We have created an experiential learning program that will improve our youth’s game of life through the game of golf.

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SPECIAL EVENT:

Champions Retreat | March 15-17th, 2024

“Change Your Course” Mental Fitness Experience

Built on a foundation of mental wellness principles, Change Your Course teaches parents and teens how to perform and thrive in any situation. If a golfer can connect their on-course emotional response with their daily response to emotions, they are more likely to better handle adversity throughout the course of their life.

The data regarding mental health in all age groups is alarming. However, the group with the largest increases in mental health inquiries and treatment is adolescent to mid-twenties. Here is what we are up against:

  • In the 1980’s, 1 in 30 children was reported to suffer from anxiety and depression. Today, 1 in 6 children face mental health challenges in their lives.

  • 18.8% of high school students reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year. (CDC, 2020).

  • 25.5% of adults ages 18-24 reported having seriously considered suicide in the past month. (CDC, 2020).

  • 36.7% of high school students reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year. (CDC, 2020).

  • 17% or 4.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 had a major depressive disorder that year (SAMHSA, 2021).

  • 1 in 3 (30.6%) young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 experienced a mental, behavioral, or emotional health issue in the past year (SAMHSA, 2021).

  • 29.1% of college students have been diagnosed with anxiety and 23.6% have been diagnosed with depression (NCHA, 2021).

What to Expect…

Overview: Golf has many scenarios during a round that create specific mental and emotional responses.  Those EXACT same responses also exist in real life.  Change Your Course showcases those on-course scenarios, defines what is happening, connects them to real-life scenarios that create the same responses, and provides tools and exercises on how to navigate through them. 

It is that preventative approach that can drive down the rising numbers of anxiety, depression, and suicide.

Program Details and Objectives:

  • We focus on specific scenarios that create a mental & emotional response on the golf course and link those to real-life scenarios that create the same response.

  • Change Your Course is an “experiential learning” instructional program offered to youth-level and high school golf programs, country clubs and families.

  • Each retreat is an on-the-course, guided experience combining lessons in golf and lessons in life.

  • Built on a foundation of mental wellness principles, Change Your Course teaches kids and young adults how to perform and thrive in any situation.

  • We teach young golfers how to use “intentional thinking” and self-assessment to better performance and outcomes of situations on and off the golf course.

 What to Bring

  • Golf Clubs

  • Golf shoes or athletic shoes

  • 2 Golf Outfits

  • 1 Casual/ Athleisure Outfit for evening Group session: T-shirts, athletic shorts pants, pullovers, or golf polos. (No tank tops)

  • Notebook (We will also provide a journal)

Champions Retreat is the home of the opening rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur!

Change Your Course Tools

  • DISC Golf Personality Profile: Created by Bobby Foster, the DISC assessment creates a personality profile on the golf course.  This tells us a lot about our participants prior to arrival.

  • One-on-one’s: Each participant will work with Dr. Karla Steingraber on an individualized toolkit.

  • Green Book:  Our workbook includes the lessons, techniques, exercises, and reflections of the participant’s experience as they go through the process.

  • 9-Hole Challenge:  We begin each program with our proprietary  9-Hole challenge accessed through a password-protected webpage on their mobile device.

"In golf, the most important distance is the five inches between the ears."

— Bobby Jones