Fun for the Whole Family

Golf is a family game, and while many of us grow up on the courses, we naturally want to enjoy time to ourselves on the links too. One of the benefits of joining The Forest Country Club is the many opportunities for individual play, family play, or Junior Clinics! No sacrificing, no cumbersome traveling to nearby clubs that offer play for the children; The Forest Country Club welcomes the kiddos! The Forest is a place where parents, grandparents, and children can play, make friends, enjoy the great outdoors, and begin lifelong traditions. 

The Forest Country Club provides members with elite golf, tennis, and bocce ball experiences and offers camps like Summer and Winter Clinics for the kids to hone their skills and learn all about the game. 

While one may enjoy the peace and quiet of hitting the course on your own, taking your child or grandchild to the range paints a smile on your face all day. You may not know that they'll take the game as you did, but to be able to show them the opportunity of golfing and support them in whatever they love to do makes it all worthwhile. Many children do not have the opportunity or luxury of playing sports with their parents, let alone hit the links in general. Golf is one of the few sports that a child and parent can play a round together, for four hours at that! 

Since we are a private country club that welcomes family play, connect with your peers to see if they have a child or grandchild who would like to hit the links with you. There's a great opportunity to connect with your other members and bring your children together for a fun game. Who knows, they may end up teaching you something first! 

"[My son] teaches me, and I know he is a better golfer than I am now and always. That makes me happy. My wife likes that I am always golfing with my son. It's perfect. Kids are good for your golf; yes, that's right, it surprised me as well." Barny

Introduce Your Child to Golf

You may not realize it now, but your child getting involved in golf has more advantages than you may realize. Some of which can benefit you! As some of us may have grown up on the golf course at an early age, we know that golf has taught us many lessons that most kids don't get from other sports. While golf is not a mainstream sport compared to soccer, softball, or football, it's one of the few you can play for your lifetime, so why not start early?

It's important to ease your child into the game instead. Start with Mini Golf at an early age. Yes, we said it! Luckily, because we live in the sunshine state, we have several mini-golf courses in our surrounding areas. It's a fun way to take the family out, introduce them to golf, and not overwhelm them with a full swing. Mini golf allows you to open up the conversation about golf without gameplay for several hours at a time. It's a marathon, not a sprint! 

Golf promotes overall physical fitness and is a great introductory sport. It strengthens the spine and core muscles and encourages children to try other sports and activities too. The hand-eye coordination can carry over and help them succeed in other sports and develop lifelong healthy exercise habits. Thanks to golf being a low-intensity and non-contact sport, you can have ease when they hit the links and play.

One of the many things that many kids in today's generation do not appreciate is the great outdoors. Since this is a generation raised on technology, the appreciation for nature is dwindling. Golf cultivates a love of nature. Thanks to our 36-holes of pristine golf located on acres of natural habitats, your child is bound to see more wildlife on the courses than they would by playing any other sport. 

Social Benefits of Golf 

We thought this piece deserved its own section. Golf and country clubs are great for children to learn important social skills. Your child has the opportunity to play with family, friends, or even alone. By playing alone, your child will learn to be comfortable by and with themselves and how to properly handle their emotions, specifically because there is a higher etiquette in golf than there is in any other sport. Playing alone is great for introverts, quiet concentration, social development, and being comfortable alone. However, golf fosters friendships as well. 

Since golf is played at an easy pace, you can generally carry on a conversation easily while you pay—one of the many reasons why golf works for business meetings. Golfers commiserate over a bad score, encourage each other as they go, and celebrate the victories. It's a great way to bond, create memories and build lasting friendships. 

This may sound funny, especially if your child or grandchild is young, but golf teaches decision-making skills, etiquette, working with numbers, planning, and strategies — all skills that easily translate into marketable skills in business and the working world. Not only does golf help your child now, but it also helps prepare them for a realistic future! Not to mention the mental game we are all still learning to perfect. Golf teaches responsibility, discipline, honesty, emotional self-control, and patience. Again, more so than any other sport.

Join This Year's Clinic Before It's Too Late

With all these amazing benefits from playing golf, you may want to get your child started as soon as possible! We just enjoyed another successful Junior Clinic this week! Jensen has held two clinics already and has two more to go. Our next Junior Clinic will be July 5th – 8th. To register for our Summer Series Junior Clinics, please reach out to Jensen Hamblett, our PGA Associate / Ladies' Program Director. For more information on fun for the whole family, reach out to our Membership Director, Brenda Lanza, at 239-482-1310. We hope to see you and your child or grandchild out on the links soon!