Great Summer Golf Camps For Kids

June 19, 2013

It’s summer vacation and the kids are out of school. YAY! Things can get dicey after one week with everyone at home all day. So, why not save your wife’s sanity and introduce the kids to a great youth golf camp?

Several places across the country offer young people professional golf instruction along with traditional camp activities. There are even courses created specifically for kids like the Cantigny Youth Links in Wheaton, Ill., and Barn Hollow Golf Course at Hawk’s View Golf Club in Wisc.

Here are 10 of GolfNow’s top summer golf camp picks:

David Leadbetter Junior Summer Camp at Crystal Springs Resort (Hamburg, N.J.)

Kids will have a blast learning to play the game at The David Leadbetter Junior Summer Camp at Crystal Springs Resort, where there are seven golf courses, including the nifty but short Minerals Family Golf course. The Academy offers half-day, five-day schools along with a Beginner-to-Winner two-day mini-program and a Family Golf School.

Stay in the Minerals Resort & Spa or rent a condo and ask about family golf rates. Beginners can play unlimited golf from the Rookie Tees any day after 4 p.m. for $20.

The Golf Club at Wescott Plantation (Summerville, S.C.)

Looking for a super family-oriented golf environment? Try Wescott Golf Club with 27 holes. Director of Instruction Perry Green works with LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Charleston, Summer Junior Golf Camps and plans cool events like glow ball night and Family Sunday Par 3 Scrambles.

UNC Finley Golf Course (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

UNC is definitely tuned into the youth with golf day camps held at the Finley Golf Course and events like a father/son golf camp and junior golf camps.

Maine Golf & Tennis Academy (Belgrade, Maine)

In the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine, a traditional camp facility has morphed into an official PGA-recognized training facility: the Maine Golf & Tennis Academy.  Here kids ages eight to 17 enjoy a robust program of golf instruction along with other fun-packed activities like water sports, games and campfires.

All programs include seven to eight hours of golf, as well as twilight and night golf on the driving range. Programs range from Beginner GOLF Camps, GOLF Lite for those who want a little less instruction and Youth Advanced Junior GOLF and the Elite Tournament Travel Team for the more serious-minded.

TOURAcademy Junior Camps (more than 30 locations throughout the U.S.)

From the Monterey Peninsula, Calif., and Vail Golf Club in Colo., to TPC San Antonio in Texas and Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., TOURAcademy Junior Camps offer elite, overnight, full-day and half-day programs, as well as holiday camps and after school instruction. For a list of locations, visit TOURAcademy’s official site.

PGA Junior League Golf (Various cities in Wisconsin)

PGA Junior League Golf brings the “little league” atmosphere to the game with teams of boys and girls age 13 and under. Kids get six practice sessions, league matches, team jerseys and more.

Check out league teams at several courses around the state, including Brighton Dale Links in Kansasville; Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan; and Hawk’s View Golf Club, Grand Geneva Resort & Spa and Geneva National Golf Club, all in Lake Geneva.

Hawk’s View also offers “Hooked on Golf” Camp, a five-day golf camp with an emphasis on fun and “Birdiez & Parz” Junior Golf Academy is geared more for intermediate juniors.

Lansdowne Resort (Leesburg, Va.)

As a Lansdowne Resort guest, you can tee up on the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Course,  The Norman Course and Norman’s neat 9-hole Shark Bite short course.

Through the Lansdowne Golf Academy, a four-day summer sports camp gives kids a full day of golf plus some swimming, free play and tennis. Juniors play for free after 3 p.m. daily when playing with a paying adult and get complimentary Callaway rental clubs to use.

The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge (Charlotte, N.C.)

The Dana Rader Golf School at The Ballantyne rolls out a number of clinics and camps for juniors starting with a series of Head Start Weekly Clinics then progressing to Ready to Play Weekly Clinics and junior summer camps.

Nike Golf Schools & Junior Camps (throughout the U.S.)

For comprehensive instruction, try the Nike Golf Schools & Junior Camps. For example near Rochester, N.Y., golf activities take place at Wild Wood Country Club and Ravenwood Country Club. Three hours of morning instruction are followed by lunch and course play. Overnight campers stay on campus at the Rochester Institute of Technology and meals are served in the dining halls. A commuter program is also available.

Featured image courtesy of Nike Golf Camps.