When AJ Galli was just 2 years old, his dad handed him a baseball bat. But instead of swinging to hit home runs, AJ was using it as a golf club. “So then he got me some golf clubs and I kept hitting the balls,” said the now 7-year-old from Bulls Head. From there, it was history and AJ has been playing golf ever since. AJ went viral in early 2020 when a video of him playing golf was posted on Golf Digest’s Instagram page. It has more than 170,000 views to date. 

Next month, his hard work will pay off in a kids golf world championship. His father, Steve Galli, explained he called several golf courses on Staten Island to find an instructor for his son to play golf at a young age. But typically, at age 4, AJ was considered too young to need consistent lessons in golf – until they saw him in action.