Local golf pros introduce youngsters to the game

A generation of golfers, including Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, grew up watching Tiger Woods is starting to take the golf world by storm.

But with Woods’ heyday seemingly in the past, the childhood interest in the sport appears to have dried up. It’s especially true at the local level.

There are fewer junior golfers taking up golf, which down the road means fewer adults playing the game.

A group of local golf professionals, including Matt Simmons, Dustin Wilson and Pat Berezowski, with the assistance of equipment paid for through the Staal Foundation Open, is hoping to reverse that trend.

Simmons, the head pro at Whitewater Golf Club, spent the morning at Our Lady of Charity School in County Park, teaching dozens of students the basics of the game, from chipping and pitching to putting and driving.

Simmons said the game has a lot to teach youngsters, and is more than just a fun physical activity.

“You learn a lot about life. You get great exercise, you’re socializing with others, you’re keeping out of trouble,” Simmons said on Thursday.

“You’re just having a great time. I just want others to see what golf is about, have a good time and then move forward from there.”
Simmons added it’s also a chance to expose the game to young girls, who typically make up about 10 per cent of junior clinics offered at local courses. 

The Growing the Game initiative is being introduced at eight schools in Thunder Bay this year, using SNAG golf equipment first unveiled as part of last summer’s second annual Staal Foundation Open, the local stop on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit.

Craig Priestlay, a Grade 6 teacher at Our Lady of Charity, said it’s a great opportunity for students at the school to be introduced to a sport they may never have seen before.

It’s about broadening horizons, he said.

“And it’s important for us to bring it here, especially during the winter months when it’s too cold and they don’t have an opportunity to play outside,” Priestlay said.

“It exposes them to something new and something that might be exciting for them, and who knows, it might unlock some hidden interest and maybe a talent they didn’t know they had.”

Each class is expected to get three sessions during the program’s run, with a fourth session at Whitewater Golf Club using real golf equipment instead of tennis balls and plastic clubs.