to preschool and came home one day to say, ‘hey Dad, everybody doesn’t play golf, do they?’ We were playing golf every day at this point and they really thought that, you know, this is what everyone does — live and go to the golf course.”
Erica said the individual competitive aspect of golf allows her to grow in ways many other teams sports don’t encourage.
“Golf has helped me in life in the fact that it’s a long game,” she said. “I’ve been in some tournaments where I would play for six hours. It helps my focus throughout the school day, which I still have to practice at sometimes. I also participate on the dance team, and because golf is an individual sport, it’s helping me with my technique.”
As a former high school varsity athlete, Eric said he has made the girls aware of the privileges afforded to exceptional athletes but reminds them that type of treatment also comes with greater responsibility. He says he preaches to them to be strategic and tactful in everything they do.
“Always have a plan,” Eric said. “And understand that your plan is going to change. You may plan for your first shot to go right down the middle, that’s the simple plan, but what if there’s wind? If the ball gets into the trees, now you gotta change your plan — but you still have a plan. You can’t go out there whacking at the ball. That’s just how life is.”
As the young ladies began to excel at their golf craft, they made a plan to get to college.
“The main goal from the beginning was to get a golf scholarship for shop. I mean, it was probably the goal before I knew what college was. When I learned more about college, it definitely became a goal for me and it has been left up to me what I do with my golf skills after that.”
Earlier this month, Erica inked her scholarship offer to play on the women’s golf team at North Carolina A&T. She became the first African American female to sign a D-I scholarship as a student in Chicago Public School (CPS) system. At Jones College Prep, she qualified to play in the Illinois High School Association’s Girls’ Golf State Finals all four years. She was also named team MVP three times on Jones’ golf teams, winning the award twice for the boys’ side.
Even though she is an exceptional scholar (4.59 GPA) and was accepted to all 12 schools she applied, Erica said it is an honor to be a part of the A&T team, which will host its inaugural women’s golf team season in 2016.
“It was one of the few HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) that I applied to and it was one of the few with a women’s golf team. It’s great to be starting a new team and being the first to do anything in golf at A&T, because there are no limits. Also, they had a farm and I want to major in animal science,” she said.
The pair, nicknamed “The Birdie Sisters,” have broken many records already in their young, athletic careers but their father says his girls have even higher aspirations.
“We first started talking about this about six years ago, but golf is the easiest way for a black woman to get in the history books,” Eric said. “If a black woman can win one of these US Opens or a major LPGA tournament, she’s going into the history books right alongside the pages meant for Tiger [Woods]. At this point, the LPGA is looking for something different.”
