Off the Fringe
THE junior golf program on Molokai was in dire need of financial support and none was foreseen in a future of uncertainty and despair. Junior golf alive and
well on MolokaiBut thanks to a grant from the PGA of America, the Molokai Junior Golf Association is alive and well, thank you.
"Oh yeah," said Curtis Crabbe, program director for the MJGA. "This (the grant) will really help the kids here on Molokai. It will offer them the opportunities to learn from some of the best teachers in the state."
The MJGA was one of 33 programs across the United States to receive grants totalling $500,000.
The amounts range from $2,100, which went to Golf in Schools in Chattanooga, Tenn., to $35,000, which was awarded to the Native American Junior Golf Association in Mayetta, Kansas.
Molokai will receive $16,380.
"What that will be mainly used for is to pay the golf professionals' airfare to fly to Molokai and teach the kids," said the 45-year-old Crabbe, whose four sons all play golf. "The last time they (pros) came was in November and December ... and they came every week.
"And we hope to get it going again from the end of March all the way to April."
Crabbe said when he filled out the forms to apply for the grant, his needs included everything from an office trailer to teaching manuals and airfare (for teaching professionals).
"If you added it all up, it would have been much more (than what we were awarded)," said Crabbe.
The money is a godsend for the 44 kids in the program.
For some, like 14-year-old Kapono Makaena, it afforded them the opportunity to play golf for the first time in their lives.
"Kapono and Akela Kaulili, another 14-year-old, show promise," Crabbe said. "Akela was all over the place when she first started but has gotten it down to where she shoots in the low 90s now.
"There's not too many activities here on Molokai for the kids to do," he added. "So the kids come out and play. And our program is year-round, so the kids love it."
Crabbe dug into his pocket to keep the MJGA alive, sometimes spending more than he had.
"If my wife (Gail) knew how much I spent, she'd kill me," he said.
No more.
Not only does Crabbe have the money to get the pros to the Friendly Isle, the PGA of America also sent him teaching manuals to help the youngsters, who range in age from 5 to 17, learn the game properly.
"The first three sessions are in the classroom," said Crabbe.
"In there we teach them honesty, integrity, determination and patience. Things that will help them not only on the course but in their lives as well."
When the kids finally do get out to practice, it's at the nine-hole Ironwoods Golf Course -- the only course on Molokai.
"I also got another grant from the USGA (United States Golf Association) for $10,000 to help in the transportation for our golf instructors," Crabbe said.
"But it's all about the kids," he added.
With encouraging words from Crabbe's wife and talks with teaching pro Mary Bea Porter-King, golf lives on Molokai.
Star-Bulletin assistant sports editor Randy Cadiente is a once-a-week hacker who carries a 15-handicap. He can be reached at 529-4785 or: rcadiente@starbulletin.com