Golf Academy Gala Aims To Help Disadvantaged Youth In Amarillo

Sometimes, an opportunity is all you need. A chance to try something new, and experience something different. That's how you fall in love with something. Unfortunately, not everyone in Amarillo has the means or ability to try something that interests them.

In order to take on something new, you have to have the drive. Once you have the drive, you have to explore how you can get to that experience. Once you know how to get there, you need to have the tools to do it.

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When it comes to sports, sometimes getting the tools you need is the hard part. Some sports are easy to access. Basketball is a perfect example. There are so many outdoor hoops that all you need in order to get started on your journey is a $10 basketball and a free basketball hoop at a park.

Then there are sports like golf, where the starting point is a set of golf clubs, some balls to whack around, and a course or driving range to hit them at. Being a golfer myself, let me tell you how expensive that can get.

A starter set of kids clubs will run you at least $100, and the cheapest dozen balls is around $15. Head out to the driving range and that runs you $8-15 for a bucket of balls to hit on the range, and if you want to play 18, you better shell out at least another $40-50.

It's expensive, but there are a lot of kids in the city who want to play and can't afford it.

CONVERSATION LEADS TO OPPORTUNITY

Enter Justin Thompson and R.J. Soleyjacks. The two met up last year at the Juneteenth celebration at Bones Hooks Park and got into a deep conversation about Thompson's passion, golf. Soleyjacks, the principal at Hamlet Elementary, was there and explained how he wanted to be able to expose the students there to different experiences, ones they wouldn't normally be able to do.

Soleyjacks mentioned how he'd love to start a golf club at the school, and that's when Thompson said the light bulb went off. That conversation sparked a fire in him, and three months later, Thompson had quit his job at Boys Ranch that he'd held for 7+ years.

ENTER 107 GOLF ACADEMY

From there, the 107 Golf Academy was born. The project was a huge success at Hamlet, and because of it, the 107 Golf Academy will be opening a permanent facility this fall. The academy will focus on comprehensive tutoring, in-depth golf training, and accessibility to all areas of the golf industry.

It's an opportunity for more kids, not just the ones at Hamlet, to find the game and potentially fall in love with it. It's a beautiful game that can teach you so much about life, but it's also one of the most expensive ones around.

107 Golf Academy is there to cut right through that.

THE GALA AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

A project like this takes money to be able to run, but the reward on the back end is immeasurable. Imagine how many kids' lives it could turn around? Sports has a funny way of doing that. Maybe kids are finding themselves getting in trouble because they have nothing else to do. Sports can change their path and keep them out of trouble.

So on May 2nd, from 6-9 pm at the Amarillo Club, 107 Golf Academy will be hosting a huge gala. Funds raised from the gala will go directly to the program to help the kids. There are four different sponsorship levels you can get into.

Now you don't have to buy one of those sponsorship packages to attend. You can buy a general admission ticket, or even just some raffle tickets if you can't attend, by clicking here.