Thanks partly to dad, Benjamin Allwein is playing the best golf of his young life

Drives split fairways. Approach shots find greens. Putts are true.

The mind is right.

For more than a month now, Benjamin Allwein has been playing the kind of lights out golf that only gifted golfers can play. It’s the type of golf that bodes well for short-term and long-term futures, and the kind that can create memories.

“I think I’m on a roll,” he said. “But I’ve practiced a lot and I’m confident I can shoot good scores and play well at these good courses. That’s what’s keeping me going.”

A 14-year-old freshman on the Annville-Cleona golf team, Benjamin’s memorable month has featured five Lancaster-Lebanon Section Four medalist finishes in his initial season of action on the scholastic varsity level. But what may have jump started his incredible run was an inspirational victory over his dad in the finals of the Lebanon Country Club’s men’s club championship.

“I think the key to my success is having those guys (Dutchmen teammates) with me out at the course practicing,” said Benjamin. “It’s kind of a confidence thing, knowing what I have to do. If I have a bad hole, I have to forget about it and move on. Every day is a new day, and every hole is a new hole.”

“I really like when there’s something I have to fix to get better at it,” he added. “I love golf just because it makes me do better.”

“His improvement has been dramatic over the last couple of years,” said Benjamin’s father, Steve Allwein, who serves as an assistant coach at Annville-Cleona. “We put him in some competitive tournaments and now he’s competing against some really good golfers. He just works at it every day. There are not really many weaknesses in his game right now. He’s just really trying to fine tune everything. It hasn’t been fluky. It’s been really consistent.”

In Annville-Cleona’s first five L-L Section Four matches this season, Benjamin has averaged a section-leading 69.6 shots per round. On Aug. 27 at the 6,400-yard Conestoga Country Club, Benjamin fired a sparkling four-under-par score of 66.

With Benjamin and Logan Francis leading the way, the Dutchmen are locked in a tight fight with Pequea Valley for the L-L Section Four team championship.

“I’ve been playing great for the last three weeks, probably the best I’ve played in the last year,” said Benjamin. “I’m just looking forward to the postseason. With me and Logan, it doesn’t matter who wins, we’re just trying to finish first and second. If it’s between me and him, I’m completely fine with that every time.

“School is always No. 1, and then it’s golf for sure. I love golf and if I could, I’d pick it as my job. Golf is so much fun. Even if I have a bad day at golf, I know there are ways to get better at it.”

“I think the most important thing now is staying humble and playing the game because you love it,” said Steve. “If you’re acting like a young man, it helps you grow up. Golf is still just a game we play for fun.”

That game was never more fun for the Allweins than it was on the weekend of Aug. 23-24, when Benjamin bested his dad one-up on the 37^th hole to claim the men’s club championship at the Lebanon Country Club. After neither father nor son led by more than one hole throughout the two-round championship match, Benjamin sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to emerge victorious.

“The men’s club championship was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done with him,” said Benjamin of his dad. “It was an awesome experience, and I’ll never forget it. It was crazy how close we were. I knew one of us was going to win it and it really just came down to that 37^th hole. It was just a different experience. It was a very emotional day.”

“It was honestly surreal,” said Steve. “There was so much emotion. It was like the ideal day of golf. You always want to have that experience with your son. I hoped it would come, but I didn’t think it would come this soon. It might not happen again. If this was the one time, then great.”

Benjamin had defeated teammate and good friend Francis in Saturday’s semifinal round to reach the championship match on Sunday. Then, with Francis serving as his caddie during the final match, Benjamin became one of the Lebanon Country’s Club’s youngest men’s club champions in his first time competing in the century-old event.

“One of my earliest memories of golf was being with my dad when I was 7 or 8 years old and him winning a member-guest at Lancaster Country Club,” said Benjamin. “I also remember getting my first lesson with (then Lebanon Country Club head professional) Christian Sheehan for my birthday. It made me realize there was more to my swing and more to do. Now I work with Rob Rowe at Bent Creek Country Club, and we talk about golf and life.”

“The (Lebanon Country) club has kind of been his playground and day care,” said Steve of his son. “From a young age, he’d be riding in a golf cart. He’s always been around the game and then when he was 10 or 11, he got serious about it.”

Steve’s influence on Benjamin’s golf game has been more inspirational than hands-on.

“I feel like I’ve always been a big kid and I’ve always been able to hit the ball straight and far,” said Benjamin. “My dad really pushed me to work on my short game. When I was younger, the big thing was always being able to beat him one day.”

They grow up so fast, don’t they?