With five clinics scheduled for the summer the total number of clinic participants tops out at 180 kids, with little to no crossover between those who join the clinics and the junior club.
"Golf didn't used to be cool, but now people are seeing it as a fun and challenging sport their friends are trying out for," said Charley Riddle, a long-time club member who just recently aged out of the group.
He rattled off several of golf's current big names, including Mike Weir and Scott Mickleson. "It doesn't have the came cachet as trying out for the baseball team. It's all up to you."
Every Monday morning until the end of August, junior club members dedicate themselves to hitting the links at 7 a.m. for a round of nine holes. After a shotgun start, which means that all players begin at once, half the club members will play the first nine holes of the course. The other half will play the second.
The following week they switch which nine holes they play, with two to three instructors driving around to monitor the course and offer suggestions.
"They always get so excited when they make par or a birdie," said Scott Olsen, the assistant golf pro at Bountiful Ridge. "And they have nine holes, so there's always a chance for a hole in one."
The club, which requires two years of golfing experience from its members, holds a tournament every August. Course pros offer club members a day of instruction beforehand, and tournament winners are all awarded trophies. Afterward, every player participates in a scorecard raffle for golfing equipment.
"I was just having fun, but then I saw my score and realized I was doing really well," said Riddle, last year's tournament champion. "After that I had to concentrate on just taking each shot and not psyching myself out."
Though Riddle's father was the first to introduce him to the world of golf, Riddle said that these days it's friends who are more likely to turn young people into budding golfers.
Financially, however, it's parents who make time on the links possible, with golf bags containing anywhere from $700-$1,500 worth of clubs.
The junior club and clinics, however, cost only $45 per kid per summer, the price set specifically to be accessible to as many young people as possible.
"Junior clubs are great," said Riddle. "They really help kids grow into golf and find a love of the sport."
And a sport it is, Riddle insisted, despite any opinions he might hear to the contrary.
"If you look at everything golfers have to do, they don't get nearly enough credit.
"They have to get a tiny ball into a small hole 530 yards away with only five hits, and even then it's considered only good," he said. "I think it's more of a sport than basketball."
jwardell@davisclipper.com
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