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Showing how it's done right
U.S. Girls' Junior comes to BanBury, where kids learn to play golf for a lifetime
By Paul Ramsdell, PNGA Media
Odds are, some girl from outside the Treasure Valley will
come into Eagle, Idaho, next month with a better swing and
more game than any of the locals, and capture the U.S. Girls'
Junior Championship.
Odds are, though, it will be difficult for anyone to outclass
the local junior girls in the Boise area when it comes to the
refined aspects of golf that make it such a tremendous lifetime
sport.
For in the Treasure Valley, and these days at BanBury Golf
Club where the U.S. Girls' Junior will be held July 18-23, a
good number of junior players are introduced to the game
through the programs of Jerry Breaux, the head professional at
BanBury.
It can leave a lasting impression.
"I'll never forget learning how to properly hold the flag so
your shadow is not on the hole," said Andrea Baxter-Bretz, a
two-time All-American at Stanford. "I was so little, but gosh
that was really cool that it mattered where your shadow is."
Another lifetime lesson learned by juniors under the tutelage
of Breaux is how to properly accept a trophy, because no award
is given until the junior makes a public thank-you speech.
"I've never had a problem speaking in public since then,"
said Jonathan Gibbs, who played on the Canadian Tour and
now is an assistant at BanBury. "I've never had any fear, largely
due to that."
For Breaux, watching his former juniors develop as adults is
just as important as their development as golfers.
"I remember when she (Baxter-Bretz) was a freshman in
college," Breaux said, "and she sent me back a little note. She
said, 'Well, today was a big day for me, I had to give my first
speech. I talked about golf. I'm glad I went through junior golf
in Idaho.'"
Fast approaching is a big day for everyone connected to
junior golf in Idaho. And the attention to detail that has been
the cornerstone of the junior golf program at BanBury will now
be put to use in playing host to the biggest junior girls tournament in the country.
Junior girls from all over will be center stage and enjoying
all of the attention at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at
BanBury.
Receiving special attention, however, has been commonplace for
a lot of girls the past couple of decades in the Treasure Valley.
"He loves junior golf, but he really has a passion
for girls and junior golf so this was kind of his dream," Baxter-Bretz, now an assistant at BanBury, said about her boss.
"Jerry has always really, really stressed that golf is a lifetime sport, that golf is fun," said Susie Breaux, his wife who handles marketing
at Banbury. "And he's always been a great, great proponent of girls golf, and we probably have more girls in the program than boys."
For 30 years, and at three different golf courses in the Treasure Valley, Breaux has worked hard to get girls into golf.
"The lifelong benefits from golf are as good for girls as they are for boys. It's just harder to get little girls started playing," Breaux said.
"I knew a long time ago little girls didn't get the deals that little boys did. Little boys would come out and they'd practice and they'd play, and they'd do it by themselves. Little girls always had to have their friend. Little girls were harder to get going, and I always tried to key on them a little more just because it was more difficult to start them."
Instead of changing the nature of junior girls, Breaux adapted his programs, and now BanBury offers girls-only golf schools.
"It's just nice to get out with a bunch of girls where there aren't any expectations from outsiders," said Baxter-Bretz, who helps teach the girls-only golf schools.
Baxter-Bretz, who grew up in Eagle, has enjoyed coming home and teaching others.
"It's kind of surreal at this point. I think I have my dream job," she said. "I can give back, and all I'm hoping to do is light a spark under one of these girls, and let them take it as far as it took me, and hopefully even further."
And working underneath Breaux is a big part of that dream job.
"He just loves kids," she said. "This is such a wonderful place for me to teach because I can take every single one of my kids out on the golf course, and jump in if there's an open hole, and never ever worry about, 'Oh, what's the administration going to think.' Or, 'Am I going to get in trouble for being out here.'"
To learn golf from "Mr. Breaux," as the juniors affectionately call him, takes more than just time on the driving range.
"Instead of just having the kids learn how to swing or how to play, we try to get them involved completely with the game," Gibbs said.
And once those youngsters get older, they're more than eager to help out others.
"To be a teacher is probably the best way to learn yourself," Gibbs said of the older kids helping the younger ones. "That definitely helps them and boosts their confidence that they can show somebody how to play."
And the interaction takes place more than just on the driving range.
"The horse race is probably the most fun where we join one older kid with a younger kid," Gibbs said. "They get to show off what they know about the game, 'Let me show you where to put your clubs.' They get to show them the etiquette so it kinds of turns them in a teacher."
And the end result is turning out a generation of true, lifetime golfers.
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