These are the stories that make you smile. Not because they chronicle the glory of personal triumph, but because they tell us to open our arms and welcome another friend into our community of those who share our passion, our commitment, our allegiance to a game that is simply unmatched for the spirit it ignites within.

The story is about Emily Brooks, whose victory in this summer’s Rhode Island Women’s Amateur, you could say, came out of nowhere. Until you talk to her, at which point you’d realize that it came from a love of the game that had traveled in a time-honored manner – passed down from a grandfather and a father.

“My grandfather just loved golf,” said Brooks. “He shot 86 when he was 91 and he lived to be 100. My father was in the military who lived all over, but when we could settle down, he bought a house on a golf course, The Preserve at Jordan Lake (outside of Chapel Hill, N.C.)

“Golf was a huge part of our life.”

And if Philip Brooks, the grandfather, and Philip Brooks, the father, could pass their knowledge, if not their unyielding passion, of the game onto Philip Brooks, the brother, well, it was left to Emily to follow in line.

“My brother is a good player, but not consumed by it. They got lucky with me,” she laughed. “I loved it and I couldn’t wait to compete.”

There is an unmistakable enthusiasm in Brooks’ voice when golf is the topic of conversation, which is rather frequently. She is, after all, the Social Media Lead for Titleist, so, yeah, the lady loves her golf.

Always has, every step of the way: A competitive junior upbringing on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Tour, four years on the Elon University women’s golf team, a brief journey into the professional game, then a stint as a marketing coordinator with the PKBGT before landing at Titleist.

So, she’s a card-carrying member of the passionate golf community who understands what all of us who are fellow members know: There is a golf-speak that we all comprehend, and such a warm kinship that if you let a brother or sister know that your competitive fires are flickering, there is an intervention of sorts.

“Honestly, in 2020, I didn’t think about playing competitive golf. It was not on my radar,” said Brooks, conceding that when she was reinstated to the amateur ranks in 2019 and had a really turbulent outing in her first competitive event, her confidence was dented.

“I joined Wanumetonomy Golf Club (in Middletown, R.I.) because I still loved to be on the golf course, but I had no intention to play competitively,” she said.

“Some members and friends encouraged me and with the State Amateur at my home club, I caught the spark.”

Her foray into pro golf had been a short one. She graduated from Elon in 2016 and did not make it through Stage 1 of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament. Feeling she hadn’t given it a fair try, Brooks turned professional, played minitour golf for months and told herself there would be one more try at Q School.

“As much as I like dreaming,” she laughed, “I’m also a realist.”

Falling short in 2017 and leaving pro golf unleashed “a sense of relief, honestly,” said Brooks, who was done as a professional golfer but only starting in on her commitment to the game.

“I went to work for the (Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour) to figure out how to grow the game and get more girls into the game.”

When it began in 2007, the PKBGT had about 61 girls involved, one of them being Brooks. But steadily, the circuit has blossomed into 34 states and provides playing opportunities for more than 1,000 young females.

She loves her job with one of the industry’s most respected companies and Brooks wants to be an advocate for anything that does grow the game, especially with women.

“I always tell girls that no matter what you do in tournaments, it’s about seeing the value in golf that will improve your life skills. Once you’re in it, you understand it, you speak the language.”

Brooks knew she would be nervous when she signed up for the State Amateur. But after earning one of 16 qualifying berths into match play, her focus became sharper. At 27, Brooks was the oldest of the semifinalists. She smiled at that. Then she laughed when her father asked if she could pick him up at T.F. Green Airport.

“You’re not coming, are you?” she asked.

Philip Brooks laughed. “No. I don’t have the stomach to watch you play competitively.”

Both father and daughter laughed at that because competitive golf had united them for years, and they understood the inherent stress that came with that.

Understandably, the call to say she had won her championship match, 1 up over Abby Douglas, was one that Brooks loved making and emotions were easily shared.

After all, they speak the same language.