Smaller-than-average golfers hit the green at the Kettle Valley Golf Club with larger than life enthusiasm on April 29, marking the start of a local youth golf program.
The Boundary Youth Golf Program takes place over five weeks, with four lessons covering the basics of the game and a tournament at the end. Each session has a half-hour lesson and a round of golf.
Coordinator Wayne Wickens said the program has a total enrolment of 38 children aged 6-12.
“We thought we’d be lucky to get 20, and here we are at almost 40,” Wickens said.
The original $20 registration fee was waived after the program received grants from the regional district and the Boundary Recreation Committee for $2,000 and $300 respectively.
The grants also allowed for the purchase of four sets of junior-sized clubs for participants to borrow, as well as a hat and a set of tees and balls for each player.
Wickens said the goal of the program was to get kids learning about the game, not to make them into pros.
“It’s to get them outside, away from the TV and the video games,” Wickens said. “We wanted to encourage the kids.”