Junior program bolsters Charlotte High boys golf team participants
PUNTA GORDA — Scott Harvey saw an uptick in the number of players who tried out for the Charlotte High boys golf team.
The longtime Tarpons coach credited it to the Charlotte County Junior Golf Association.
The reemergence of the youth program has led to an increase in interest at the high school level.After having a program-high 20 players try out for Charlotte High last year, Harvey welcomed a whopping 31 players this fall. A dozen are freshmen.
Harvey is not turning anyone away. He is breaking down his rosters to 12 on the varsity, 12 on the junior varsity and seven on a developmental team.
The players on the developmental roster will receive instruction at the high school level.
“So students still can learn,” Harvey said.
It is the same theory with the junior program.
“I don’t ever want to say ‘no’ to a kid who wants to learn the sport,” Harvey said. “Our motto at the junior golf association is nobody should have to learn how to play golf in Charlotte County as an adult.”
Young golfers can hit balls at the Charlotte Harbor Driving Range, formerly Longwood Golf Center, on Harborview Road in Port Charlotte.
“We raised money for that,” Harvey said.
If the young players want instruction, they can pay a fee to work with Kevin Wantje, Harvey’s assistant at Charlotte High.
Players as young as 5 years old participated. There were 45 players at the first clinic this past summer.
“We’re working toward playing tournaments,” Havey said.
His goal is to hold clinics Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Sundays, the hope is to have a scramble tournament to teach the rules of golf at the par-3 Kings Gate Golf Club in Port Charlotte.
Harvey has his sights on even more.
“My vision is we get them into after-school care and bring them to the driving range and get instructional time once a week at Charlotte Harbor Driving Range for a small fee,” he said.
The lesson is the junior golf program has created an increased interest in golf among the youth in Charlotte County.
“We saw we needed to bring back junior golf. It definitely has got it going,” Harvey said. “I’ve seen some kids from the clinic try out for the team. It’s definitely a good thing.”
In his 28th year teaching, 20th teaching geometry and geometry honors at Charlotte High and coaching boys golf for 24 years, Harvey thinks the increased number of golfers should pay dividends for his Tarpons, who now play at Twin Isles Golf Club in Punta Gorda after Allegiant Air took over his home course at Kingsway Country Club in Lake Suzy.
“It will help with our depth,” he said. “You’ll see less of a disparity between No. 1 and No. 6.
"In the past, I had eight great players. That’s when junior golf was going on.”
Officers involved in the Charlotte County Junior Golf Association are Bruce Harris (president), Todd Evans (vice president), Harvey (treasurer), Art McCoy (secretary) and Pauline Ciccone, Mike Burton, Jeff Cardillo, Tom Massolio, Kip Delzell and Gabrielle Reineck (board of directors).
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Charlotte County Junior Golf Association aids Charlotte High golf team
