There’s no question that golf requires patience, discipline, and skill. True, it can be learned at any age, but its counterintuitive nature makes starting young a significant boon. Those who take on the sport early get to hone essential motor skills, develop hand-eye coordination, and gain a natural feel vis-a-vis older players already set in their ways. At the same time, it instills values that are best applied in the formative years, among them perseverance, integrity, and respect — both on and off the course.

But picking up a club early is one thing. Having fun while — and excelling in — swinging it is quite another. The right environment matters, and it is what US Kids Golf Philippines strives to offer would-be practitioners of the sport. As the local chapter of the US Kids Golf organization, it is dedicated to nurturing juniors through competition and coaching programs. And in creating development opportunities for young golfers to learn and compete, it likewise does its part in shaping the future of the sport in the country.

US Kids Golf Philippines emphasizes “Play & Learn,” ensuring that children derive pleasure from honing their craft and, at the same time, reinforce proper technique and principles that will serve them throughout their lives. It sponsors a local tour, which consists of a series of tournaments for various age groups. Those who do well claim priority status, which brings them closer to joining international US Kids Golf events, including the US Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

U.S. Kids Golf Philippines just finished its sixth and final leg of the Spring Tour over the weekend. One hundred and twenty junior golfers teed off at the Norman Course of the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Cavite, with such notables as Celine Abalos, Emilio Hernandez, Tiffany Bernardino, Lujo Gomez, Race Manhit, Davelyn Dy, Luis Espinosa, Adrian Irinco, Georgina Handog, Halo Pangilinan, Zoji Edoc, Winter Serapio, Zach Guico, and Alonso Fabul taking home the hardware in their respective brackets. And who knows? They may well be on their way to follow in the footsteps of two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso, who carried the country’s colors at nine years old in the 2011 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. In any case, their achievements underscore the importance of early training and structured development to success.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.