Josiah Ashba was 11-years-old when he first touched a golf club. Like many children his age, he simply never had the opportunity to try the game and, as a result, assumed it was just a boring activity for adults. That all changed when he agreed to attend a Hook A Kid On Golf clinic at a local golf course with his neighbor – because he has yet to put the clubs down since.
Eight years after that first Hook A Kid On Golf clinic Ashba is set to begin his freshman year of college this fall at the University of Evansville in Indiana on an academic scholarship and as a member of the school’s golf team.
“It’s kind of funny because eight years ago I hated golf and thought it was the most boring thing in the world,” Ashba said. “Now, I’m playing golf at the University of Evansville and I am studying business management and plan on becoming a club pro some day.”
Ashba started out with Hook A Kid On Golf – a junior golf development program offered by the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) – at Cascades Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind., in 2001. After a few years in the program his interest and skill level grew, enough so that he decided to attend the 2005 Traditions of Golf Challenge. The Traditions is a one-of-a-kind national competition hosted by Hook A Kid On Golf that stresses the importance of golf’s rules, etiquette and history, along with playing skills.
After attending that first Traditions, Ashba decided he wanted to get more involved with the event and with the Hook A Kid On Golf program in his community.
“I have attended five Traditions tournaments, the first as a player in Richmond, Va., in 2005, the next two years as a coach at my home course at Cascades Golf Course in Bloomington in 2006 and 2007, and the last two years as a coach in Peoria, Ill., in 2008 and this year,” Ashba said. “We were actually able to win the tournament this year. I plan on attending many more tournaments in the future because I have too much fun with these kids to quit now.”
The team representing Cascades Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind., did indeed capture this year’s title despite valiant efforts from the other seven teams.
“The Traditions tournament is great because it not only teaches the kids the game of golf, but it also teaches them about the history of golf and where it came from and how it has evolved,” Ashba said. “Everything from the feathery ball to the multi-piece balls with the hard plastic core, and from the wooden hickory shafts to the steel and graphite shafts. One of the reasons I like being involved in this tournament is that I learn something new about the history of golf every year.”
While Ashba worked with the youth in his community, coaching several teams to the Traditions, he continued to work on his game, too. Soon, he came to realize that he was perhaps interested in golf as more than just a hobby.
“I realized I wanted to play golf in college during my sophomore year of high school,” he said. “I realized that if I wanted to continue to get better and challenge myself and be the best I could, I had to play golf at a higher competitive level.”
Although his professional aspirations lie in golf, Ashba is always mindful of how he got his start with the game – as a fun, recreational activity. Hook A Kid On Golf introduces youngsters like Ashba to the game of golf in a non-threatening, pressure-free environment, with the goal of cultivating the next generation of golfers who respect the history and etiquette of the game.
“The best part about the whole program was going out and having fun with the other kids,” he said. “When I look back I remember all the times I challenged the other kids to putting or chipping contests after the day was over and my mom was trying to get me off the practice greens to go home.”
Hook A Kid On Golf helps local golf courses and their host communities to attract and develop local golfers. So much so in fact that many communities use Hook A Kid On Golf as a feeder for their older, more competitive golf programs. However, communities also benefit from the program through the valuable life skills and lessons that impressionable young children learn from playing.
“Playing golf has taught me so many things, from honesty and respect to having fun in everything and never quitting,” Ashba said. “The game of golf is all about honesty and respect; they go hand in hand. If you aren’t honest with yourself and others then you are disrespecting yourself, the game and your playing partners.”
Golf is often an ideal mechanism for instilling values such as fair play, honesty and perseverance in young children. Because golf is not played with a referee, umpire, line judge or official, players must be honest when it comes to keeping score. Also, because the game can be so challenging, those who do succeed in any measure often enjoy a rewarding sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Such a feeling can be an ideal vehicle for demonstrating the power of perseverance and hard work to a child.
“Also, what separates golf from any other sport is that it is an individual sport for the most part, unless you are playing on a high school or college team or something like that,” Ashba said. “You can’t blame someone else for hitting a bad shot. The way I see it, if you have a bad lie, you shouldn’t have hit it there.”
Despite Ashba’s accolades as a golfer, ultimately it was his academic performance that earned him a college scholarship. The values learned through his years on the golf course – perseverance, overcoming adversity, honesty and following rules – no doubt played an instrumental role in his development as a diligent and hard-working student.
Although Ashba has many fond memories of his time with Hook A Kid On Golf, his team’s accomplishment at this year’s Traditions is what will stand out the most to him.
“Winning the Traditions tournament was kind of special to me because I got my start in golf in the Hook A Kid On Golf program and now I was able to come back five years later and coach this great group of kids to a victory,” he said. “I owe my entire golf career to the Hook A Kid on Golf program.”
