Many traps and hazards exist in today’s fast-paced world to keep youngsters away from the sport of golf – and numerous other sports, for that matter. But with a big push this summer, the Hillcrest Junior Golf Foundation is trying to remove some of those obstacles.
“We want to introduce as many juniors to the game as we can at really no cost to the kids,” said Jim Fiala, the club pro at Hillcrest from 1980 to 2005 who now serves as president of the foundation.
“I want to give back, and get back to where the game is made affordable for kids,” Fiala said.
Statistics show a slow but steady decline of golfers at all levels in the United States. Some link that to the country’s housing bubble burst and economic downturn in 2007-09. Other factors include an increase in sports options for youths, particularly in Durango, where kids not only do traditional sports, but also mountain bike and climb as well as play soccer, lacrosse and more.
Eric Wilkinson, director of junior competitions for the Colorado Junior Golf Association, said the organization peaked at about 900 members. In 2009, it was at 800, and in 2013, it was at 690.
“We would be very concerned if our tournament membership was down,” Wilkinson said.
But he said that has not been the case. Most tournaments still are filling up.
At Hillcrest, participation among juniors (17 and younger) also has dropped. Fiala said several years ago more than 100 juniors would participate in the summer program. Now, he says, it’s a good year when 60 show up.
But he hopes that will change this year. Hillcrest is rolling back prices for the junior program to levels seen a decade ago. For $145, youths can take eight lessons, play in eight tournaments, hit a large bucket of balls daily and play all they want from June through August.
John Vickers, the club pro who replaced Fiala, said he challenges any parent to find a summer-long activity that inexpensive.
“We’re proud of how affordable and how accessible we make it to juniors,” said Vickers, also a Hillcrest Junior Golf Foundation board member.
The “country club” sports of golf and tennis are struggling a bit, he said, and have been for a decade or more.
“There’s lots of reasons for it,” Vickers said. “We want to make sure that ... economics are not a factor for any family to get a kid up here if he’s at all interested in golf.
“If you get 20 kids up here who have never held a golf club in their hands, and one or two take a liking to it, then that’s success for us.”
The foundation is taking a more active role to make it possible to lower the prices this year, Fiala said. For example, the foundation is paying the club’s instructors to teach the juniors. The foundation provides clubs for those who need them.
Fiala said he doesn’t want to see golf become a game just for the elite. He’s a big believer that it teaches life skills such as honesty, courtesy and a code of ethics. Is there another game, he asks, where players actually penalize themselves for an infraction?
He also emphasized that it’s a game for a lifetime. On the golf course, people ages 8 to 80 have something in common.
Vickers said he remembers that in the 1970s, when he started playing, he always felt welcomed at the course, even by adults.
“It’s one of those games, and I’m biased as a golf pro, where life skills are more important than the game skills you’ll get out of it.”
Registration will be held at 2 p.m. May 18 at Hillcrest. Instruction, which begins with basic rules of etiquette and safety, as well as teaching the stance and swing, starts June 2.
johnp@durangoherald.com Twitter: @JohnP6432
To sign up
Registration for the summer junior golf program at Hillcrest Golf Club will be at 2 p.m. May 18 at Hillcrest. At that time, parents can learn about the program, and youths will be measured for clubs. The four-day program costs $20 and runs June 2-5.
Those who wish to continue in an advanced program can pay $50 to get one large bucket of range balls daily and a $75 course membership that runs from June through August. The advanced program includes four more lessons and eight tournaments.
Another four-day clinic for beginners will be held around July 4.
For more information, call the Hillcrest golf shop at 247-1499 or Jim Fiala, president of the Hillcrest Junior Golf Foundation, at 247-8253.
