What no one tells you when you take up golf is how ridiculously hard it is. The second annual Hawaii Junior Golf Day, March 9 at 13 sites around the state, will skip that part, too.
The idea behind the introductory event is to entice kids to try the game, then give their parents a "road map to junior golf" that will help them make educated decisions along the way.
Earlier this year, the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association and Aloha Section PGA sent surveys to every golf facility and junior golf association to find out what programs are offered "to learn, play or compete." The results make up most of the road map, which last year listed 70 options for golfers between the ages of 5-19. The road map will be on both association websites (hsjga.org and aspga.com) and HawaiiStateGolf.org, after the free junior golf day.
It emphasizes that there is no right or wrong way to learn. Last year it offered Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods — who started the moment they could hold a club — as one example. The other was Annika Sorenstam and the ultra-successful Swedish national junior program, which doesn’t allow anyone younger than 10.
The emphasis at the game’s introduction March 9 will be fun. PGA pros who volunteer their time will attempt to provide "developmentally age-appropriate" instruction that uses motor skills kids have learned from other sports and activities.
They hope something clicks for the kids that will encourage them to stay with the game. Then they can follow the road map.
Initially, "You just want the kids to be comfortable," says Wailea Blue pro Brenda Rego, who helps brother Art with Waiehu’s junior program on Sundays.
"Maybe they have other friends there. Golf is a hard sport, so if you’re not comfortable, it will be hard to learn. And you want to go to one that has a little structure, that will continue for six to eight weeks to see if a kid takes to it."
Bridgestone and U.S. Kids Golf distributor Del-Marc Fujita are friends with Casey Nakama, who started his junior golf development center at Olomana in 1992. Fujita likes the way Nakama gets kids "course ready" with etiquette and rules instruction before they ever get on a course.
"The game is so hard you want to rush into it, but that’s not the best way," says Fujita, who grew up playing Wailua and went on to a collegiate career at USC. "Although, that’s probably the way we started. Back then, we just read a story in Golf Digest and tried to figure out how to get the ball in the air."
If a kid is comfortable, takes it all in and wants to stay with it, the road map for the future gets much more specific. Course management and fine-tuning become critical and parents can get "pretty darn serious," according to Rego. She advises talking with other parents about their experiences and, basically, "doing your homework" choosing a program.
Regan Lee is an assistant pro who helps with the Top Dawgs kids’ program at Pearl Country Club. He has two young daughters, and he also has a grandfather (Guinea Kop), uncle (Wendell Kop) and cousin (Brandan Kop) in the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame.
Lee, the only golfer to three-peat in the 54-year history of the Mid-Pacific Open, believes kids who want to become competitive should find an instructor "who has been there" and can effectively relay their experience.
"Some coaches are brilliant players, but if the kid can’t understand them what good is it?" Lee says. "If they turn a kid off it can backfire, as opposed to getting them interested in the game."
The effort to inspire new players is ultimately about the kids, and their decision to be good, great or simply entertained.
"More important than anything is the kid has to have some drive of their own," Fujita says. "I don’t care who teaches you, you have got to have drive to put in hours and hours and hours on the golf course. That’s asking a lot nowadays when kids have their own phone, they are updating their Facebook and there are so many distractions. It’s fairly easy to spot who has a better shot at being good — the kid who is out there on his own.
"There’s no one pathway, but they have to be self-motivated to get good. That applies to any sport."
Registration for Hawaii Junior Golf Day is online at HSJGA.org. More than 700 participated last year. Clubs will be provided by U.S. Kids Golf and SNAG (Starting New at Golf). Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m., with games, clinics and activities from 9 to 11 a.m.
