Forty youth from Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes and the Ignacio community got together to work on pitching, chipping, full-swing and putting skills April 1-5 at the Spring Break Golf Clinic, a program of the Boys & Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the SunUte Community Center’s Spring Break Golf Clinic.
Youth ages 8-18 convened at Hillcrest Golf Course for the weeklong clinic, which culminated in a skills challenge and a nine-hole match for several older participants. Club member Ocean Hunter won first place in the skills challenge.
Native American PGA Tour player Steve McDonald and his team of golf instruction professionals Juan Elizondo, Emily McDonald, and Nolan Pahmahmie taught not only golf fundamentals but also life skills, such as self belief, responsibility, honesty and perseverance.
Collaboration between the Boys & Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and SunUte Community Center with funding from the National Congress of American Indians made the clinic, as well as the healthy meals and snacks served all week, possible.