MOUNT VERNON — The 10th annual Irish Hills Junior Golf Camp wrapped up on Friday.
The local golf course started a tradition a decade ago and is now celebrating the program’s growth and excitement over the game.
Billy and Heather Barbour joined forces to start the Irish Hills Junior Golf Camp, which has ignited enthusiasm among the community’s youth ever since. They started the camp in 2015 after recently getting married and realizing they both had skills to offer the community.
Billy Barbour is a golf pro at Irish Hills and a former collegiate golfer. Heather Barbour is an elementary physical education teacher and former volleyball player. They decided to use their golf skills and classroom management abilities for a fun camp for the youth.
Heather uses physical education activities and concepts to teach golf strategies, and Billy comes in to teach the physical skills of the sport.
Along with many volunteer coaches, like course owner Bill Barbour, they provide a fun learning environment that keeps campers returning year after year.
Leo and Silas Bailey participated in the camp for seven years and returned this year as caddies for the event. The first year had nine golfers participate, and this year accrued over 70 youngsters between the two weeks.
“We do our best to create a comfortable learning environment for kids so that they are not nervous to start what can be a challenging sport.”
The camp consists of chipping and pitching at massive inflatables, putting on the putting green with fun challenges, driving lessons from Bill Barbour and John Fowler, and on-course experience to allow golfers to apply the skills they learned.
It wraps up with a tournament, where the golfers from both camps come together to play a round. They each have a caddy that helps them through their round, which becomes a family learning experience.
“My caddy was very helpful because he carried my bag and helped me know which clubs to use,” remarked Declan Helming about his caddy and father, Jarrett Helming.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Irish Hills Golf Club, and the 10th anniversary of the golf camp was a great way to celebrate its accomplishments.
