GOLF:

Though summer is over and most children are back in school, golf should not be one of the forgotten activities that stop after Labor Day.

Now might actually be one of the better times to get a child involved in the game or build on the lessons he or she had during the summer.

John Leonard has been giving lessons to children ever since Newport Beach Golf Course opened in June of 1976.

While some professionals shy away from teaching children, Leonard has embraced it for more than three decades. About 30 percent of his students are children between the ages of 5 and 17.

“I enjoy teaching them,” Leonard said. “I still want to teach them. I think it is very rewarding, even though it can be challenging.”

Some of those challenges include attention span and lack of coordination, especially with younger students. Leonard has taught children as young as 4 years old.

The biggest challenge the PGA Teaching professional has conquered is making it fun for the kids he instructs. There is a tendency for them to get bored, but Leonard has devised ways to make it more enjoyable.

“I’ll put targets like cones on the driving range,” Leonard said. “I’ll give quarters to them if they make long putts on the putting green.”

It is all part of his teaching philosophy.

“Just making it fun for them is the key,” Leonard said. “If you overload them with information, you lose them real quick.”

Leonard goes to PGA seminars whenever possible and learns new techniques and tips.

“I go to about every teaching seminar I can get to,” Leonard said. “You can share a lot of ideas with other professionals.”

Even though Leonard runs a summer golf camp for kids in the summer, he believes that now is also a good time for children to take lessons.

“There is no reason they can’t take them now,” Leonard said. “The camps are good, but getting an individual lesson helps work on the things they learned in camp.”

Leonard has seen the sport grow in popularity and can attribute that to another Orange County resident. “When Tiger came along that is when the game really exploded,” Leonard said. “All the parents wanted they’re own Tiger or Tigress.”

There is no reason that another Tiger Woods can’t be produced. While the sport has peaked recreationally I believe that competitively we are only seeing the beginning. Woods is certainly an anomaly, but even he has predicted that someone will come along at some point and challenge him.

That person could be using sawed off golf clubs at the moment and dragging a putter almost as big as themselves across a putting green.

“There will definitely be another Tiger,” Leonard said. “There was another Hogan, another Palmer, another Nicklaus. We will see another one, definitely.”

Chances are that person could come out of California. In addition to Woods, the state has produced golfers like Johnny Miller, Mark O’Meara, John Cook, Jason Gore, and Anthony Kim.

“The weather here is a big factor,” Leonard said. “It’s always nice here and kids can play year-round. The SCPGA has good junior golf programs. There are tournaments all the time.”

There are also good teachers, such as Leonard and even if your children isn’t the next Tiger Woods, he will teach them to enjoy the game for a lifetime just like he has.

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursdays.