AND Something to Keep the Kiddos Busy this Summer
Looking for something healthy and outdoorsy for your grandkids this summer? What’s better than getting them outside, building strength and character! Sports are a great way to help them learn patience, self-control, and honesty.
Consider the two-day Kids Camp for golf at the American Classic Golf Club (ACGC) on Beth Page Drive in Lewes (near Old Postal Road). The nine-hole course is located behind the Coastal Highway Acme.
The camp teaches kids how to properly swing each club and how to take full swings. They will learn the ins and outs of the short game, grip alignments, and how to successfully sink putts.
“Golf presents an opportunity to learn many life lessons, and we take pride in being able to pass along all of this information onto the next generation of golfers,” said Sam Cresta, ACGC pro and winner of the 2023 Coastal Magazine golf pro of the year. Cresta emphasizes that one of the camp’s goals is to demonstrate that golf is fun.
The camp also covers golf course etiquette and why it’s important.
Kids Camp takes place Monday July 8 and Tuesday 9 from 5 pm to 7 pm. Monday, July 9. It is intended for kids ages 7 – 12. Registration cost is $100 for both days. Call for details: 302-703-6662.
There are many benefits gained from learning to play golf. The Colonial Golf and Tennis Club breaks it down this way:
- Etiquette: Golf can teach children to respect rules, equipment and other people, encouraging them to practice respect inside and outside of the sport.
- Responsibility: Children will learn how to take care of their equipment and maintain punctuality when they play golf.
- Discipline: Kids can learn the importance of following rules and practicing regularly so that they can hone their skills.
- Honesty: Golf teaches children how to have integrity and value honest work and play.
- Patience: As kids wait for their turn to play or strive to improve their abilities, they will learn how to be patient and diligent.
- Self-control: When things don’t go the way they hoped, children can practice emotional control and grow in maturity.
Of course, spending time outdoors and spending quality time with family members are also high on the benefits list.
ACGC’s General Manager Austin has another suggestion if the kids don’t think golf is for them. It’s FlingGolf which is a bit like lacrosse but played on a regular golf course with a standard golf ball and only one club. There is a cup on the end of the club that cradles the ball for flinging and also serves as the putter.
ACGC’s General Manager Austin Ebersole has been the World League FlingGolf’s #1 men’s player since October of 2022. He has won four men’s championships, four doubles championships, 2X season points champion and the 2022 and 2023 Player of the Year. Ebersole and his FlingGolf partner Britt Morrison won the 2024 Britain’s Cup (similar to the Rider’s Cup) recently in London. Morrison also works at ACGC running personal training programs.
Only about 15,000 people throughout the world play FlingGolf but it is a growing sport. The ACGC hosts a well-attended major tournament each spring.
“There is a plethora of styles and techniques”, Ebersoles says about FlingGolf. “Unlike its cousin golf, there is no ‘certain grip’, posture, or other things that you need to do. Just do what works”.
Although FlingGolf lessons are not marketed as such at ACGC, Ebersole can be contacted if the grandkids are interested.
He also recommends YouTube videos as a great resource to look up training techniques and tips for teaching the kiddos to grow (and keep busy) this summer.
Mary Jo Tarallo spent much of her career in public relations with various non-profits and spent 40 years involved with the ski industry as a journalist, public relations director for a national trade association and as executive director of the Learn to Ski and Snowboard initiative. Prior to her ski industry involvement she worked for the Maryland International Center in Baltimore and United Way of Central Maryland. She won a Gold Award for TV programming for a United Way simulcast that starred Ophrah Winfrey. She has been cited for her work by numerous organizations. Mary Jo grew up in Baltimore, attended the University of Maryland and Towson University, lived in Washington, DC for 21 years and has been a full time resident of Rehoboth Beach and Milton since May 2019.
