These programs are meant to be fun while learning all aspects of golf.  Simply look at their smiles!

Portland Press Herald: 8/19/09

The Tigers are still cubs

Val Halla's summer golf program for juniors is the largest in the state, guided by a devoted pro.

By TOM CHARD, Staff Writer August 19, 2009

CUMBERLAND — On a humid Tuesday morning, junior golfers crowded the Val Halla Golf Course in threesomes and foursomes under the watchful eye of instructors.

The popular program, run by Brian Bickford, the Val Halla golf pro, is winding down for the season. A total of 325 boys and girls participated.

Most of the juniors are from Cumberland, Falmouth and Yarmouth, but Bickford said he has a golfer from as far as Damariscotta.

While other courses in the state have junior programs, Val Halla's stands out because of the number of participants. No other course in the state can boast a junior program that big.

Peyton Decourcey, 9, of Cumberland is disappointed the program is ending for the season.

"He came up to me and told me he was depressed," said Bickford, in his fourth year at Val Halla. "I asked him why he told he had so much fun this summer that he didn't want it to end."

Later, Decourcey swung mightily on a par 3. The ball shot down the fairway, eliciting a big grin.

"You have a lot of fun playing and you can improve," Decourcey said. "It's my favorite sport."

The golfers range in age from 5 to 17. Five- to 8-year-olds play in wee golf, a free Saturday morning program.

Bickford has designed several junior programs, based on age and ability. After the wee program, there is the instructional league for kids new to the game. Another is the junior league for 10- to 14-year-olds who have played before.

Bickford also ran a high school league on Mondays where local teams played at Val Halla, a municipal course with 425 members.

"Brian runs a tremendous junior golf program," said Nancy Storey, executive director of the Maine State Golf Association.

"He's really taken into account the role of a municipal golf course and run with it. He uses as many resources as are available to him. He's great with the juniors and knows how to teach them."

Teaching fundamentals is central, but so is the teaching of golf etiquette and rules.

"We want to build good relations between the juniors and the members," Bickford said. "We give the juniors a rules test. They're told that if they're playing slowly and adult members are behind them, they should let them through."

Bickford's junior programs are bringing results: Two Val Halla girls played in the MSGA girls' junior final, with Laura Grant beating Meghan Bickford, the pro's daughter.

There are no schoolgirl golf teams in the state, but Greely High, which serves Cumberland and North Yarmouth, easily could field a team.

"We could actually have two teams," said Bickford.

Bickford, in his first year as the Greely coach after four seasons at Yarmouth, said his daughter, Laura Grant and her sister, Kerri, will see playing time for Greely this fall along with the boys.

"Their short games are good enough to help us. They're very consistent players," he said.

Bickford is giving back to the community and the course where he grew up and learned the game as a junior under the former Val Halla pro, Gary Rees.

Rees developed numerous top junior players like Bickford, which carried over to six state championship teams in 23 years. Bickford is looking to build the same powerhouse.

Five years ago, Bickford made a career change, moving from the corporate world to golf. For 20 years he was a chief financial officer in the hospital field, most recently at Mercy Hospital in Portland.

"When I was younger I tried to figure out how I could make a living in the golf profession but never could," he said.

"Five years ago I felt I was in position to do so and told my wife I wanted to make a career switch. When she didn't get upset I knew it would work."

Val Halla had an opening for a head pro and Bickford was hired.

Bickford lives so close to the course that he rides a golf cart to work and back.

"Some people ask me how long I've been at Val Halla," said Bickford. "I tell them 36 years, the last four as the golf professional and the previous 32 years as a member. I couldn't run the junior programs without my dedicated pro shop staff and the high school players who help."

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com

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