A new project is breaking ground northeast of the Royalton Middle/High School. It’s not for a new ball field or basketball court, but a place for kids to practice hitting their hole-in-ones and their putting game
When the Royalton Royals Girls golf coach Ryan Marwitz proposed to have a golf facility on school grounds, he wasn’t doing it for the benefit of the high school teams, but also to invest in the next generation.
“Since there was no golf course in Royalton…there was nowhere for kids to hit balls...They have to drive to another town to do that,” said Marwitz, “I kind of thought, “well, what if we cleared that area, it would be big enough...not for a full driving range, it will be about 200 yards long, but definitely enough for kids to hit irons, especially for little kids to learn.”
Marwitz explained ever since he started teaching physical education in Royalton about 17 years ago, he’s noticed a fairly long field behind the school, not being used except for occassional school games. Other than that, it was sitting there not maintained and useless. Marwitz took action during the 2023 school year, discussing it with the boys coach, Jeremy Albright and the school board.
“It would not be a great expense, It’ll basically be flattening out the land and replanting it,” Marwitz said. “So we had some conversations and came up with some plans and (the superintendent and school board) approved it and we’re moving forward with it as we speak.”
It was a slow process, but the project was approved in the fall of 2023. The first clearing in the area was made in the spring of 2024.
Marwitz said the facility will consist of tee box for kids to practice driving and with holes and cups on the other side of the field. It will also have a sand trap close by the holes for chipping practice. The shop class at the school also built a shed in the area to store supplies. Soon, it’ll have a lean-to along benches for golfers to have breaks in between sessions.
For kids who are interested in competitive golf, Marwitz pointed out they should start young, like other sports. He reflected on himself as a fourth grader, first learning how to play the sport and hitting balls in a wide field at his elementary school.
“You don’t need anything fancy, you know. You don’t need a golf course or a driving range and all that,” Marwitz said. “You just need space and the goal here with this (project) is to just create a space where kids…in the summer want to hop on their bikes, they can just ride over there and hit balls.”
The facility will be supplied with sand to cover divots from clubs hitting the ground to make the grass grow easier. Since it won’t have all the equipment other golf courses have, the course will have to be kept up by both the custodian staff and those using it.
“My hope is that if somebody goes up there and they hopefully will respect and appreciate the work that it takes to maintain something like that and that the facility is there for them to use, free of cost.”
The facility will be finished in the spring of 2025, depending on weather. Both the boys and girls golf teams will still go to the Little Falls Country Club for practice, but will use the new facility for practicing short game and using golf clubs up to middle irons.
Most Popular
Comments / 0