San Antonio’s Kids’ Golf Leagues
Young kids playing golf? No way! Golf is an older person’s sport, full of mismatched plaid pants and people of retirement age, right? Maybe I’ll take up golf when I’m about 50 or so…
Those were my thoughts before I had children, but my husband opened my eyes to the idea of introducing our kids to the game as soon as they showed interest. So when my son expressed a desire to play golf, I didn’t hesitate. After all, golf is a non-contact sport. Personal family experiences and constant news headlines had me worrying about the detrimental long-term effects of some contact sports, and even if major injuries are rare, as the mother to a seven-year-old, it makes you stop and think. However, unless an inexperienced golfer forgets to yell, “Fore!” you don’t have to worry much about concussions in this sport. And now that I’ve been the mom of a golfer for awhile, I can tell you that the cherry on the cake is the amazing one-on-one bonding time we have with our child while walking a golf course for a couple of hours together.
I have been asked numerous times how to introduce kids to the game of golf. You can easily give them this opportunity even if you or your spouse don’t play. Below are four programs around San Antonio with which we are very familiar. If you know of other good programs that focus on initial introductions to the game of golf for kids ages 3–18 or you have had personal experiences with any of the following organizations, please comment below. We can learn from one another.
Kids On Course (KOC) (3–14 years old)
In my husband’s opinion, this is the one of the best places to start introducing the game of golf to young children, especially if you have three- to six-year-olds who are showing interest. The Kid’s On Course program is all over the place and has multiple ways to introduce children to the game of golf, including:
1) One-hour group clinics nearly every Saturday for children as young as 4–14.
2) After-school programs at some local elementary schools. Our son participated in one of KOC’s after-school programs when they started offering them and enjoyed it.
3) Tees for Tots: Saturday morning clinics for three- to six-year-olds. If you have a really young child who is already showing signs of loving golf, this is an ideal place to start.
4) Tees for Teens: Group clinics, after 5:00 P.M., during the week.
5) One of the best things about KOC is that every month they have a tournament on a Saturday afternoon for kids of all ages. These tournaments encourage sportsmanship and learning the game in a non-intimidating manner. Your child can enter tournaments as early as four years old (he/she must be four as of January 1 of that year), and KOC offers three-, six- and nine-hole divisions. We have been very impressed with Sheila Fitzgerald, the executive director, who also started U.S. Kids Golf here in San Antonio. KOC clinics vary in price but are around $20, and each tournament is $20-25. No registration fee is necessary.
6) Last spring, Kids On Course teamed up with the Mays YMCA to offer golf lessons to children ages 3–14 at the Mays YMCA fields. I’m hopeful that they’ll continue this tradition and do it again in spring of 2015.
Next upcoming event: There are various options going on. KOC is hosting a golf tournament on November 2, 2014 at Cedar Creek Golf Course at 1:30 P.M. This is a tournament option for all ages but one of the only options for children under six where they get to play only three holes. Registration is normally due the Wednesday before the tournament, but contact Kids On Course at 210-404-1616 with any questions.
The First Tee (7–18 years old)
The First Tee is a well-known and respected organization across the country. Here in San Antonio, you have probably passed their beautiful facility near the San Antonio Zoo off Mulberry Street. Since our son started playing before the age of seven, we didn’t have the opportunity to utilize this program due to its age requirements of 7–18 years old; however, we are eager to start now that Carter meets the minimum age requirement. At the First Tee, each level consists of a ten-week-long, once-a-week class on Saturday or Sunday mornings. The girls only LPGA class option meets on Tuesday afternoons. Everyone starts in the Level 1 program and progresses from there. The benefits of this program are that they have golf equipment for your child to borrow before you ever need to invest in a set of clubs, and the fee is only $70 for the entire year’s worth of unlimited group classes. We have heard such great things about this program that we just signed up my son to start his first group class in November—maybe we will see some of you there! More than likely, this will be where we introduce the game of golf to our daughter when she turns seven next year. If you child is seven and you’d like to begin with simple instruction before tournament play, this is where I would begin.
Next upcoming event: As of the day this posted, the November 15 and 16, 2014 classes are still available for online registration. If you have any questions, I would encourage you to call The First Tee at 210-736-9592.
U.S. Kids Golf (6–12 years old)
U.S. Kids Golf is a slightly more competitive tournament program for young golfers, with all tournaments being nine holes. The most significant difference between U.S. Kids Golf and South Texas PGA (STPGA) is that there is more of a division of ages at U.S. Kids Golf. Instead of a single six- to nine-year-old division, U.S. Kids Golf has a U7 (under 7 years old) U8, U9, etc. divisions. They also have a fall, winter, and spring seasons and take a break in the summer. There is a $40 registration fee for each season, and each tournament, played at quality courses around town, is around $40. Our son competed in a couple of tournaments with U.S. Kids Golf last year, and while we were very impressed, we ultimately decided to focus on STPGA for the sake of simplicity and to avoid paying multiple registration fees.
Next upcoming event: U.S. Kids Golf is having a tournament at River Crossing on November 15, 2014. I encourage you to call U.S. Kids Golf at 210-404-1616 with any questions.
South Texas PGA (STPGA)—Little Linksters (6–12 years old)
This is one of the most well-established and competitive tournament leagues for children in San Antonio. Their “Little Linksters” program is for children 6–12 years old. Not only does it have a spring, summer, and fall series, but it also coordinates the increasingly well-known “Drive, Chip, Putt” event for the Augusta Masters Tournament. In addition, STPGA also has some team golf events and parent-child tournaments. You must qualify in each division to move into the next. For example, children in the six- to nine-year-old age division must score an eight over par or better in the five-hole division before they are able to move up to the nine-hole division. The benefit is that your child truly plays with peers at similar skill levels no matter their age. Once you are playing in the nine-hole division, you can qualify with enough points for the season-ending tournament championship in Houston. The STPGA teaches children a true tournament environment, including golf rules and penalties. Registration is $80 for the calendar year, and each tournament is around $35. What I like about this is that I can sign up Carter for as many tournaments as I feel like he wants to do. He can compete in one or two a month or take a break for as long as we want. There is no pressure, and we are able to make tournaments fit into our family’s schedule.
Next upcoming event: A tournament at Riverside Golf Course in being held on November 8. Then the STPGA will take a small break until January 2015.
*All specific program information was accurate as of October 2014 and may change. Please visit each program’s Web site for the most up-to-date information.
