VIDEO – Big changes are taking place at Myrtle Point Golf Course this summer and golf pro Buzz Wilson is hoping they’ll be a hole in one.
Wilson has been the golf pro at Myrtle Point for the last four years and has brought a lifetime of passion and experience to the game.
He said he has probably taught over 40,000 golf lessons during his career and he attributes any success he has had as teacher to the patience he brings to his lessons and his ability to create a comfortable learning space for his students.
Wilson has been looking for new ways to bring more people to the game and he believes he has come up with some innovative ideas to make the game a little more accessible for beginners, youth and families with small children. “We’ve got to get these kids out because they’re our future,” said Wilson.
Luckily, Wilson is not alone in trying to bring a new generation to the greens.
School District 47 is also on board with promoting different sports for children. This year over 100 grade six students from the district’s elementary schools will participate in a golf lesson at Myrtle Point.
Derek Elliott teaches grade six at Edgehill Elementary School and is head coach for Powell River Track and Field Club. Elliott and his students visited Myrtle Point Wednesday, May 8.
“Golf’s a great sport to enjoy,” he said. “You’re not getting a super hard workout. It’s not too competitive but you’re out there walking.”
Elliott said that some of his students who normally are not overly enthusiastic about PE class enjoyed themselves.
He said that golf is just one of many sports that he will introduce his students to this year.
Last summer, Myrtle Point hosted a week-long junior golf camp which, according to Wilson, was a tremendous success. So much so, that Wilson is planning on increasing the number of week-long camps so that they run throughout the months of July and August. Camps will run Tuesdays to Saturdays three hours per day.
For beginners or even novice golfers, driving a ball on a 500-yard fairway can present a real challenge. Wilson estimates that a game of nine holes for one person might take between two to three hours and double that for a family of beginners.
“It’s a long golf course,” said Wilson. “Having enough time to play is a huge problem.”
Wilson said that his idea is following the trend in the United States of building shorter 12-hole courses to speed up the game and make it more accessible and fun.
Myrtle Point has created a par-three course within the first nine holes of its 18-hole course and plans to open it Saturday, May 18.
“It won’t require too much change to the course,” said Wilson. The idea is to cut two or three greens into the existing fairways and open the par three course up on weekend evenings to take advantage of the long summer nights.
“They won’t be million-dollar greens,” he added, “but they’ll be fine for the beginner or novice to come and play on.”
The golf pro is also initiating a program of on-course lessons during weekday evenings for women who are new to golf, which he hopes will help bring more of a realistic experience of a game into his lessons.
Wilson is also encouraging golfers to come play some weekday early morning golf by offering discount deals.
“We’re excited about getting the short course and the lessons going this summer,” he said. “We think it’ll be pretty successful.”
For more information about the new summer programs at Myrtle Point, readers can contact Wilson at 604.487.4653.
