RBC Community Junior Golf making the game fun and affordable for Indigenous youth

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On a late Tuesday afternoon in May, with the remnant grey clouds from a rain shower finally dissipating, faint laughter can be heard across Windsor, Ont.’s Roseland Golf & Curling Club.

Kids are swinging their clubs in unison and racing from one practice station to the next. They’re wearing matching white T-shirts with the distinctly recognizable RBC shield. To say they are having fun would be an understatement. Falling in love with golf is not required, but comes with the territory, and you’d never know many of the youngsters are holding clubs for the first time.

They are doing so thanks to RBC Community Junior Golf and its partnership with First Tee – Ontario and Golf Canada

RBC Community Junior Golf supports the delivery of First Tee – Canada programming across the country and has proudly engaged over 20,000 children from traditionally marginalized communities since 2022.

Here at Roseland, these children from the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre are being introduced to the game by head coach Steve Pronger and his team of certified First Tee golf instructors.

WATCH: https://vimeo.com/axlefilms/review/963281912/0ae8a96af6 

“Through RBC Community Junior Golf, we are able to invite all these kids out to this golf course today for free._­ No charge to them or their families and that’s a huge thing because we want to get kids out of the house to a wonderful green space with fresh air and to have an activity where they will have fun learning but it’ll be challenging at the same time,” says Pronger, who has been heavily involved in sports and coaching for the better part of 55 years. “Golf isn’t easy, but at the same time, they can have fun learning with other kids who are their own age and enjoy a wonderful opportunity to learn the game of golf, which can stick with them their whole life.”

While many of the kids are visiting a golf course for the first time, the lasting impact that no-cost community-driven youth initiatives like First Tee – Ontario and RBC Community Junior Golf are having on the local Indigenous communities is huge.

“These events really help, especially for kids in our communities because not all of the kids will have all of the same opportunities,” says Garrette Stonefish of the Can-AM Indian Friendship Centre, a non-profit community driven organization intended to serve the urban Indigenous population within Windsor and Essex County. “It’s either they can’t get there for travel or they just can’t afford it. So being able to try something new, especially a new sport. It gives you opportunities to meet new friends. It makes you learn to talk to people. It just helps your overall development.”

The day begins as any kid-friendly party should — with pizza. Then, after brief introductions to the First Tee – Ontario coaches, the kids are guided through a stretching exercise before being separated into groups and visiting their first of four training stations, each led by a certified First Tee golf instructor. At one, foam pool noodles mark fairways. At another, colorful tennis balls are strewn across a pristine green marked with square targets. Such stations would never be found at your traditional country club, which is by design.

“It’s so fun and there are a lot of life skills and games involved, too. We actually incorporate other sports into some of our lessons, so there could be soccer-baseball going on, but it’s based on learning golf fundamentals,” explains Madelyn Boelhouwer, marketing and communications manager for First Tee – Canada. “Some of the biggest barriers to getting involved in golf are accessibility, affordability, transportation or maybe just the perception that the sport isn’t for them. First Tee is definitely a place where everybody can feel welcome and included and then hopefully, they want to be a golfer for life.”

Pronger couldn’t be happier.

“I used to love to play. Now I love to coach,” he says. “We have a number of kids that finished the First Tee – Ontario program last year and are entering in the junior golf program at Roseland this year. What we’ve found is that if they fall in love with the game of golf, which takes patience and perseverance, their schoolwork will be better. We want to help them to become better citizens and ultimately better brothers, sisters and one day parents.”

Visit here to learn more about how RBC is providing affordable access to golf for youth from equity-deserving communities.

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