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Fore The Record
John Herbert
Special to Sun Media
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August 16, 2008
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East Park Golf Gardens has always held a bit of an edge "growing the game" with a water park, go-karts and rock climbing as added attractions for wannabe golfers.
John Herbert
Dave Heald gives Amanda Jenkins, 13, advice on her grip at the East Park golf camp for kids. The camp also offers watersliding, go-karting and rock climbing to aspiring young golfers.
(SUSAN BRADNAM/Sun Media)
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General manager Neil Kapp, who is on the board of the National Golf Course Owners Association, says those activities, along with the golf course and a strong teaching program, are main reasons their junior golf camps have exploded in recent years.
During a nine-week period, about 700 kids will have attended golf camps at East Park and cooled off on the waterslides by the time the summer holidays end.
While East Park is enjoying success in London, the Golf Association of Ontario is not. They planned a junior clinic at Greenhills this week and cancelled it because of lack of interest.
But how do you compete with a golf course that has a water park?
"The kids love it," Kapp said. "We've had the golf camps since 1995 but it wasn't always this successful. The first year we offered four weeks but had to cancel two weeks and we only had about a dozen kids each week. It's grown from there to what it is today. We got the sense people really started enjoying it after the first couple of years and we started marketing it."
East Park offers Level 1 and Level 2 camps costing $200 per week. They also offer a Junior Golf Academy program for the more serious juniors.
The Level 1 camp, aimed at youngsters 8-14 who play some golf, learn about the game every morning and then spend their time with supervised activities, including the water park. The Level 2 camps are for boys and girls 10-16 who spend a full day playing and learning about the game. Kapp said there are five golf pros, including Dave Heald and Joe Edmunds, who are certified instructors. Edmunds has worked with kids at East Park since they started the camps.
Next week's camp is sold out but space remains for the week of Aug. 25-29. For details visit www.eastparkgolf.com or register in person at East Park.
OPTIMIST CHAMPIONSHIP
The Canadian Optimist championship at Ingersoll last week had nothing but winners.
"This was one of the smoothest years," said Bob Ranick, one of the organizers. "There were no moms breaking ankles, no parent club-counting, no rules officials getting hit with golf balls. However, we did have a hole-in-one. Trevin McNeill, from Billings, Mont., aced the 172-yard 18th hole on the second day."
A field of 180 competed in the 17th annual tournament.
Ethan O'Meara of Sarnia shot 70-77-68-215 to win the boys' 16-18 division by four strokes over Austin Kelly of Chatham, who shot 72-74-73--219. Elliott Whitely of Hamilton won the boys' 14-16 grouping, shooting 71-75-76--222. Brett McIntosh of London took the boys' 12-13 (73-73-74--220). Brendan Seys of Wallaceburg won the boys' 10-11 (84-77-80--241), Robyn Doig of Seaforth took the girls' 15-18 (80-74-78--232) and Aylyssa Getty of Leamington won the girls' 10-14 (87-80-80--247).
The winners earned exemptions into next summer's Optimist International Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
ONTARIO SENIOR AMATEUR
Brian Jeffery of Collingwood won the Ontario senior championship Thursday at Sarnia Golf and Curling Club, shooting 72-69-75--216. Defending champion John Marlow of Barrie and Roger Self of Peterborough tied for second at 219. Kelly Roberts of the Oaks, playing his first competition for players 55 and older, was fourth (76-72-72--220). Mike Shearon was the top Sarnia club member, finishing tied seventh at 223. Richard Schilbe of Bluewater Golf Club in Bayfield and Canadian rock icon Tom Cochrane tied for eighth at 224.
PRO GOLF
Oshawa's Dustin Wetherup outduelled London's Alan McLean in the final round to win this week's Great Lakes Tour 54-hole tournament at Royal Ashburn, near Whitby. Wetherup shot 72-66-70--208 and won $5,000. McLean shot 69-69-71--209 and won $2,500. Joe Rinker of Dorchester had another strong tournament, winning $1,750 for fourth (71-72-71--214).
Former London Hunt pro Ken Girard shot 75-79 to win the Diamond Division (70 and over) at the Ontario PGA Seniors Championship Tuesday at Cedar Brae Golf Club in Toronto, winning for the fifth time in six years. This year's victory was special for Girard because he began his professional career at Cedar Brae in the early 1950s while playing hockey in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Ken Tarling of Toronto won the event, shooting 69-70.
CHIP SHOTS
The Nash family of London will be the host for 32 teams competing in the 73rd Father and Three Sons Golf Classic at FireRock next Friday. The tournament attracts teams from Canada and the U.S., but primarily Southern Ontario. The tournament was founded by the Tilden family (Tilden Rent-A-Car) in 1935.
John Herbert is a London golf writer. Contact him at 519-667-4561 or e-mail (see link).
 E-MAIL: John Herbert
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