How many parents have bought golf clubs for their children in the wake of Rory McIlroy's win at the US Open?
Come on, be honest. I know I've been looking at my son whenever he wields a club of some sort, wondering if there is a child prodigy in our household.
Not that I'd want to wish that life on him. Most talented and gifted children have a tough time in life standing out from the crowd as a tall poppy with freakish abilities.
The term, child prodigy, is generally used to describe children under the age of 13 who show exceptional ability, comparable to that of the most skilled adults, in a particular field of human endeavour.
The international sports scene has seen more than its fair share of sporting child prodigies over the years.
In team sports, names such as Sachin Tendulkar and Wayne Gretzky quickly come to mind as child stars who made successful transitions into adult sport.
Believe it or not, Tendulkar began his cricket career as a pace bowler when still a child, and was advised to focus on batting. Great advice really as he became one of the most prolific run scorers in the history of test cricket.
Gretzky was skating with 10-year-olds as a 6-year-old and his aptitude for skating continued into adulthood as he became a legendary ice hockey player.
Other legends who showed talent at a young age include Sir Donald Bradman (he scored his first century at the age of 12), and Pele, who at the age of 17 became the youngest player to score in a World Cup match and also win a World Cup.
Research suggests, in some sports, early specialisation is the key to success, and this is most evident in tennis and golf.
Tennis stars who managed to turn their childhood talent into a career include the likes of Martina Hingis, Andre Agassi, and the Williams sisters.
Besides having physical abilities that made them stand out from the crowd of wannabes, all of them also had a pushy parent/coach to drag them along.
Agassi's father was so obsessed with finding a tennis star among his offspring that he strapped a table tennis bat to Andre's hand so that he could practise his hand-eye co-ordination by swatting at his mobile while lying in his cot.
Golf has also had an abundance of talented children teeing off. The most notable child prodigy in golf has been Tiger Woods.
Under the tutelage of his father, Earl, Woods started playing golf at the age of 2, and made his first television appearance as a golfer before his third birthday, by taking on comedian Bob Hope in a putting contest on the Mike Douglas Show.
For many years, Tiger was the darling of golf who managed to continue his dominance through to adulthood. He was also highly marketable as a multicultural, easy on the eye, and seemingly perfect package on and off the golfing circuit.
That is, until everything went belly up when his many marital indiscretions were revealed. Since then, golf has been screaming out for another young hopeful to take his place.
Rory McIlroy seems ready and able to take the place of Woods as golf's favourite son. Many child prodigies remain just that - child prodigies - because they can't take that leap from big fish in a small pond, to a small fish in a big pond.
McIlroy has shown he has what it takes to make it as a major champion. He demonstrated resilience, a killer instinct, and a cool head under pressure.
If he keeps this up he will definitely fill the shoes of Tiger Woods, but hopefully his modest Irish upbringing means he won't necessarily make the same mistakes. Time will tell whether this child prodigy can stay on the fairway and away from hazards on and off the golf course.
