Kids’ golf lessons planned

Kitchen Creek is hoping to make golf seem like child’s play with a number of youth-targeted events in June, led by the new junior program starting up this Saturday.
“It’ll be basic introduction to golf . . . basic skills like the swing, grip, and I guess chipping, putting,” explained Wayne Strachan, director of golf at Kitchen Creek.
“It’s probably aimed more at [kids who have never played] but it’s also to help kids that have maybe played but want to hone their skills a little more,” Strachan added.
The junior program each Saturday morning in June will be structured around lessons, which will be highlighted by CPGA pro Pat Beaudoin coming in to instruct local youth on the ways of the links.
The program will be capped off with a wind-up party and alternate shot tournament, where participants can bring along a parent or other adult to partner with, on Wednesday, June 27.
In related news, many school students will be learning golf out at Kitchen Creek starting next Wednesday (June 6) while the annual Kitchen Creek Junior Open is slated for June 23.
While Strachan admitted there’s a big concentration of youth at the course in June, it’s all part of what needs to be done to “attract new members and to get lessons to young golfers who would potentially be the future of the course.”
Anyone interested in registering for the junior program should contact the Kitchen Creek pro shop (274-4653) by this Friday. The fee is $30.
The Junior Open, featuring a a shotgun start at 10 a.m., costs $40 to enter.
Registrations will be accepted right up to the beginning of the event, but an early-bird draw will be held for a free entry to the 2008 Junior Open for those who sign up before June 13.