CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Toyama eats, sleeps
and breathes the game
On those rare occasions when Travis Toyama has a sub-par round of golf, he's never hard to find afterward.
"It's usually straight to the (practice) putting green if it's still light out," said Travis' mom, Corinne. "He'll go back to work on a part of the round that wasn't as good as he would have liked."
Toyama's search for perfection hardly makes him unique in a sport that demands and promotes self-discipline. But his sheer love for the game may never be adequately measured, and that, above all, might explain why he always rates with the very best of his contemporaries.
"Golf is my life," he says. "All I do is golf, eat and sleep. And then there's school on the side," he continued with a laugh.
In fact, Toyama is diligent in the classroom, carrying a 3.7 grade-point average.
"It's sure to go down this semester," he joked of his GPA. "Senior-itis is starting to kick in."
So, too, is the high school golf season. And golf, make no mistake, is Toyama's main area of concentration.
"A good score can be different from a good round," he explains. "There's always a shot you didn't make, and I feel like I have to work on that. I try to play one shot at a time. If I have a bad round, I try to hang in there. The nice thing about golf is that it's all on you -- you always know what you need to work on. With some team sports, you can have a career night and not win."
Toyama might someday have a career in golf, but first he'll try to lead his University High teammates to an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Championship. The Junior 'Bows are currently in third in the ILH behind Iolani and Punahou, with a meeting against Saint Louis scheduled for Saturday at Makaha Resort Golf Club. Next year, he'll be competing for the University of Hawaii, having verbally committed this weekend.
Full name: Travis Masao Toyama
School: University High
Favorite food: "Anything but fruits and vegetables."
Favorite golfer: Tom Lehman
Favorite saying: "I remember (professional golfer) Dean Wilson saying, "Why do I need to learn this? All I have to do is be able to count to four."
Favorite TV show: "I'll watch anything. I can sit in front of the TV for hours."
Favorite video game: Nintendo 64, "NBA Hang Time"
Hobbies: "Sleeping and watching TV"
Favorite class: "Math. I had a very good math teacher (James Yoshimori) when I attended Kapunahala Elementary."
His natural gift for concentration makes him an asset to any college program, and he had offers to attend mainland schools. He has made several trips to the mainland already, including last summer when he won the 35th annual Independent Insurance Agent Junior Classic in Columbus, N.J. His 10-stroke victory in that event remains his proudest moment in golf, as he broke a record previously held by Tiger Woods for largest winning margin.
"It was a four-round tournament, and I was striking the ball well that week," said Toyama, who was the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association Player of the Year for 2003.
A former Manoa Cup champion, Toyama also won the Westfield Jr. PGA Championship Qualifier in 2003 and placed third in both the Callaway State Junior championships and the Hawaii State Amateur Stroke-Play championship, among other noteworthy accomplishments.
Although he used to play soccer and baseball, there was never any question that golf was No. 1 among Toyama's interests. His earliest golf memories are attending the Newtown Driving Range in Aiea with his father, Masao, an avid golfer. His dad spent as much time turning around to watch his son as he did in trying to perfect his own swing.
"He just couldn't sit still, so I decided to make a club for him," Masao said. "I used to take him with me when I was baby-sitting him and he enjoyed it. More so (than teaching golf fundamentals), I tried to work with him in being patient and to just enjoy himself. You have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win. At times, I may have pushed him too hard, but it's all been part of learning for both of us. I'm very proud of his accomplishments."
Travis' first golf clubs were actually a plastic Fisher Price set, which his parents bought him at the age of 4.
"You can't do much damage inside the house with those," he said.
Soon he had his first real set of clubs and he was side by side with father at the driving range -- often at Olomana Golf Links, where he still trains today.
"It was fun trying to hit the ball as far as a I could, but it was a challenge just to hit the ball at first," he said. "I liked other sports, but I'd always make time for golf. After I quit playing soccer in eighth grade, I focused only on golf, trying to prepare myself for high school."
While he lists Tom Lehman as his favorite golfer, Toyama had already found his alter-ego on golf long before he began following the PGA.
"My dad is my role model," Travis said. "He loves golf. He works nights (as a dispatcher for Oahu Transit Service), so he can play golf. He probably plays more than me. He's taught me everything I know about golf. He pushed me and challenged me to improve. He makes a lot of sacrifices for me."
Said Corinne: "Our schedule pretty much revolves around him."
The rewards for the Toyamas are found in Travis' accomplishments and in the way he goes about his everyday life. Maturity marks his spot wherever he goes.
"He's very focused, an amazing boy," says University High coach Steve Sugai. "I've been working with him for three years, and I was impressed with him the first day I met him."
