Sandridge Teaching the Next Generation

VERO BEACH, Fla. - At Sandridge Golf Club in Vero Beach, what started as a weekly summer camp just over 25 years ago has developed into a thriving junior golf program that has taught thousands of children how to play golf and, more importantly, how to have fun in the process.

When Sandridge Golf Club opened with their Dunes Course in 1987, with the Lakes Course to be added in 1992, Bela Nagy, a Vero Beach native and Director of Golf at Sandridge Golf Club for the last 11 years, was one of the first participants in the club’s first junior golf program. 

Since then, Nagy has overseen the transformation of the now year-round program that strives to introduce the game of golf to kids and get them to experience it – learn about not just playing but growing as individuals.

The junior golf program began as a weekly summer camp with Nagy later adding a junior golf tour in 1995 when he began working at Sandridge. 

“I asked the local golf pros to see if they can donate their course during the summer for the day, where the kids got to play six or seven events for $60 for the whole program with a shirt and lunch at each event,” Nagy said. “We made it really affordable to get a lot of kids in the program to learn about golf, and now it has blossomed into a year-round program.”

Today, the junior golf program offers programming for children ages six and up from Monday through Thursday with Saturday events every other week. The summer camp has lived on, as well, and even serves as a feeder system for the program’s weekly instructional sessions. 

To further improve the junior golf program, Nagy and Sandridge Golf Club have partnered with the Indian River Golf Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote participation in golf for those of all ages and provide a vast array of affordable opportunities for those who want to learn and even those who are willing to teach. The Foundation’s president, Roger Van Dyke, has been a major part of this partnership.

“Roger does the things that I don’t have time to do,” said Nagy. “The void where I was swamped already, he filled in those gaps. Going out to the schools too and introducing SNAG Golf to the elementary kids, kind of get their feet wet with golf, and then they come out and try the real stuff after that.” 

When thinking about the future, Nagy mentioned the construction of a new clubhouse at Sandridge Golf Club as a major opportunity for growth. Included in these plans is the possibility of a teaching facility fully equipped with hitting bays and classrooms to further enrich the experiences of the program’s attendees. 

Nagy is the head coach of the Vero Beach High School Men's Golf Team

For Nagy, who has also been coaching the Vero Beach High School golf team for the last three years, his involvement in the junior golf program has been a full-circle journey. Going from one of the inaugural participants to now helping run the program and introduce golf to juniors today has been gratifying for Nagy. 

“I’ve got kids now that are bringing their kids to our camps,” Nagy said. “I’ve put thousands of kids through here and the cool thing is when they come back and remember how good we had it.”

Nagy and the rest of the junior golf academy team have and are continuing to provide an invaluable service to the golf community, growing the game among the younger generations. While he understands the importance of teaching his students necessary skills on the golf course, there is one priority that will always stand above the rest. 

“We’ve been really successful putting kids through here and getting experience playing golf,” Nagy said. “And having fun, that’s the main thing. Enjoy it. We don’t want them to leave here without having fun, otherwise why play the game.”