PGA professional Gary Bates teaches youngsters the basics of the sport
On a steamy Tuesday morning in July, seasoned golf professional Gary Bates was putting on a clinic for eager students.
These were no ordinary students, in fact most had never held a golf club in their life — possibly because the oldest students were kindergartners.
Bates was at the Goddard School in Sewell teaching children about the basics of golf. He began the lesson by holding a colorful plastic golf club over his head while describing the parts of the club. He explained the part where golfers put their hands is called the grip and helped them remember by saying “Get a grip!”
The next part he described was the shaft, which connects the grip and the head of the club. The part that physically hits the ball is called the face.
He then showed the kids the proper way to hold a golf club and demonstrated where to stand when hitting a ball. This led to the students lining up, three across, to hit small tennis balls with plastic clubs at targets roughly five yards from their tee-box.
Bates, who is quite the experienced golfer, was excited for the opportunity to teach the game to the children.
“It’s a great opportunity to teach these kids and have them learn golf,” he said. “It’s something they can do for the rest of their life and hopefully they pick up a couple of tips and most of all have fun.”
A golf professional for 30 years, Bates has had many opportunities to teach the game he loves.
“I’ve been a teaching pro for 30 years, I’m a PGA [Professional Golfers’ Association of America] professional, which is kind of like getting your master’s degree,” he said. “I teach all levels and ages, as a PGA professional, we’re trained in instruction.”
He added he was the director of junior golf at the PGA learning center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. There he worked with a lot of kids around the age of the children at the Goddard School.
Jerry Peluso, one of the owners of the Goddard School, is happy to have his students learn golf as well. He believes the lesson is multifaceted for the students.
“There are so many elements of what these kids can learn naturally by learning golf,” he said. “Think about STEAM [Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics]. For science — why does a ping pong ball float and a golf ball sink? For math — [they can] count strokes and how far they hit balls. Teachers can work this into lesson plans.”
Peluso added the sport is all inclusive; the kids can play whether they are good or bad. He also likes that it teaches them discipline.
Bates will be hosting a series of summer golf lessons at various Goddard School locations. He will be at the Mt. Laurel location on July 31 and Aug. 2 and the Moorestown location on Aug. 14 and 16. For more information, Bates can be reached by email at gbates08@gmail.com.
