Programs for the next generation of members.

Former Supreme Court Justice and club member John Paul Stevens once remarked
that Chikaming Country Club is where he learned “how to hit a tennis ball” and “how to miss a golf ball”.
Today, the quality and popularity of our junior programs anticipates the next generation
of members and, in the process, enhances our reputation as perhaps the best place those young ladies and
gentlemen can learn how to play, enjoy, and understand the values of sports that last a lifetime.

Junior Golf.

The purpose of the program is to give the young people of the club
aged 6-15 the opportunity to learn about golf from qualified
professional instructors. Incorporating instructional techniques and
 properly sized equipment from the U.S. Kids program, juniors
learn not only fundamentals of the game in clinics but also participate
in organized play from their own tees, learn how to establish
handicaps, all while making friends and strengthening social skills.

Junior Tennis.

For many years, the goal of Tennis Professional John Polishuk has
been to cultivate a love of the game in young players
while developing their basic tennis skills. Instruction begins with
a concentration on ground strokes and hand eye
coordination, advancing to using proper techniques consistently.
Eventually, classes become ability-based with an emphasis
on sharpening skills and understanding all aspects of the game.

Chikaming Kids’ Camp.

Every summer, juniors get the chance to learn or expand their
skills in a week-long concentration of golf and tennis
directed by Head Golf Professional Tom McMichael. Beginning
sessions focus on the fundamentals of both sports,
then shift to contests and organized play. Lunch and snacks are
provided. The most common reaction at the end of the
first day seems to be, “Guess what? I made a new friend today!”

Kids’ Camp is more than sports.

During Kids Camp, participants get to take a break from golf and
tennis and spend an hour in a forest of canvas, beads,
ribbon, clay, glitter, and acrylic paint as our art instructor leads
them through a variety of creative projects. Then, on the
final afternoon’s excursion to Robinson Woods, a Chikaming Open
Lands guide helps them understand life in another forest,
including how to build shelters from available woodland materials.