Our ABC Adventure has thus far included Animals, Bicycle Trails, Central Park, Drums, Education and Family Dinner in the Santa Clarita Valley. I took a quick break last week to talk about love and kindness, but now I am back with “G is for Golf.”
I have maybe golfed once in my life, and since I have a 3-year-old and 18-month-old, I have not yet gotten into golfing with the kids or teaching the boys how to golf. So for this week, I enlisted some help and had a nice chat with Gary Peterson, the head men’s and women’s coach at College of the Canyons. He offered lots of great tips and advice about golfing with kids in the Santa Clarita Valley, while also sharing the benefits of golf for children.
The best course for children in Santa Clarita is the Vista Valencia course, located at 24700 Trevino Drive. It has a Chica course, which is a perfect learning course full of Par-3s. One father also shared that the ponds along the course attract geese and ducks at sundown, which are an added fun element for little ones on the course. Vista also features Nike Junior Golf Camps during winter breaks, spring breaks and summer.
Additionally, the Valencia Country Club and the Tournament Players Club in Valencia both offer junior gold programs.
Gary stressed that putting greens are also great for children, but that the answer is not to bring the kids along while dad (or mom) gets in some putting practice. Instead, he says, leave your own clubs in the car and really take the time to teach your child the basics of golf – and to spend some quality time with them.
He warned against miniature golf for some kids, especially for younger child, as it has lots of distracting elements and can take too long for little ones with short attention spans, which is why he suggests going the route of putting greens instead.
What I appreciated most was his point of view on golf and the value it can have in teaching children life skills, particularly in helping children learn to be responsible for their own actions and to be honest. In some team sports, it is easy to blame a mistake on a teammate, but in golf it all comes back to you.
Plus, he notes, golf is a lifelong sport that your child will be able to enjoy throughout his or her life and can often be useful in the real world, since many business deals and key networking can still happen on the golf course.
Beyond all of that, it can also be a fun way for families to spend time together and enjoy being outside. So, if you are looking for something different to do as a family, why not give golf a chance?
Oh, and if you are a miniature golf fan, a friend gave me a little tip that Fin’s Glow Zone black light mini golf is closing its doors tonight (Saturday) at midnight. It is located on Cinema Drive.
Now, as always, it is your turn to chime in and share. Do you golf? Do you golf with your kids? If so, tell us about your experiences and your favorite places, and please pop over to The Good Long Road Facebook page and share your other favorite Santa Clarita Valley outings, adventures or explorations are. They just might make it into an article.
Jennifer Fischer is co-founder of the SCV Film Festival, a mom of two, an independent filmmaker and owner of Think Ten Media Group, whose Generation Arts division offers programs for SCV youth. She writes about her parenting journey on her blog, The Good Long Road. Her commentary is published Saturdays on SCVNews.com.
ABCs of the SCV: G is for Golf | Commentary by Jennifer Fischer
