Yves Tuyishime & Patrick Rukundo
The Wilberforce University golf team had a busy summer. Two of the members, siblings Patrick Rukundo and his brother, Yves Tuyishime enjoyed an internship through the Miami Valley Golf Association. They learned to be better golfers, but they also became familiar with the business side of the game. Their duties included keeping the greens in order to mentoring local children who were introduced to golf through the nonprofit organization, Golf.MyFuture.My Game.
” We try to learn more about golf and we try to teach them.” – Patrick Rukundo, WU golf team
Craig Kirby says he was driven to include Wilberforce in his quest to open the world of golf to young people who may not have the opportunity to learn the game. Plus, he adds, his parents are WU alums and it was natural for him to create an opportunity for students at the nation’s first, private HBCU to help mentor the youngsters who are involved in the My Future My Game project. Recently, Kirby traveled with the group, including 3 members of the WU golf team, to northeast Ohio to the Clearview Golf Club, the first golf course built, owned, and operated by an African American. Its founder, Bill Powell, was a member of the first Wilberforce golf team in the 1940s.
” We reached out to people in the community and the community reached out to their networks and those networks brought us these ten wonderful kids from all over Dayton. They are learning each other and learning golf.” – Craig Kirby, Founder, Golf.My Future.My Game
WU golf coach William Ware is moving the team in a strong direction (see the link to an article from the Miami Valley Golf Association). He has taken a fledgling team of beginner golfers and is steadily recruiting, coaching, and placing them in tournaments to give them the experience needed to grow as young athletes.
https://wilberforce.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wilberforce-golf-program-growing-3424c82381.html
William Ware, WU golf coach
