SNAG proves an effective junior golf program

Sports

Discussion

November 14, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sat Nov 14, 2009, 11:28 PM CST

Springfield is a hotbed of junior golf.

A good part of the reason is the passion and vitality of Rick Grayson, teaching professional at Rivercut Municipal Golf Course’s Connie Morris Golf Learning Center and a long-time advocate of making golf more accessible to children.

Consider that the learning center offers a short four-hole course that fits the strength and ability of youngsters ages 4 through about 7. Moms and dads or uncles and aunts supervise the kids and help them select which clubs to hit and make the outings a fun learning experience.

But there is more to junior golf than just the diminutive layout, which I guess measures about 60 to 80 yards per hole and has greens and flags.

Another factor is SNAG, which Grayson and a number of Springfield men and women saw as an innovative way to introduce schoolchildren into the game at an early age. Today, thanks to an anonymous donor, SNAG (Starting New At Golf) is part of the curriculum in all of the system’s 37 elementary schools.

SNAG is pretty simple. There are only two clubs: a Roller or putter and a Launcher, which fills in for woods and irons. The golf balls are slightly smaller than a tennis ball, said Grayson.

The balls are made of a material that snags (hence the name of the game) on Velcro-like material attached to flagsticks appropriately called Flagstickys and on targets that youngsters can hit at.

SNAG is used six weeks a year by the schools, three in the spring and three in the autumn. A SNAG kit can accommodate 20 to 25 youngsters at a time.

Elementary teachers were given instruction or advice by professional golfers in the area on how kids should swing the clubs.

Grayson, who has been on Golf magazine’s Top 100 Teachers list for the last 15 years, heads the Heart of the Ozarks Junior Golf Foundation and was instrumental in the development of the Betty Allison/Oscar Blom par three course adjacent to the Bill and Payne Stewart Municipal Golf Course. In the last three years, 3,000 or so juniors have played free at the short course under the auspices of the foundation.

The Joplin Golf Foundation is active in junior golf, presenting a summer-long group of lessons for boys and girls with instruction by professionals and top amateurs. Over the years, more than 1,000 youngsters have received lessons. Perhaps the next step will be the addition of something like SNAG. Such an approach would seem a logical adjunct to a program trying to introduce kids to the game of a lifetime.

Improvements

A fairway bunker that has been causing drainage problems on No. 6 will be filled in this winter under an improvement program at the Neosho Municipal Golf Course, according to Justin Beck, head pro.

Other projects planned are the addition of native grass areas, enlargement of the back tees on No. 9 and 18 and a new, shorter ladies tee on No. 6.

Address correspondence to Clair Goodwin at sports@joplinglobe.com.

Text Only

Sports

Colgan's Cichon wins No. 500
The 500-win plateau is an achievement that does not come without some winning formula.

February 11, 2012 5 Photos
Prep Roundup: Joplin's Wood breaks school record
Joplin’s Madi Wood broke a school record, Michelle Barchak and Genny Richards posted the fastest qualifying times Friday during preliminaries of the Southwest Missouri Championships at the Natatorium.

February 11, 2012
Hester, Lions prep for Emporia State
Patrick Hester, one of Missouri Southern’s best free-throw shooters, stepped to the line Wednesday night with 13.5 seconds left in the second overtime, looking to push the Lions’ three-point lead to a two-possession game.

February 11, 2012
MSSU's Gibson sets career highs in consecutive games
In Missouri Southern’s first 20 games this season, guard Larrita Gipson scored in double figures once — 10 points on Jan. 21 at Truman State.

February 11, 2012
PSU women seek record-tying 22nd win
Among Pittsburg State’s four football national championships, three came during seasons that ended in the number 1 — 1961, 1991 and 2011.

February 11, 2012
Kickapoo girls race past Joplin
Annie Armstrong poured in 21 points to lead the Kickapoo girls to a 65-28 victory over Joplin on Thursday night in an Ozark Conference basketball game at Missouri Southern’s Young Gymnasium.

February 10, 2012 3 Photos
Hillsdale women stop OCC
Visiting Hillsdale Free Will Baptist handed Ozark Christian a 68-47 loss in women’s college basketball on Thursday night.

February 10, 2012
Quapaw completes 12-0 run through Lucky '7' Conference
Quapaw High School girls basketball coach Rod Graves expected the 2011-12 Wildcats to compile another successful season.
They haven’t been a disappointment.

February 10, 2012
Pitching holds key for softball Lions
Pitching is the main question Missouri Southern must answer as the Lions open their softball season today in Abilene, Texas.

February 10, 2012
NCAA denies UConn waiver request
The NCAA has turned down the University of Connecticut’s request for a waiver that would allow its men’s basketball team to play in the 2013 national championship tournament.

February 10, 2012
More Sports Headlines

Water company cites reconnections

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

SNAG proves an effective junior golf program

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Site Map

Contact Us