- April 23, 2024
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Students and parents crowded the Palm Harbor Golf Club for Green for Teens' kickoff meet and greet event.
Renny Roker, Emma Karwowska and Linda Sanders Photos by Jeff Dawsey
Students who participated in Renny Roker’s former Greens for Teens program have gone on to play in other countries, in college, and Roker even says some have played in the LPGA. Now, he wants to assist locals in doing the same with his free – yes free — program.
Greens for teens – run by Roker, Linda Sanders and Palm Harbor golf pro Christian Bell – aims “to lower students’ golf scores while increasing their grades,” as Roker puts it. There are other benefits he believes participants will gain from the program.
“Golf teaches you all about life,” Roker said. “When you get into a bunker or in the rough, you have to find a way to get out, all by yourself. It strengthens you inside, and that’s what we hope to do. To us, it’s equally as important to have good grades as it is to have good scores. And when they go hand-to-hand, then it’s really good.”
Greens for Teens has partnered with many local organizations that will assist in making the program run well. Bethune-Cookman University will lend some its professors and students to regularly tutor participants. Others have sponsored Greens for Teens. And the Flagler County School Board earned an ovation, when it was announced that it would bus students from school to the Palm Harbor Golf Club, where the program will take place.
“I wanted to make sure I thanked them for participating in this program and for offering the transportation; that’s big,” said Traci Griffin, who signed up her teenage daughter. “I’m a business owner and I work at a school. It’s hard to get my daughter to these different events, so I had to jump on this. And then it’s golf – for free!”
“One of the things we’ve learned through the years is that golf tends to increase grades,” Roker said. “It’s a sport where you have to focus and think. You can’t do all that craziness like they do in basketball. It is set up in such a way that when you do it right, it works. And, when you don’t, it doesn’t.”
Greens for Teens is seeking sponsors who can assist with the influx of student participation. They are also seeking mentors who will work with and play with the students.
For more information, contact Renny Roker at 338-3082 or [email protected].
Greens for Teens school schedule
Monday - Matanzas High School
Tuesday - Flagler Palm Coast High and Buddy Taylor Middle School
Wednesday - Indian Trails Middle School
Thursday - Imagine Charter School
Imagine Charter School will begin this upcoming week, and all others will begin week Monday, Sept. 19.
Say that again: “It’s (golf) a sport where you have to focus and think. You can’t do all that craziness like they do in basketball. It is set up in such a way that when you do it right, it works. And, when you don’t, it doesn’t.”
RENNY ROKER
