Taking a breath, aligning the club with the ball, taking another breath and then swinging. During the golf season, these simple steps make all the difference for Jack Kinder and Tommy Kinder as they attend tournament after tournament.
Over the last four years, senior Jack Kinder has golfed for the men’s Varsity golf team at Revere High School (RHS). Sophomore Tommy Kinder joined his older brother Jack on the Varsity ranks last year. Though they are on the high school team together, their experience with golfing alongside one another extends beyond the last two years.
Being the older brother, Jack was the first to take an interest in golf. He began playing in elementary school and took a break from the sport throughout middle school. Despite the break, Jack made it onto the Varsity team his freshman year after his friend Grant Banning suggested Jack try out.
“I started when I was seven-ish and played at Rosemont Country Club . . . up until like twelve, and then I took a break. I didn’t really play throughout middle school all that much. Then, once high school came around, I started playing freshman year and then started taking it way seriously since then. . . . One of my friends Grant Banning played with me at the country club. He graduated last year, but he told me to come out and try out because he was on the team his freshman year,” Jack said.
As they are brothers, it is no surprise Tommy and Jack learned golf together. To Tammy Kinder, the boys’ mom, Jack’s seniority over Tommy ensured that Jack served as a role model to his younger brother.
“[Jack] is probably the biggest factor in [Tommy’s] golf journey, because he has been . . . [Tommy’s] role model in regard to golf,” she said.
After entering high school, Jack’s focus shifted to golf. From August 1 until the middle of October, the men’s Varsity golf team practiced every weekday for two hours after school. During these three months, optional weekend practices and tournaments become part of the boys’ routine.
“We practice pretty much every day throughout the season. [We] maybe take a day off on the weekend. Usually they’re after school, three to five. Two hours. Sometimes we go out and play in the course, . . . hitting balls on the range [and] putting in short games. . . . Occasionally we have tournaments on the weekend, [but] usually they’re on the weekdays. . . . Sunday is usually always off, [but] we have optional practices on the weekends, which usually the Varsity guys always go to on Saturday,” Jack said.
Jack was the one who showed the most interest in golf when the brothers were young. After Tommy missed out on a golf trip that Jack and their father went on over spring break three years ago, Tommy began playing the sport and taking it seriously.
“[Tommy] golfed when he was younger, but he didn’t really have nearly as much interest as I did. And when I started my freshman year, . . . he still really wasn’t playing. . . . [I] took a golf trip after my freshman year with my dad, and [Tommy] didn’t want to go just because he didn’t really want to go golfing. . . . Something clicked after that. He tried it out, and he just went with it ever since,” Jack said.
Throughout the last four years, Jack’s golfing career has continued to improve. According to the men’s Varsity coach David Archer, this past season is the third year in a row that a Revere boys golfer has gone to the district tournament. Three years ago, Jack individually qualified, and the men’s Varsity golf team qualified altogether the next two years.
“When I became coach, I took two kids [to the official tournament], because I only, at the time, felt I had two kids that could carry a golf bag and complete eighteen holes of golf. Five years later, [the team] went to districts for our second year in a row. We had a presence in districts for our third year in a row, because we had an individual qualifier three years ago in Jack Kinder,” Archer said.
Over the last 32 years, no RHS golfer continued their career in college. Jack is going to change that streak. John Bernatovicz, RHS’s boys golf Director of Player Development, acknowledged the achievement and encouraged Jack to go through with his commitment to the sport.
“Since 1992, . . . Jack Kinder is the [first] student athlete . . . to continue his golf career in college. Revere went 32 years without a high school golfer continuing his career to play college golf. . . . Jack wasn’t sure he wanted to do it, and I would say through Archer’s vision and some of my encouragement and the other coaches’ and his play, he realized that he wanted golf to be part of his college experience,” Bernatovicz said.
When Jack first entered high school, it was the third year since Coach Archer took over the boys golf program. To the men’s Varsity Assistant Coach Scott Altman, Jack’s development and continuous dedication as a player ultimately led to his commitment to the College of Wooster to play golf.
“[When Jack was a freshman] he wasn’t an imposing figure. He comes in, and he’s a skinny kid. . . . [His playing], it’s very organic in that he kept sticking with it. [His scores were] going down very slowly, very steadily. He’s easy to work with. And also, somewhere in that timeframe he did a lot of off-season work. . . . He’s just one of those guys that gets a little better every year as he gets stronger. Who knows what he can do at Wooster?” Altman said.
Every player has positive and negative elements of their game. For Jack, his short game acts as both the positive element and something to fall back on.
“My short game I take a lot of pride in. I feel like that’s the strength of my game, and I feel that’s always up to the level that I know it can be. Especially when I’m not hitting well, I can still play well,” Jack said.
Their similar age and skill alongside the fact that they are brothers ignites competitive levels within the two.
“It can get competitive between us sometimes, because we’re both really, really close to the same level, so it brings out the best in both of us,” Jack said.
In the off-season, the Kinder boys spend time practicing in all sorts of ways, even if it is more difficult. One of the locations Tommy goes to is Springside Athletic Club. Along with that, Tommy has worked with a swing coach over the last year to get advice on his technique.
“[The practice places are] indoor places, like at Springside Athletic Club. There are simulators in there, and there’s also an indoor range, so we have to pay for that. But it works nice over the winter. . . . I have a swing coach who gives me advice on different aspects of my swing that I should work on, and so I really just practice those and make sure I get those down. Just they’re very simple errors or things to fix my swing,” Tommy said.
Not only do the Kinders go to simulators and attend clubs during the off-season, but they work out and have a putting area at home in the chance they cannot visit the indoor ranges.
“They have a little putting area set up in the basement. They hit foam balls that they practice with in the front yard, and they lift weights and work out in the off-season to get their strength up,” she said.
During the season, the number of tournaments that the team attends keeps them away from school. Approximately fifteen tournaments may not seem like much, but that amount over the span of less than three months keeps the boys out of school a decent number during the season.
“This past season, we had a lot [of tournaments]. I don’t know the exact number, but it was definitely in the teens, . . . probably around fifteen. . . . During the first quarter of the year up until October, we miss probably one to two days [of school] a week from golf,” Jack said.
The last time the team took off school for golf was October 14, 2024, where they went to NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio. This year was the third year in a row an individual or the team made it to districts, and this year proved monumental once more as sophomore Tommy Kinder went to the state tournament, the first Revere student to make it to the state tournament in seventeen years. To the brothers’ mom Tammy, knowing that the entire team missed out on school to watch their teammate play at the state tournament was a nice gesture. Paired with the knowledge that the team had already missed lots of classes throughout those last few months and knowing that none of the other boys aside from Tommy were excused from school during the state tournament days, it demonstrates the support they all had for one another.
“It was really nice that the whole team came. They didn’t get excused from school. Their parents had to call them off. It wasn’t like they were excused as part of the team, because it just doesn’t work that way when you’re not all playing. They took the time out of their schedules and their schoolwork, and they’ve already missed so much school for golf, but they were all like, ‘No, we’re not missing it.’ They were all there. . . . They’re the best. That whole team, all those guys are just the best. They’re the nicest guys and a really tight-knit group, and they all support each other,” Tammy said.
Whether it is Tommy or Jack, Tammy has lots of pride in both her sons. Her pride stems from their achievements, but their hard work they put into their crafts proves more important.
“I’m just amazed and proud. They both work really hard, and [watching is] enjoyable, and sometimes nerve wracking. Sometimes I have to hold my breath while they hit their putt, like ‘Oh, is it going to go in?’. . . I was proud that [Tommy] was going to states, but I think the thing I was most proud of is just how hard he worked all season,” Tammy said.
Going to the state tournament was a goal Tommy had hoped to achieve both before and during the season, a goal which he attained.
“[Going to states] meant a lot to me. That was my goal prior to the season. . . . We made districts as a team this year, which was nice. And then once we got out at districts, I was really nervous, just because I wanted to play really well. . . . Once I realized that I qualified for states, I was just super excited,” Tommy said.
The state tournament experience felt different in comparison to other rounds Tommy had played before, but he had the support of his team, his family and his coaches that were there alongside him. Though his nervous attitude was present, he persevered and continued to swing.
“[States] was a lot different than any other golf round I’ve ever played. But my team [was] still there to support me while I was playing. They walked in front of me and watched all my shots. . . . They were there to support me. The nerves were definitely there, but it was fine,” Tommy said.
During the tournament, one standout moment for the individual state qualifier was when he made a long putt. Just as there are positives in the game, there are negatives, too; the ability to persevere despite it served valuable to Tommy, especially during the state tournament.
“There was one long putt that I made. There were a bunch of people watching, which was pretty cool. And there are certainly some low lights too, because it’s hard to go a full round without making any bad shots, and you just [have] to learn how to deal with it and persevere,” Tommy said.
Over the last four years, both Tommy and Jack Kinder have spent their time working and improving their golf game. Neither’s futures are solidified, but one thing is for certain: golf is an important part of them, and their dedication to the sport remains apparent as Jack goes into college to play golf, and Tommy continues to donate his time and attention to the game.
