Connecting with teens can be tough but Akron’s Ron Pressdee has found common ground on a golf course with his granddaughter, Reese.
He and Reese, 14, have golfed together for several years. He treasures the one-on-one time outdoors, sharing a sport that bridges ages and abilities, a seasonal sport spanning the seasons of life.
They usually golf two or three times a week, enjoying a shared interest with undeniable longevity attached to it: he was on the Stow High school golf team. She’ll play for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in the fall.
“I’m still where I can teach her things; that’s what I really enjoy,” Pressdee, 65, says. “It’s just one-on-one time when I get to know her better.”
Starting Early
Golf has been a multi-generational family affair for the Jeniors of Rootstown. With a makeshift driving range in the backyard, Katie Jenior and her five older brothers were introduced to the sport early. She started hitting golf balls with a cut-down club when she was 3. Mike Jenior says his parents usually took one of the kids along with them to ride in the cart when they golfed on Sunday mornings.
Today, Katie is Barrington Golf Club’s pro and merchandise manager. Mike is head golf pro at Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course and boys’ golf coach for Southeast High School. In their professional capacities, both appreciate the value of, and the relationships forged by grandparents spending a few hours on a quiet golf course with grandchildren.
“Growing up as a multiple-sport athlete, I think it’s great when kids are involved in a lot of different sports and they can pick their favorite,” Katie says. Golf is unusual because people can play for decades, honing their skills as they age.
Jimmy Beers is a PGA professional and program director of The First Tee of Akron, which teaches golf and its values to kids ages 7-18. The international, private, non-profit organization has chapters in Canton and Cleveland.
About 1,000 kids annually take classes through First Tee of Akron, Beers says. Because the programs take place during the day, grandparents like Presdee often volunteer when their grandkids join. “They are finding that golfing with grandkids is keeping them young. It’s one-on-one time, it’s an awesome time,” he says. First Tee offers scholarships for children from low-income and military families.
“The reason I chose golf as a profession is, you can play it for a lifetime. I found golf and I saw these old people playing. I never saw an 80-year-old playing basketball or football.”
Play Now, Teach Later
The key to introducing grandkids to golf is to keep it fun, keep it short and keep it simple, he says.
“Little kids just want to ride around in a cart, eat hot dogs, chase frogs and hit a shot now and then,” Beers says. “You can take a putter, a chopper and a driver and they can get out and take a shot with grandpa and grandma. It’s so different from other sports. With 2-5 hours outside together, I feel that’s why the bonds are created.”
Both Jeniors said it’s easy to find affordable clubs for kids; plastic ones are fine for those 6 and under. “When they’re really young, let them just whack at it and let them swing however they want to swing,” Katie says.
Don’t get too serious about technique. Start in the back yard for 15-20 minutes at a time and teach hem how to grip the club and stand. On the golf course, let them chip and putt.
“To get a ball in the hole, for a beginning golfer to hit from the tee is like a beginning runner running a marathon. It gets discouraging and takes too much time,” Beers says.“Kids need to have fun because once they’re not having fun, it’s misery. Don’t focus on too much of the rules or the swing. Use car talk to talk about that.”
Katie Jenior says, “Two clubs are fine; a putter and a cut-down club. “They’ll be using their putter digging in a pond anyway,” she says.
Some golf courses use special kids’ tees. Others have times set aside just for kids or play free with a family member in the late afternoons or evenings. Call ahead and ask.
Golf pros like the Jeniors have seen relationships between grandparents and grandchildren blossom on a course. “It’s something you can enjoy, no matter what age you are,” Katie Jenior says.
Thomas Harrington, 70, of South Euclid, has played golf for 19 years. At a family picnic two years ago, he told his granddaughters Samara, 10 and Samone, 13, how much he liked playing. They said they wanted to try it, and they enrolled in classes through First Tee of Cleveland.
Harrington takes them out at least once a week. “Golf is a game that requires a pretty keen focus and one thing I think young people need today is focus,” he says. “You take an hour or two or three golfing, working on your craft as a golfer and getting time together to know someone better. You don’t get that socialization with social media.”
Sharing golf “certainly has brought us a lot closer,” Harrington says. “I don’t remember having a relationship with my grandparents like I have with my granddaughters. At some point in life, if they get to be really good golfers, they won’t forget that grandpa introduced them to it.
Kid-Friendly Golf Courses
- Suffield Springs Golf Course, Mogadore
- Sunny Hill Golf Course, Kent
- Paradise Lake Country Club, Suffield
- Mud Run Golf Course, Akron
- Washington Park Golf Course, Newburgh Heights
- Briardale Greens Golf Course, Euclid
- Grantwood Golf Course, Solon
- Meadowood Golf Course, Westlake
- Shawnee Hills Par Three Course, Bedford Ohio
Learn to Golf
- First Tee of Greater Akron firstteeakron.org
- First Tee of Canton firstteecanton.org
- First Tee of Cleveland firstteecleveland.org
Kid-Friendly Gear
- SNAG Golf snaggolf.com
- U.S. Kids Golf uskidsgolf.com
Photo: Ron Pressdee and his granddaughter, Reese
