With a few weeks of summer left to go, the kids in Port Washington continue to enjoy their summer by hitting some golf balls. At Harbor Links, there’s plenty of fun for kids as they learn to play on the golf course.
Harbor Links Golf, in its 15th year, holds two ongoing summer programs that run till late August. The first one ranges from ages 6 to 9, meeting four times a week. The second program is for ages 10 to 16 years old, meeting up five times a week. They also offer a fall and spring program, which features six weeks of instructional play.
James Hong, who is the director of junior programs, is among seven staff members on hand. Hong keeps the groups at about seven students per instructor. “What’s nice about it is we keep the groups small so all the kids get a lot of individual attention,” said Hong. “It’s a lot of fun and they have a good time.”
Hong, who had played in college, has an impressive teaching resume. He was named 2014 GRAA Top 50 Teacher in America, 2012 U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 Lifetime Master Teacher and was nominated for Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers List. He has been teaching the game of golf for 20 years.
Although Hong hopes that the kids can take the game seriously, he also stressed that it is okay to have fun with it as well. His advice is to enjoy both aspects because golf can be a difficult sport. “You have to enjoy the tough times because it is the most frustrating thing you’ll ever go through,” said Hong. “If you can handle that and really love the game you are trying to be better at, then you’ll be successful in whatever you do.”
What keeps campers coming back to the program is the close relationships the instructors form with the children. From the small groups to the repeat campers, instructors establish strong connections with their students and care for their wellbeing. Many of the students go through several levels of development. Many of the students come to the program through high school.
Although the objective is teaching kids how to play golf, at the end of the day, it’s all about having fun. The staff is constantly trying to incorporate new ideas on how to continue to let the kids enjoy themselves on the green. “You can tell when the children really enjoy it (a new activity) when they ask if they can do this again,” said Hong. “Then we keep it in the rotation. That’s our number one goal.”
To learn more about programs
at Harbor Links, go to www.harbor
links.com.
