By Nic Maksud

Students in grades 5-12 from all across the District took to the links this summer at Harborside International Golf Course, looking to either learn the game of golf  entirely or to further develop their skills in the sport. CPS was proud to once again partner with KemperSports to provide expert golf instruction for student-athletes as the District works to continue to expand golf opportunities across all neighborhoods. 

Chicago native and golf ambassador Roger Steele was on site to help the new golfers not only learn the game, but to help them find a love for the game from an early age. As an advocate for the growth of youth golf, he feels it is vital to partner with camps like these.

“This is how I got my start with the game, it was my dad that put on something similar,” Steele said. “A lot of kids in my neighborhood, trying to get them exposed and a lot of his friends came together to make sure we had a touchpoint to get some access. I think with all of the things that golf has given me, if I don’t make time for this it’s all kinda pointless.” 

Even with a busy schedule like Roger Steele has, he finds himself making a point to get to camps like these in order to positively impact the next generation of golfers. 

“Helping kids understand that golf is an opportunity to impact the trajectory of their lives is something that I’m very passionate about and I feel that in these like intimate settings, especially early on in there exposure, having these types of touchpoints are very formative to driving that home so whenever I can, I make myself available for stuff like this.”

Steele not only served as a special guest speaker and group instructor, but he worked one on one with students onsite to help them learn about the sport he loves.

Sophia and Sawyer Mendoza, two campers and siblings who attend Mark Sheridan Math & Science Academy, talked about how easy it was to learn from Roger himself. 

“He was teaching me a lot of good stuff I didn’t know and he was very calm,” Sawyer said. 

“I think it was easy, since it has been awhile since I have played golf so I think as he taught me and showed me all the steps, it immediately clicked,” Sophia added.

Steele also made sure to share why the game of golf is so important in everyday life.

“I want them to take away from it is, golf is going to be everywhere around you for the rest of your life, whatever career path you take, whether that’s in entertainment, whether that’s in sports, whether you just want to be some sort of executive, a teacher, a cop, a firefighter, a doctor,” he said. “Golf will be adjacent to literally anything that you decide to do and I feel that by learning this you’re effectively learning a new language that is going to serve you for the rest of your life.”

Thanks to the continued partnership and support from KemperSports, Steele is able to attend events like these and get involved with the future of the game. In the past two seasons, KemperSports has helped launch or re-launch the sport of golf to three South Side schools, Brooks College Prep, Washington and Hyde Park High Schools.  Brooks and Hyde Park were the beneficiaries of the partnership last year, while Washington will launch its program this fall.

Steele looks forward to continuing to work with CPS student-athletes to help them learn the sport he loves and to show them just how beneficial the game of golf can be in the long term. 

“Having a clinic like this where we are covering the fundamentals but also encouraging the youth to be themselves through the sport, is like the perfect balance because the game comes exponentially harder if you don’t have sound fundamentals,” he said. “Getting started off with the right mechanics, it really eases the burden of [learning], so I love when kids can come out and see PGA professionals and get the proper help.”

“You also have to have other figures and mentors in place to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone a little bit and be authentically themselves, the same way they show up in other sports. I believe they should be able to show up in golf and I think that sometimes golf makes them feel a bit stifled, so I come here to kind of help them break out of that superficial golf shield that I feel we try to place all of the kids in.”

The high school golf season gets underway alongside all IHSA High School Sports, which can begin August 7.