Ryan Hull is a PGA assistant professional at Methodist University Golf Club in Fayetteville, N.C.

Ryan Hull on the importance of hosting a Special Olympics golf event:
Approximately once per month we host a golf clinic for local children who are mentally disabled. Using three or four of our PGA Professionals, we set up three different stations for the kids to have a great time. On both the putting and chipping stations, we have a three-foot circle around the hole and pretend like any ball that stops in the circle is like a holed putt or a chip-in. We celebrate those shots as if they had actually gone into the hole, so it’s a high-energy event with a lot of smiles and good times. We go through a variety of different clubs around the greens and give out prizes for some of the best shots the kids have. For full swing, we try to focus on the basics and let the kids have as much fun as possible. We’ll bring out the range picker and drive it out to 20 yards in front of the teeing area so everyone has a shot to hit it. It is difficult for them to retain information about the golf swing, so our goal is to have them enjoy the game as much as possible.

Ryan Hull on the business impact of hosting a Special Olympics golf event:
This is an outing where we are volunteering our time to be a good neighbor while allowing the game of golf to make a positive impact for these children. This is a tremendous opportunity to improve our junior golf programs and showcase the passion our PGA Professionals have for the game. The course and facilities are open throughout the entire year unless PGM students from our program here at Methodist are hosting a tournament, so we are very receptive to hosting Special Olympics golf whenever they come to us and encourage the participants to come back and practice and play whenever they want.

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email rlhmugolf@yahoo.com