Our summer program days will begin with academic work at The Bridge Golf Learning Center in Harlem.
This summer, our young men will be studying and playing. They will get outside and out of town. They will spend time in Harlem, the Bronx, Yonkers, Sag Harbor, and elsewhere. Come September, they will be more than ready to tackle the challenges of another school year.
It all starts on Monday, July 8, the first day of our six-week summer program. Each day will begin at 8am sharp with two hours of academic work at The Bridge Golf Learning Center in Harlem. Our rising 9th and 10th graders will exercise their brains with logic games and will get introduced to theater, improvisation and painting. A spelling bee, with prizes, will be organized on Aug. 14. Our rising 11th graders will begin preparation for the standardized tests they will take during the next school year. Our oldest students, who are going into their senior year, will work on college essays, test prep, and résumé writing. If necessary, one-on-one tutoring will be available, with a focus on passing Regents exams in August. A cohort of four tutors will be at the Learning Center to teach our young men and assist them in their endeavors.
Our high school golf team, which plays its matches on New York City public courses, will continue to explore the area’s public golf options this summer with our middle school students and golf staff.
After working on their minds, it will be time to focus on golf. Our young men and golf staff will be making daily trips to area public golf courses, including Dunwoodie in Yonkers and Pelham Bay/Split Rock in the Bronx. We might even plan a trip to Bethpage State Park, but sleeping in the van will not be part of the outing.
For our rising sophomores, juniors and seniors, the highlight of the summer will be a two-week in-residence internship at The Bridge in Sag Harbor. They will work in groups of three as Outside Services Representatives, a paid role that includes maintaining the driving range and indoor/outdoor practice facilities, customer service, and lots of interaction with members. When they’re not working, they will have time to work on their games, play the course, and relax with their peers. Jacinth Thomas, who interned with us last summer, and Omar Mendoza, a Club Operator at our Learning Center in Harlem, will mentor and chaperone as resident assistants.
Director of Golf Mike Sweeney cited three primary areas of focus for the summer: fresh air, golf development, and work experience at The Bridge.
“My goal is to take advantage of the great public golf courses that New York City and the surrounding areas offer in an effort to expose the young men to the many fresh air opportunities locally while maintaining a consistent focus of on-course play,” he said.
The Bridge Golf Foundation is dedicated to helping our students develop as scholars, golfers, and young men with the skills to succeed in a variety of professional arenas. Our summer program is a key component of that mission.