Golf doesn’t instantly strike you as a kids’ game. Aside from the long walks and interminable hours, there’s the small matter of the apparatus. Handing a three-year-old a miniature nine iron is a little like arming a pint-sized militant. Heads are likely to fly a lot sooner than golf balls. You could be in for a long, bloody afternoon.
On a pleasant midweek evening, Time Out arrives at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club with four young crazies in tow. Their ages vary from three to six, their temperaments from wilful to distracted, and we’re keen to see how Craig Waddell – the young golfing pro heading up the Junior Academy Program – deals with them.
Sticking them in golfing buggies is certainly a good start. The clubhouse is at least a kilometre from the academy building, so a small fleet of solar powered, one-speed-only carts are required. Not that the kids are allowed to drive them, of course, but the open air trip, past the local Equestrian Club stables and their stinky inhabitants, sets the tone for a fun experience.
Fun is certainly the key, says Craig: ‘If we can build on their enjoyment of the game, then it’s job done.’ His own introduction to the game came at a very early age, back in his native Scotland. ‘Growing up,’ he explains, ‘my father played, and I used to enjoy going out with him. My grandmother played as well. It’s a nice family sport.’ He seems ideally placed to promote the academy, but how is he at the practical stuff?
Back at the academy he has the kids lined up, each with an appropriately sized golfing implement tucked neatly under their arms like tiny jockeys working metal whips. We pray that the calm can be maintained; that none of them decides their golf club might work well in an impromptu game of medieval warfare. Miraculously, Craig has them marching out to the two-tiered driving range as though a day on the fairway was what they’d had in mind all along.
What follows is very impressive indeed. In the course of a 20-minute session, Craig manages to have all four kids knocking balls down the range like mini Tigers in the making. One of them even shows unexpected poise and promise, possibly worth exploring in the future. Talent aside, what we really enjoy seeing is the camaraderie the kids develop, each cheering loudly as their buddies manage to get the little yellow ball to arch through the air. Craig moves among them quietly, adjusting their golfer’s grip here, refocusing their attention there, but always allowing them to feel as though the aptitude they are showing is their own. As the kids keep on bashing away, we take him aside for a few questions.
The academy starts up again in late September, hoping to replicate the success of last year when, with 300 junior members, it became the largest kids’ facility in the UAE of its kind. What, we wonder, makes parents decide that golf is the game for their offspring? ‘I think they have an eye on their retirement plans,’ he laughs. ‘A good round of golf, if you’re talking 18 holes, can take four or five hours. So, from a fitness point of view, it’s good. We have a nine-hole course here, which favours us because the juniors can nip out and it only takes an hour and a half to two hours.’
The training, which is largely based on the internationally renowned YMG course, varies from driving range work right up to full scale tournaments. With kids as young as four taking part, these might be a simple two-hole event, but it gives them the sense that they’re part of something, and – who knows – could lead to the kind of lifelong passion that Craig himself has developed.
On the course, things are winding down. The three-year-old is still hacking away, but her focus has gone and she’ll probably dig her way to Australia before she hits another ball. Her elder comrades are sitting happily on the steps, fresh faced from their hour in the evening air, and keen to get back in the golfing buggies. As we board our vessels, we see one of them turn to his mother. ‘Can we do this again tomorrow?’ he asks. Job done indeed.
The Junior Academy Program costs Dhs600 for eight weeks of coaching, plus a one-time joining fee of Dhs150. Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Mushrif, www.adcitygolf.ae (02 445 9600).
