Waterlefe Youth golf Program

Our program is the featured article in the December/January issue of the NEXTGEN Family Magizine, which is a unique family resource guide for Manatee County residents with school age kids. The magazine is distributed directly to 33,000 families, 47 Elementary Schools, 4 Private Schools, 200 Childcare Providers as well as Doctors & Dentists Offices and Medical Centers in Manatee County. 

Sue Owens, one of our coaches, and five of our kids are featured on the cover at our new chipping area.To read the article online go to “ https://nextgenmagazine.org/community-heroes/teeing-it-up-for-kids/”.

We have 14 kids enrolled for lessons which resumed on January 7 th after taking a break of the holidays.

We continue to conduct lessons on Sundays at 3pm rotating through driving range, chipping, putting and then on the course. Matt Primrose, our PGA Pro, is the lead instructor with assistance from Denny Meskill, Sue Owens and myself. We are using the US Kids program in which the kids get tested on the various skills and receive achievement pins as they progress. 

The USF Federal Credit Union, a major sponsor of the Waterlefe Youth Golf Program, introduced a special “Youth Savings" program for the kids.  Their approach focuses on supporting the habit and value of saving at an early age.  The program includes opening accounts, jointly with a parent of course, incentives and rewards for continuing deposits and other learning opportunities.  Julie Lewis, VP of Community Engagement, and Shawn Robertson, the Sarasota Branch Manager, meet with the parents to introduce and explain the program and the processes for opening accounts and making deposits.   

We looking for Mentors for each of the kids to enrich their golfing experience.   We still have 3 girls and 4 boys whose parent(s) are interested in having a golfing Mentor for their child. Our Mentoring program is in conjunction with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Sun Coast.   

Purpose: 

- Create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and  promise of youth 

- To enrich the golfing experience for the boys and girls enrolled in the WYGP 

- To encourage continued involvement in learning golf 

- To reinforce US Kids lessons and the values of the WYGP (go to WaterlefeYouthGolfProgram.comfor additional information)

What’s required: 

- Meeting the parents and kids in the WYGP program (profile for each kid will be provided ahead of time)

- Matching with compatible parent(s) and kid

- Completing the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BB/BS) process and complying with their program requirements

- BB/BS process takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete, process includes interviews, background check, finger printing and references

- Spending a minimum of 4 hours/month (BB/BS requirement) with your kid playing golf, as well as, other activities

Opportunities: 

- Currently, River Run Golf Links in Bradenton provides access to their course, after 5pm, to play up to 9  holes for free, when available (including cart).  In addition, Mentors can their boy or girl on the Waterlefe Course once a month (during the winter season) to play up to 9 holes for free, with similiar restrictions for availability.

WYGP Support:

-Provide a Mentoring Coordinator

-WYGP Golf shirts and US Kids booklets will be provided for the mentors 

-Each of the kids will have clubs, shirts and hats along with golf balls and tees 

-For kids that are participating in PGA Jr League, we will cover the cost of the program and provide any additional equipment

Sign Up and Additional Information:

- WYGP contact is Bob Buchanan at 813-340-9233 or email at bobansandy@gmail.com.

- Big Brothers Big Sisters contact is Jessica Swift at 941-746-7000 or at email at jswift@bbbssun.org.