PGA pro puts autistic boy on fairway to success

A PGA golf professional has been praised by the mother of an autistic teenager for helping to boost her son’s concentration, confidence and communication skills by turning him on to golf. Anna Cliff of Redhill in Surrey, says that her teenage son, William, was shy and withdrawn before starting golf lessons at Steve Furlonger’s Golf Made Simple Junior Academy, based at the Redhill Golf Range.

Now, according to Anna, William is more sociable, friendly and approachable, thanks to the dedication and patience shown by Furlonger, a PGA Professional and his team of coaches. Meanwhile, the positive effect the coaching has had on the youngster has inspired them to write and publish a play to learn book, ‘Golf Made Simple for Kids’. Aimed at five to twelve year-olds, each of the book’s 64 pages features a hand-drawn illustration accompanied by a rhyme that complements the image.

Furlonger stated, “The object is to get the reader to visualise what we’re trying to get across. To teach a child how to play golf requires a different approach than when teaching an adult. First and foremost it has to be fun or you will lose their interest. Secondly it must challenge their skill and stimulate their mind with suitable games. Our book not only teaches the child the golf skills through its unique picture and rhyme format, we have also incorporated at the end of each chapter a number of extremely fun games to challenge and test their newly developed golf skills. We have made golf fun!”

Recalling the day, which began the turnaround in William’s life, Anna, a school special needs assistant and school meals supervisor, said, “Steve and Phil came along and gave some of the children at school a golf lesson and William enjoyed it so much that we joined the academy. I didn’t notice much of a change in William at first but over time, he has become more sociable and approachable and isn’t so shy. Before having lessons every Sunday, William used to be easily distracted but golf has really helped to keep his attention and enabled him to focus better.”

Golf Made Simple for Kids retails at £17.99. More at: www.golfmadesimpleforkids.com

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A graduate of Cardiff University’s highly respected post-graduate magazine journalism course, Andy has successfully edited four different publications across the B2B, trade and consumer sectors. He is skilled at all aspects of the magazine process in addition to editing websites and managing social media channels.