Henrik LaPoint with younger brother Rasmus.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Henrik LaPoint was just wrapping up kindergarten when his father heard about the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation’s regional tournament for beginning golfers. “It sounded like a good time,” dad Derrick says. “A father-son trip to Kansas City? Great! Henrik loves barbecue, and we could have it every night.”

So the two drove eight hours to Missouri last weekend for the Midwest State Invitational … and the Moorhead youngster came home a champion.

In his very first tournament, played at the Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Missouri, the young golfer took first place, scoring four points under his nearest competitor. He competed in youngest category for boys age 6 and younger. (He turned 6 at the end of April.)

While the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation is active across the nation, no chapters exist in Minnesota or North Dakota. Family friends helped Henrik register for the Midwest regional tourney. “When I told my wife about it, she kind of looked at me cross-eyed,” Derrick laughs. “We’re not pushing him like some parents do when their kids get into a sport. If you do it right, golf is all about respect – for your competition, for the game itself. It teaches solid values.”

Little Henrik fell in love with the game three years ago. Tagging along with Derrick as he played the Moorhead Country Club course, he started out swinging his plastic clubs, then graduated to serious child-sized gear. Soon, the preschooler’s native knack for hitting balls turned into a very young version of the passion that runs in his family.

“He’s never had formal lessons,” says Derrick, who directs Downtown Moorhead Inc. and consults on the city’s economic development. “The pros at the country club are great with kids, and have given him tips along the way. They make juniors and families feel so welcome. It’s an inclusive club where everyone enjoys seeing kids out on the course.”

MCC golf pro Chris Howell echoes that, noting that youth golfing is very strong in Fargo-Moorhead. “I’m not surprised at all about Henrik’s success. None of us were. He really loves the game.”

The LaPoint boy comes by that love naturally. Both parents are avid golfers. Mother Lauryn played on the women’s collegiate team at the University of North Dakota, where she and Derrick met. As for Dad, he was a member of his high school team for three years until the demands of hockey – the sport he ultimately played professionally – took over his time.

Both grew up with fathers passionate about the game, Lauryn in the Twin Cities and Derrick in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “We both played with our dads as kids and hung around the courses as we were growing up,” Derrick says. They even competed in youth tournaments, though at more advanced ages: “And we certainly didn’t go this distance.”

While Henrik was winning his first tournament 600 miles away, his mother was at home in Moorhead with younger brother Rasmus, 3.

The whole family has become a familiar foursome walking the north Moorhead golf course. Even Rasmus has his own set of toddler-sized clubs. But the youngest LaPoint so far shows little of his brother’s serious interest.

“Rasmus likes to trot around finding worms in the grass and pretending to fish in the ponds,” Dad reports. “He’s pretty carefree. Henrik is more interested in really playing golf.”

That budding passion will be nurtured by the Fargo-Moorhead area’s thriving youth golf scene. Over the next few days, Henrik will compete in youth tournaments in Detroit Lakes and Fargo.

Henrik was “pretty pumped” about winning in Missouri last weekend, eager to call his grandparents, aunts and uncles with the news. His father emphasizes, though, that having fun is the family’s central goal for their young champion.

“We want our kids to experience the game for themselves – not for us to do it for them,” he muses. “It’s not about us. We’re not going to push.”

Reflecting on his son’s progress in just three years, though, he shakes his head in wonder. “Good lord, they grow up fast!”