Begay teaches, inspires youth - Wednesday, September 19, 2007

VERNON, N.Y. -- At Notah Begay's junior golf clinic, he was the big hitter and golf was the big hit. A couple dozen of the youngest spectators at Atunyote listened as Begay broke down his Posture, Grip, Alignment or PGA lesson in golf. The real show came when Notah picked up his club and began demonstrating hooks, slices and just plain old blasts for the kids. He even juggled the ball like his old Stanford teammate Tiger Woods did so famously in an old commercial. After Begay, the kids started swinging clubs. They varied in age and experience, but all of them took something from the lesson. Ryan Rizzo, 9, a student at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill thinks it improved his golf game. “I’m learning from some good golf players,” Rizzo said. Chelsea Dockstader, 10, of Oneida said her favorite part was getting to know the pro. She doesn’t get to watch much golf on television as she does in person. “But I sometimes watch my grandpa,” she said. He plays a lot of golf. At one point during the clinic, Begay asked the kids how far they thought he hit. One kid exclaimed, “1,000 yards” and Begay smiled and said she’s right. It was mostly a playful exhibition. However at one point, he gave a short motivational speech about how it was his dream to be a golfer way back in New Mexico. Now, he achieved his dream and in doing so he’s earned nearly $5,000,000 and become the first Native American golfer in the process. He told them, its important to set goals, even if they’re lofty ones.