Hawaiʻi Junior Golf Day at Waiheu to be Spotlighted on Golf Channel

Waiehu Golf course sign. Photo by Wendy Osher.

The Aloha PGA Section’s Hawaiʻi Junior Golf Day event at Waiehu Municipal Golf Course on Maui will be featured nationally on the Golf Channel’s Morning Drive program on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. This spotlight is part of the PGA of America’s Centennial celebration in 2016.

This special spotlight focuses on the Aloha PGA Section and Hawaiʻi Junior Golf Day, which offers free PGA Professional instruction to kids at 12 facilities throughout Hawaiʻi each year.

This year’s event was held March 19 on Maui and marked the 5th anniversary of the program, with an estimated 720 juniors participating across the state. In the last five years, Aloha PGA Professionals have helped introduce more than 3,000 kids to the game of golf.

Featured in the spotlight is the Rego family of PGA Professionals – Arthur (Waiehu Municipal Golf Course), Darrell (Wailua Golf Course) and Brenda (Wailea Blue Golf Course). The late Clyde Rego played on the PGA Tour and was a member of the Hawaiʻi Golf Hall of Fame. The Rego siblings carry on their family’s legacy by giving back and growing the game of golf.

In 2012, the Aloha PGA Section partnered with the Hawaiʻi State Junior Golf Association to create Hawaiʻi Junior Golf Day. The primary goal of the event is to provide children with a fun first-time golf experience that inspires them to continue learning and playing the game.

As a next step, the Aloha PGA Section and HSJGA created the “Roadmap to Junior Golf,” a valuable and inclusive resource that contains information about every junior golf program in the state to make it convenient for parents to find a local program.

“Aloha Section PGA Professionals are dedicated to growing the game of golf, which has always been an integral part of our lives in Hawaiʻi,” said Wesley Wailehua, Executive Director of the Aloha PGA Section. “Our juniors are the future of this sport, and we’re committed to providing them ample opportunities to learn, play and enjoy a game for a lifetime.”

In 2003, the Aloha PGA Section established the Aloha Section PGA Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the Section with a mission to develop and promote interest in the game of golf while enhancing the lives of those who participate.

Four years later in 2007, the foundation established its scholarship program for Hawaiʻi’s high school seniors who have actively participated in golf and excelled in their academic achievements. To date, the Aloha Section PGA Foundation has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to students.

In celebration of its Centennial, the PGA of America has partnered with Golf Channel to shine a spotlight on all 41 PGA Sections and their featured programs and initiatives led by PGA Professionals nationwide. The PGA Section Spotlights are scheduled to air on the Golf Channel from Jan. 27–May 4, spanning 100 days in honor of the Centennial.

“In celebrating our Centennial, we want to honor our 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals in all PGA Sections across the country,” said PGA President Derek Sprague. “Each day, they’re growing the game and using golf to better lives in their communities, as evidenced by efforts like those of the Aloha PGA Section. We’re very proud of these PGA Professionals and look forward to highlighting their efforts this year.”