Golf options plentiful for children

Hey, kids. How would you like to own your own golf club and meet George Brett and Matt Gogel at the same time?

Saturday morning, Brett and Gogel will be at Twin Oaks Golf Complex in Eudora as “Kansas Clubs for Kids” gives away 1,200 free PING golf clubs.

“We don’t know if we’re going to have 400 or 4,000 kids,” event director Jeff Burey said, “but we’re prepared.”

Burey, director of golf at Olathe Wolf Creek, said he and other volunteers will be giving away youth-sized six-, seven- and eight-irons following the hour-long 11 a.m. clinic conducted by Brett and Gogel, a former Kansas University standout who now plays on the PGA Tour.

ABC/ESPN golf announcer Roger Twibell will be the emcee.

Twin Oaks is located on Kansas Highway 10 near Eudora. Youths between the ages of 6 and 15 are eligible for the free clubs. For information, check the Web at www.kansasclubsforkids.org.

Youths who attend also will have an opportunity to sign up for the Douglas County Junior Golf Academy, a joint effort of the city’s PGA pros to promote youth golf.

The DCJGA program for youths ages 8 to 17 will begin at 2 p.m. May 1 at Alvamar Public with an exhibition and program discussion. Parents are asked to attend, if possible.

Lessons will begin the following Saturday and will continue through June 26. The cost is $100 per child or $250 per family.

In June, junior golf leagues will start at Alvamar Public, Eagle Bend, Orchards and Twin Oaks courses. For information, call Randy Towner at 842-2929.