Troy Shantz
Although young Canadians are showing little interest in learning to play golf, one Sarnia course is bucking that trend.
Canada has 5.7 million golfers, and while the number of people entering the game is equal to the number of people leaving it, the number of junior golfers hitting the links is in decline.
Just 7% of golfers have a child age 6 – 11 years who plays, and only 9% have a related junior hitting the links, according to the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA).
But at the Sarnia Golf and Curling Club, junior golf membership has grown 70% over the past four years, and enrolment in junior programs has increased five-fold.
The club now has two beginners’ programs, an intermediate program, a girls-only program, and a performance team catering to elite golfers seeking to compete at the university level.
“We welcome juniors. They have as big of a right to golf as anybody else does, and … that’s the future of the game,” said Chris Dickson, a golf pro who oversees the youth programs.
“If you don’t support junior golfers then your adult membership is going to decline as well.”
Seventeen-year-old Brett Brydges is a member of the performance team. He missed representing Great Lakes Secondary at the Ontario high school championships last fall by a single stroke.
He said the course’s central location in the city, high calibre and opportunities for young people are what’s driving the increase.
“There’s way more juniors out here,” he said. “They kind of all made their way here.”
Dickson brought with him concepts from courses he worked at in Texas over the course of his career.
When he joined the Sarnia club four years ago the junior programs collectively had 20 enrollees. Today 100 junior and juvenile golfers are enrolled, with a lengthy wait list to join.
“I enjoy working with juniors, and that’s the best thing about it,” said Dickson. “Seeing them grow.”
Families looking to join organized sports usually gravitate toward soccer, hockey, basketball and baseball.
But golf offers flexible timetables, supervision and something not always feasible with other extracurriculars — the chance for parents to play together with their children instead of watching from the sidelines.
“What better time to spend with your child or parents than a round of golf?” Dickson asked.
“You get to laugh with them, joke with them, talk with them for four hours.”