Michael Pineda
As the weather grows warmer, the Elks Golf and Country Club is eagerly looking to a busy season that will feature new tournaments and a renewed emphasis to attracting youth to the game of golf.
Step one of that mission will begin this week when the club hosts a Spring Break Golf Clinic under the direction of Golf Pro Josh Stewart. The clinic will be held Tuesday through Thursday with the novice session lasting from noon to 1 p.m. and the experienced session from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The cost of the clinic will be $50 for members and $75 for non-members, a substantial markdown from the customary fee of $45 for 30 minutes.
“We are looking forward to it,” Stewart said. “It will be an opportunity to get started off on the right foot. Youth, from a golf course standpoint, are important and from a personal standpoint, I know how important it is. A lot of people reached out to me and helped me when I was younger.”
The novice session will consist of lessons on safety, rules and etiquette and will focus on building skills up starting with chipping and putting. Experienced will see more work on the driving range and will consist of a round of golf at the completion of the clinic.
“Each session will be tailored toward a student’s needs,” Stewart said. “We are going to do a lot of clinics this summer. We have reached out to the high schools and we will talked to Cameron about having their golf team coming out this summer to help.”
This summer will also feature the return of the Hoedebeck Golf Tournament for youth, which will be held July 20-21. The tournament is a PGA sanctioned event.
The return of the Hoedebeck Tournament is one of three new tournaments that the course will hold in the upcoming months.
“We have added a few more tournaments this year and that is part of the excitement,” Stewart said.
— Michael Pineda is the sports editor for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 143, or via e-mail at m.pineda@duncanbanner.com.
