Written by Jefferson Hagen

An Early Start

This article was originally published in the 2016 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

It’s a bit of a twist on the old playground mantra: ‘Everything I learned, I learned in phys-ed class.’

Thanks to a burgeoning Golf Canada program, administered by Alberta Golf, students are getting exposed to the game at a young age in their classes. Launched in the province in 2007, the Golf in Schools program has since grown to include more than 320 elementary schools, more than 10 junior high schools and more than 35 high schools.

Matt Rollins, former executive director/CEO of Alberta Golf, spearheaded the program in the province. “All these other sports that were in physical education classes had a huge advantage over us. Kids were learning those sports at a young age and the teachers controlled the environment. We figured ‘why can’t we do that with golf?’

“As we improve the Golf In Schools program every year, students are going to continue to get introduced to golf in a positive way.”

In the village of Amisk, AB, with a population just north of 200, a number of youngsters have already hit the links at the nearby Hughenden Golf Club. Principal Colette Johnson, who is also the phys-ed teacher, set up the Golf in Schools program three years ago and now puts about 55 kids from Grades 1-3 through golf instruction each year.

“We teach them how to hold the club and we show them the swing and the stance,” she said. “We give them the basic skills and let them have a little bit of fun.”

The pay off came when the Hughenden Golf Club sponsored their classes for a field trip to the course.

While it’s tough for kids in the farming community to get to the course regularly, Johnson notes some former students have continued playing golf.

“A few of them have said they’ve talked their parents into taking them golfing.” Johnson claimed.

Jeff Thompson, chief sport officer for Golf Canada, noted that approximately 325,000 students are being exposed to golf every year in roughly 2,700 schools across the country. While the exact number of kids who go on to play the game regularly is tough to quantify, there are encouraging metrics to study.

“When a school comes to visit a facility on a field trip program or when a facility sends a golf pro into a school, we have provided our Golf In Schools passes to give out to the kids. The passes are redeemable for free buckets of range balls,” Thompson added, referring to last year’s pilot project.

“Just over 10 per cent of those passes were redeemed, and in most cases, the students coming back to the club weren’t by themselves but came with their entire family. That was really encouraging information.”

There are also options for schools to take field trips to local golf courses to learn more about the game. Golf clubs can apply for a grant, which allows them to invite a school in their area out for a tour, which may include practice time on the range, chipping and putting lessons.

Arlene Buchan, learning leader at Dr. E.P. Scarlett high school in Calgary, notes they’ve long been taking their classes out to area courses under sponsorship from the Calgary Board of Education. Most recently their classes went to Blue Devil Golf Club.

“They loved it,” Buchan said. “Some of the students had previously played golf, but there are a lot of students who had never held a golf club in their hands. It’s awesome.” Many Dr. E.P. Scarlett students are continuing on with golf after taking the program in high school.

“We see that because that’s the whole premise of our phys-ed program now,” said Buchan. “The Golf in Schools program really sparks their interest. One of our focuses is to foster lifelong learning and being active for life. Golf is one of the perfect sports for that.”

At the high school level the Golf in Schools program is primarily about skill development. The elementary school curriculum introduces the game much more through fun activities.

“The elementary kit is about physical literacy, basic motor movements and games,” said Tyler McConachy, Alberta Golf’s manager of youth development.

The kit and curriculum includes all the equipment and a learning resource full of lesson plans to teach golf. “It’s a lot more unstructured, including exercises such as hopping on one leg or using the putter and a ball to wind their way through an obstacle course. It’s a lot more of a game.

“From there, the program transitions into the fundamentals of the sport, including more technical and structured play and practice,” McConachy added.

Golf Canada has added a new ‘Life Skills’ component to the program, in which students are taught skills such as perseverance, emotional regulation, teamwork, respect, honesty and goal setting. “We felt that the addition of life skills to the program was really important to demonstrate some of the core values of golf and what it delivers as a sport,” said Thompson.

“The first schools that took on the program were mostly ones that had teachers who were golfers or who had some affinity towards golf. We felt the addition of the life skills component could help attract other schools that were undecided about the program,” Thompson added. “We think that will resonate with the schools.”

“Our goal is to have one of these kits in every school at some point,” said McConachy. “Some schools haven’t been able to afford even the subsidized kit, so, starting this year, we’ve gone into full adoptions to make the program affordable for any school.

“We’ve been fortunate to receive a very generous fund allocation from the Shaw Charity Classic each year,” he added of $5,000 annually they receive from the PGA Tour Champions event in Calgary. These funds help Alberta Golf to provide subsidies or underwrite the full cost of the program to interested schools.

Alberta Golf sent a kit to Deer Meadow School in Olds, which has proven to be a big boost to the school’s golf program, said Principal Carey Collin.
“We have an academy program here with 42 different course offerings, including golf,” Collin explained of the junior high school.

“What we find is those life sports like curling and golf start to bolster some of the junior golf leagues and junior curling leagues in town. The membership increases at the golf course and at the curling rink,” he said.

Thompson noted that 60 per cent of schools that enter the program now obtain full subsidies from donations from individuals, corporations or even the local golf course itself.

“We see that as a good investment in the future of a facility,” Thompson said. “It helps cultivate the next generation of golfers.

“We’re excited with the solid numbers now in the Golf in Schools program. With more and more facilities delivering the Future Links program as well, wecan create golf communities where golf facilities have a relationship with the school,” Thompson added. “They keep getting the students from the school to the golf course — that’s the critical piece.”

An Early Start

This article was originally published in the 2016 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.