Pam Fairbank is on the Board of Directors at the Napanee Golf and Country Club and she is also a Certified Community Golf Coach for Junior golfers. Pam has been golfing all her life and has always had an interest in helping kids. She says she had lessons herself and knows about the sport, so she decided to go ahead and get formal training to ensure she was giving good advice. She says there are three certified coaches at the Country Club. It is a National coaching certification program done through PGA Canada.
Pam says she loves coaching because it is an opportunity to give back. Over the years Pam said she has had all kinds of fantastic influences. She began as a junior member out of the Bay of Quinte Golf and Country Club and her father was a very good golfer. Pam speaks very highly of Betty Ingram, saying she has been a big influence on her and continues to be, as she still plays the game and she is in her nineties. Because of those people and the inspiration that they provided, Pam says she knew she wanted to give back in some way. She says she loves the sport, because anyone can play it. You don’t have to be part of a team, so for kids that are a little self-conscious about letting others down, they don’t have THAT to worry about in golf. She says a child can be having a tough time and when they finally hit that shot or they sink that putt, everything is right with the world, and it just makes you feel so good as a coach.
Pam feels there is a misconception about golf. That it is an expensive sport, or an elitist sport and she thinks that isn’t the case. For example, in the Learn to Play camp at the club, she says kids come out with no equipment and members and volunteers donate stuff so that the kids can get practice. She says it doesn’t have to be expensive because there are all sorts of different entry points for a child. She says at Napanee Golf and Country Club, they have a promotion during the month of June, where kids play free if they are accompanied by a paying adult. She says that’s incredible, because the child can get introduced to the sport and it doesn’t cost anything.
She goes on to sing the town’s praises, saying “the community of Napanee is incredible, we’re producing Olympians, we are well represented in a cross-section of sports and it’s because we have really good coaches, really good volunteers, and really good parents”. She says anyone who wants to be a coach has all sorts of opportunities in the region.
Pam would love to see more kids get involved in the sport in Napanee and the surrounding area. The Napanee Golf and Country Club has some incredible programs including, Girl Fore Golf, half day golf camps, full-day golf camps and of course their junior golf memberships. To learn more about the incredible programs being offered for children, visit: https://www.napaneegcc.com/junior-development/
