Naturally Gleneagles students should gravitate towards golf.
After all, their elementary school is right next door to a golf course with inspiring views that are second to none in Canada.
Getting kids more active and having seniors giving back – it’s a winning combination set up by Gleneagles Golf Club members who recently adopted Gleneagles (Ch’axáý) Elementary students.
It all started with an article in Golf Canada magazine about adopting a school, which caught the eye of former West Vancouver Schools superintendent Geoff Jopson and fellow golfers at Gleneagles.
Golf Canada’s Adopt a School Week, Sept. 18-22, is designed to drive interest for its Golf in Schools program, which launched in 2009 in partnership with Physical and Health Education Canada, Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada.
The program is currently offered in more than 3,200 elementary, intermediate and high schools, with more than 380,000 students getting into the game from coast to coast.
“Here we have a lovely golf course, scenic views and right adjacent to it, right off the third tee, is a public elementary school and I thought: ‘Those children should have an opportunity to learn the game.’”
“I’d be surprised if there’s any other golf course in Canada with a public course sitting right on the grounds,” says Jopson, captain of the Gleneagles men’s team.
A lifelong golfer, Jopson took the lead on approaching his former West Vancouver school district colleagues with a proposal to foster a love of the game at Gleneagles Elementary.
Jopson reports Gleneagles principal Aron Campbell was on board with the school adoption idea pretty much right away.
Campbell liked the intergenerational and mentorship factor from these experienced golfers retired from their careers and looking to volunteer, explains Jopson after getting the green light to adopt Gleneagles.
During a three-week period in April, every Gleneagles student from kindergarten to Grade 7 will walk next door to the golf course and pick up the clubs, which counts towards their physical education.
Golf Canada provides the curriculum and necessary equipment, while Gleneagles Golf Club will kick in $475 annually to help fund the school program.
The instruction will be led by Gleneagles operations manager Alex Doucette and newly appointed golf pro Andrew Black, alongside club volunteers who will help guide the green golfers along the course.
Students will then put their practise into play – with few fores, hopefully.
“(Alex’s) goal is that more and more of those kids will want to play on the course, which is right next door to many of their homes,” says Jopson.
For Jopson, who grew up in the area and picked up golf at Gleneagles as a teenager – he sees value in the sport.
“It’s a game that I think is terrific for young people – it’s social, it’s safe and it has the values of honesty and a long tradition of etiquette,” says Jopson, adding he has a personal soft spot for picturesque Gleneagles with its sweeping ocean views of Howe Sound.
Not only does the golf program offer students a chance to get outside and be athletic, Gleneagles itself has a rich history embedded on the grounds.
Near the sixth hole sits a grove of apple trees, once part of a larger orchard planted in the early 1900s by entrepreneur Peter Larson to help supply his Lonsdale hotel with food.
“So yeah there isn’t a tremendous amount of history in this still young community, but that’s a really nice piece of it particularly for those of us who live out west,” says Jopson.
Ultimately, Jopson hopes more youth pick up the game early.
And, who knows, Gleneagles might produce the next Mike Weir or Michelle Wie.
For now, one hope is to help fill the field for the two junior golf tournaments held every summer at Ambleside and Gleneagles.
Jopson sings the praises of the low-impact, social sport that gets him outside three mornings a week to meet up with fellow Gleneagles Golf Club members, some of whom are in their 80s and early 90s.
“It’s a thinking person’s game,” he says.
“You have to be thinking about the next shot, the line of the putt, those kinds of things – so in that sense I really enjoy it.”
Approaching the third green the golfers get a glimpse of Howe Sound and sometimes eagles are circling above.
“And we sort of pinch ourselves and say, ‘This is just a great place to be,’” says Jopson.
