News
Monday, June 15, 2009
In Search Of Greener Grasses
By Meghan Naik, USGA Fellow
Hidden among the bustling streestscape of the Long Island community of Islip, the well-manicured fairways of Brentwood Country Club are a surprising sight.
Though Brentwood C.C. is a public facility, the fence surrounding it is a signal to some local youths that the golf course is “out of bounds.” Vandalism at the course and other golf facilities in the area, just a few miles east of the Bethpage State Park golf complex in Farmingdale, site of this year’s U.S. Open, have become all too common. Police patrol the areas surrounding golf courses each night, in an effort to head off damage linked to the destructive behavior of at-risk adolescents.
In response to an increase in crime and noticeable socio-economic disparities in Islip and neighboring communities, Alexander Lopez, professor of occupational therapy at Stony Brook University, developed the PAR FORE golf and mentoring program. For Lopez, golf is an effective way to positively impact at-risk children: it promotes self-control and discipline, and it helps build self-confidence. While developing these skills on the path to becoming successful adults, PAR FORE participants also learn that the golf course can be a safe haven, a welcoming place to play a game that everyone can enjoy.
Launched in 2007, PAR FORE (Perseverance, Accountability, Resilience, Fellowship, Opportunity, Respect and Empowerment) sessions are held at four area courses, including Brentwood C.C. The USGA-supported program has introduced more than 50 at-risk youth, mostly drawn from Youth Enrichment Services Inc., a youth service agency, to the game and its values.
Lopez, 40, established PAR FORE as a result of his own experiences. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood in Newark, N.J., he was constantly pressured to submit to gang life. He chose a different path by joining the U.S. Army and attending community college. After marrying an avid golfer, he took up the game and soon noticed its intrinsic values.
“In a way, starting the program was representative of the adolescent I was and the adult I am today,” says Lopez, who occasionally proves his point by demonstrating his break-dancing skills, always to the amusement of his participants. “Our community has a population of adolescents that is very similar to the one I grew up with, and I can relate with this group.”
Since the program’s establishment, Lopez has presented the PAR FORE model at three occupational therapy conferences. Lopez told of one parent who was concerned with his son’s aggression issues as he dealt with his anger by punching holes through walls and doors. Since joining PAR FORE, the muscular, six-foot-four, 15-year-old has not shown his anger and, according to Lopez, “is a teddy bear in the program.”
“Golf has calmed me down and it helps me deal with my anger,” the participant explains. “It is a really great sport, it is enjoyable, and it makes me focus.”
The goal of PAR FORE is to utilize golf to increase adolescents’ level of resiliency, resistance to adversity, confidence and self-efficacy. Lopez writes curriculum with this objective in mind, and he collects data [JH1] based on testing and observation at program meetings.
“What’s unique about the program from the occupational therapy perspective is that golf is a very healthy way to occupy your time,” says Lopez. “Without the opportunity to occupy your time in a healthy way, you’re going to engage in destructive behaviors. Golf has the ability to bring people together in a natural environment that promotes positive relationship building.”
For Eleanor Clark, a nurturing environment could not have come soon enough. At age 12, Clark continually clashed with her mother and stepfather. She ran away from home, and for the next year would wander between juvenile centers and foster homes. She turned to a 27-year-old man for security and a new home. He left her battered, pregnant, and ultimately abandoned. [JH2] With hopelessness clouding her horizon, she turned to PAR FORE. Now a 15-year-old single mother of a 2-year-old, Clark’s transformation from lost soul to mature and caring young lady has been remarkable. She has benefited from the support and encouragement of her mentors and has inspired fellow participants with her incredible ability to overcome adversity.
Clark attends every session, sometimes bringing her son if child care is unavailable. For Clark, golf has also become common ground for her to reconnect with her stepfather, bringing Clark back into the family. By writing stories in PAR FORE newsletters and presenting poems at SUNY Stony Brook, the program has become Clark’s outlet to heal her emotional wounds.
“I’d like to go to law school,” Clark said in a recent New York Times article about the program. “My mother says I should be a child advocate lawyer because I’ve seen it from the other side and know what the kids go through.”
Beyond anecdotal evidence, Lopez has begun to conduct more extensive individual analysis on the participants, measuring the effect of the program on participants’ personal characteristics. The study is too premature to draw definitive conclusions, but early results indicate a positive correlation between participation in the program and an improvement in youths’ self-efficacy and resiliency to adversity. In short, the tools that help golfers succeed on the golf course help kids on the short grass of life. The program’s positive impact persuaded the town of Islip to approve a resolution that offers PAR FORE participants $1 per round for golf course access at two local golf courses. Thanks to community support and the efforts of Lopez, the barrier to greener grasses for these children is crumbling down.
As Rich Jones, PGA professional and PAR FORE instructor explains, “PAR FORE gives youngsters options and choices. They learn that anyone can play golf; with learning the skills needed to manage their golf game, they also learn the skills needed to manage their behavior and their life.”
The USGA has supported the program with $42,000 in grants since 2008.
“What the USGA has helped provide is an opportunity for adolescents to spend time with positive individuals and adults,” says Lopez. “Without the USGA, I may have arranged to get the kids on the golf course, but they would not have had the essential skills and tools to learn the game.”
The key to PAR FORE’s success is the relationship that at-risk youths build with their mentors -- college students at Stony Brook University. Like Lopez, many of the mentors have grown up in similar disadvantaged environments.
PAR FORE participants and mentors attend more than 35 scheduled program meetings together during the year. More than half of these meetings are held at the practice range and golf course for playing opportunities. During the winter months, PAR FORE meets at a GolfTec facility where participants receive individual lessons and video analysis. To occupy the time of participants off the course, the program encourages the kids to take part in seminars at Stony Brook University and engage in community service activities.
An added bonus to this year’s program will include a field trip to the U.S. Open Championship at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course. With the U.S. Open only 20 minutes from Brentwood, dozens of PAR FORE participants and mentors will attend the U.S. Open Junior Day on Sunday, June 14. For the majority of these children, this will be their first taste of a championship golf event. The USGA will also provide free practice-round tickets for participants of USGA-supported programs, which allow kids to return to Bethpage early in the week to witness the world’s best golfers in action.
“Golf is proving to be the most wonderful means,” says Lopez, “The means to an end. The means to becoming successful adults. And for kids in the PAR FORE program, golf continues to be the means to access a view of the world that is not limited to the exterior wall of Brentwood Country Club.”
Meghan Naik is a second-year Fellow with the USGA’s Grants and Fellowship Program, based in Colorado Springs. For more information about the USGA’s Grants Program, call (719) 471-4810 or e-mail mnaik@usga.org
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