Kids Can Learn Golf at Penmar

There are unlimited opportunities for Pacific Palisades youth to learn to play basketball, soccer, tennis and even lacrosse, but it becomes trickier for parents to find a place for their kids to learn golf. The sole golf course in the community, the Riviera Country Club, doesn’t have a youth program for non-members, which is one reason that Palisadian entrepreneur Steve Bellamy, founder of Atonal Sports and Entertainment, started the L.A. Golf Academy. Carlos Rodriguez, a PGA teaching pro, is director of the Academy, located at the Penmar golf course in Venice. In addition to junior development groups during the year, Rodriguez also runs summer youth golf camps to teach golf basics to kids ages 6 to 15. The day typically begins in the classroom at Penmar, a nine-hole course. ‘Playing rules, honesty (about stroke count) and etiquette are paramount,’ Rodriguez says. After the classroom, golfers go outside and learn how to chip, putt and shoot bunker shots. If campers stay the full day, they play three, six or nine holes depending on age and experience, and work on their wood shots. At the end of the camp, depending on a youth’s progress, golfers under the age of 13 may receive their certification, which is needed to play on most of the City’s golf courses. An important life lesson Rodriguez emphasizes is that students need to be nice to each other. ‘It’s socializing, not competing,’ he says. ‘The two things kids have to master is socializing with each other and realizing that the competition they face is with the golf course, not each other.’ Rodriguez, who grew up in Puerto Rico and played golf all over the world, including the European and Asian pro tours, has been a teaching pro since 1993. The L.A. Golf Academy (230-2052) runs Monday through Thursday until September 2. Green fees for juniors ($5) are not included in the camp fee. There is a coffee shop at the course. Atonal Sports and Entertainment is located in the 881 Alma Real building, just a block from Steve Bellamy’s Palisades Tennis Center.