As the old saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, make 'em play with a wooden spoon. Such is the lesson emerging from the familial rivalry between 1988 table tennis Olympian An Jae-Hyung, bronze medalist for host South Korea in men's doubles, and his son, professional golfer An Byeong-Hun. "When I play against him with a normal racket," says the younger An, "if I score one point, that's huge, and I never score more than two points a game." The operative word in that statement is "normal." Of course, this is a subjective quality, but most reasonable persons would agree that nothing in a Williams Sonoma catalog would qualify as a normal racket. But, then again, An Byeong-Hun's family would hardly be anyone's definition of "normal." Not only is his dad a decorated Olympian, but his mother Jiao Zhimin won two medals in the 1988 Olympics playing for China. With such a talented pedigree, it is no wonder that An Byeong-Hun is an exceptional athlete. In 2009 he became the youngest ever U.S. Amateur winner at 17, going on to win the BMW PGA Championship in 2015. Now, with the PGA Tour swinging through his native South Korea, An Byeong-Hun got a chance to spend some time at home with the family. Naturally, it did not take long for things to get competitive. Knowing he stood no chance of beating his dad at table tennis, the younger An engineered the equivalent of a golf handicap to level the playing field. The terms were simple: they would play, but only if the elder An agreed to forgo his penhold racket in favor of a wooden spoon. Yes, a spoon. "With him playing with one big spoon and me playing with a normal racket it was extra fun," says the younger An. "And it paid out, I think… I won today." Although this one might get an asterisk in the record books, a win is a win. Now, the question becomes, what sort of ingenious modification will it take to lure mom out of retirement?

More at Golf Digest