Officials break ground on facility for introducing at-risk youth to golf

ELLERBE – With a mission to introduce at-risk youths to golf, the Green Lake Chipping and Putting Course officially broke ground Tuesday afternoon.

Michael LeGrand, the owner of Green Lake Chipping and Putting, hopes to have the course operational in the near future in order to teach children and teens life lessons through golf.

“There is not anything golf-related in Richmond County. I know a lot of kids would love to play golf, and golf is an expensive sport. Through my non-profit, Sandhills Regional Development of Richmond County, we’re going to open up a chipping and putting green, where kids can come out for free and learn how to chip and put,” said LeGrand.

Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony was the physical manifestation of months of planning as part of a collaboration with Golf Galaxy of Southern Pines, SiteOne Landscape Supply and Sandhills Regional Development of Richmond County. LeGrand grew up in the area and learned golf from playing with his father as a teen. While many other sports are rife with life lessons, golf’s lessons often apply no matter the age of the golfer or his or her standing in life.

“If you play golf, then you know things don’t always go as planned. What do you do when the unexpected happens? You need to learn how to recover from your mistakes, and know that more mistakes are not the end of the road … Those things that happen on the golf course also happen in life,” LeGrand said.

LeGrand said he based the philosophy of the Sandhills Regional Community Development of Richmond County on eight core values to navigating life and the links, which include: perseverance, integrity, honesty, respect, confidence, responsibility, courage and adaptability. The chipping and putting green is just the first step in what he hopes is an entire facility based on introducing golf to at-risk youth.

“As adults, we have to make sure that we take our resources, help the next generation, and put them in a better situation to succeed,” LeGrand said. “This is phase one. The adjacent property, I plan on purchasing this fall … It will be a training facility, where kids can come out for free, learn the game of golf and those core values.”

For Chris Buchina, a sales support representative with SiteOne said constructing a chipping and putting green, like any other golf facility, will have its challenges. However, once up and operational, it could inspire another developer to take an interest in golf.

“Getting the community involved I think will get the voice of everyone pushing everything in a specific direction. It starts with this, and who knows where it ends,” Buchina said.

LeGrand will not be the only person teaching golf and life lessons at Green Lake. Lisa Dobbin with Golf Galaxy, who is also a Ladies Professional Golf Association instructor, plans to make regular trips to the chipping and putting green. By getting children involved in golf early, she believes it’s not just their swing that will improve over time.

“It’s very important. When you build the foundation right, with a solid foundation, you can build upon that. Once they get to their 20s or 30s, you have to reconstruct their whole swing,” Dobbins said. “You have to go against muscle memory and reform everything. To get them early in age like that will help them develop it. Also, golf mimics life … You can play golf for life, but we’re also going to help them as far as life is concerned.”