Tucson-area schools let out for the summer last week, and the last thing your elementary-age kiddo wants to do is transition to a summer camp of crafts, movies, swimming and games.
Tucson’s months-old Topgolf facility has an alternative: a summer camp devoted to teaching kids how to golf.
The weeklong Topgolf Summer Academy camps, taught by golf pros, focus on the basics, from the chip shot and putting to adapting the perfect form for that fairway-quality swing. The camps are held on the lower level of the three-story complex, where golfers whack microchipped balls across a field of targets stretching more than 200 yards.
Campers 6 to 12 years old also will learn golf etiquette — including the all-important need to be church-mouse quiet when someone is taking aim on the green.
Topgolf, 4050 W. Costco Drive, kicks off its weeklong summer camps on May 28 and continues them through the end of July. It’s $199 per session, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays through Fridays and includes golf clinics taught by Topgolf teaching pros; free lifetime membership to Topgolf; lunch every day; a summer academy T-shirt and junior golf glove; water bottle and cinch backpack; and a certificate of completion at the end of the week.
Topgolf provides clubs, but kids are welcome to bring their own. To register or for more information, visit topgolf.com/us/tucson
Here’s another golf summer camp option: First Tee of Tucson, the local branch of the nationwide network that promotes golf among young people, has a number of summer programs on public courses throughout the city including:
•El Rio camp: Open to kids 7 to 17, sessions cover basic golf skills from teeing off to chip shots from 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays through Fridays beginning June 6 and running through July 26 at Trini Alvarez El Rio Municipal Golf Course, 1400 W. Speedway. The cost is $10 per three-day session; if you need to have your child stay those days until 5 p.m., it’s an additional $10 per session. Registration and details: thefirstteetucson.org/el-rio-2
•High school golf prep: High school golfers can participate in three-day camps from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays June 6 through July 26 taught by local PGA pros. It’s a chance to get a jump on the high school season. It’s $20 per session; register at thefirstteetucson.org/high-school-golf-prep
