About 75 young golfers recently got the chance to tee off with professional experts who took the time to lend their expertise so that these local youth could sharpen their skills and improve their respective games.
“Getting the kids out here and letting them try something new like golf, getting them outdoors to adventure something they would not see day to day is what makes the event so special,” said Kyle Pearson, business operations specialist for Accenture.
Accenture, a global professional services company, hosted the 4th annual Youth Golf Clinic Thursday, Sept. 5, at Norwood Hills Country Club.
Participating youth represented several local organizations, including Diversity Golf, First Tee of Greater St. Louis, PGA REACH Gateway, and Special Olympics Missouri.
Young golfers were given an opportunity to receive instruction within three different golf stations: chipping, putting, and irons.
Trent Turner, father of young golfer Justin Turner, said this was outside the norm for his child.
“In the environment my son has been brought up in, it is a different sport, so we tend to as parents guide our kids to what we know,” Turner said. “For me, I know basketball, boxing, and football things of that nature. So, this was outside of the regular norm for my child, and he likes it.”
Dean Wright, father of another young golfer, Phillip Wright, knew his son was interested in golf at an early age and thinks his son could gain some more experience to help his golf game more.
“When Phillip was four years old, he saw his grandfather playing with me and my brother,” Wright said. “I think the experience of seeing all the different people that enjoy the game of golf and hopefully he picks up a few pointers to help his game because he plays a decent amount and meets new people, maybe new friends.”
Most of the instructors were from the Lincoln University-Missouri golf team and the players of the team were proud to work with the young golfers who were there.
This event is important for the youth to get exposure,” said Remon Rabie, member of the Lincoln University-Missouri golf team. “There are a lot of children out there and this is their first practice. Being focused is much better than playing in groups because I can help them work on what they specifically want to get better at.”
Blake Meredith, another member of the Lincoln University-Missouri golf team, said he was encouraged by the experience.
“I feel like the kids and the youth are very important to the game of golf because golf in the last 50 years has been more and more inclusive than it used to be,” Meredith said. “It used to be a very privileged sport to get kids from all around from diverse backgrounds. The youth is vital, the next generation is vital to keep the game of golf going and just try to make it fun as well for them.”
Devored Horton is The St. Louis American’s Comcast/NBCUniversal WIB fellow