Just two days before the Epson Tour begins the third annual Casino Del Sol Golf Classic, a junior clinic was held on the driving range inviting young girls to learn and develop their golf skills from some of the best in the game. The LPGA*USGA Girls Golf of Tucson and Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona brought approximately 30 aspiring golfers to interact with seven professionals. In addition, one of those professionals was taken back in time to her Girl Scout days.
Rachel Rohanna was a member of Daisies and Brownies when she was a young girl and now has a daughter who’s nearing the age of following in her mother’s footsteps. Rohanna reminisced with the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona during the clinic and Q&A session, sharing the lessons she learned from the organization that has followed her into adulthood – specifically the famous “make new friends” song.
“It was so nice to see so many girls coming out for junior girls’ golf. To be a former girl scout and go way back in time to feel that again is pretty cool,” said Rohanna. “They all got to wear their vests out here with their badges, and they all seem very accomplished. It was really neat. Everyone out here was great today, they all had great questions, and I think the future of our world and of golf is in good hands from what I’ve seen today.”
While interaction during the junior clinic is a bright spot in the day for the young girls and the pros, the lasting impression it will have on the future generation goes much further than the balls they’re hitting. Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, Kristen Garcia Hernandez, was thrilled to have the Girl Scouts outside, enjoying golf and learning that they can do anything they set their mind to.
“For girls to be able to go into a place that’s typically male-dominated, how empowering is that in it itself,” said Garcia Hernandez. “Not to mention it’s a healthy sport; we’re all about getting girls outside, enjoying the outdoors. It’s really beautiful that they’ll be able to have a skill that they can enjoy personally and professionally and have that opportunity to connect with others. It’s also eliminating a barrier in terms of girls being able to participate and be present anywhere else their male counterpart can be in.”
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