Clinics aim to draw youngsters

TWO come-and-try clinics will be held at Mildura Golf Resort from next weekend to get children involved in golf.

The sessions will be held on November 24 from 9.30am until 11am and then December 1 from 9.30am until 11am at Mildura Golf Resort for children aged 5-14 with the plan to then follow the come-and-try clinics with a new Mini Pro Tour concept where kids will partner with parents and play all seven golf courses in the Sunraysia region.

Mildura golf professional Wade Hooper said he used to run a junior program at Mildura Golf Resort and while he’d been unavailable, a group of parents had kept on coming out with the children and there was still some enthusiasm among the group.

“The big angle me and a couple of parents are on is we want to use golf as a vehicle to get kids active, get them off the devices a little bit, and build some social skills as well,” Hooper said.

“There’s a need to get more juniors playing golf. There’s been a huge decline from – I hate to use the words – back in my day, some of our bigger golf clubs, like Riverside and Mildura and Coomealla, have almost got no juniors.”

With the challenge being making golf – sometimes regarded as a slow sport that requires a lot of patience – interesting for the kids, Hooper said for the Mini Pro Tour they would look at different formats including reduced holes for a two-person Ambrose with a child and parent.

“We want to set a goal to get at least 50 kids exposed to the game,” Hooper said.

“If we can achieve that, we’d be pretty satisfied.”

Overall, the goal is to build participation rather than focusing on building the next Tiger Woods or Adam Scott.

“My own belief is to get kids moving and build good characters against trying to create world-class champions,” Hooper said.

“If that were to happen, that’s the bonus cherry on top.”

The clinics will cost $10 per child with the funds to go towards the Mini Pro Tour.

For more information contact Wade Hooper on 0448 882 186 or wadehoopergolf@gmail.com.