Indian River Golf Foundation

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rogervandykeirgf@gmail.com
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IRGF Positive Input in My Life

“In about 3 weeks, I will be attending the University of Florida to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. I hope to achieve a master’s degree and possibly an MBA in business. In the future, I hope to work in biotechnology and design devices that improve the medical industry and provide a faster, easier treatment/delivery/solution to patients.

For one of my college applications, I wrote a short response about golf:

Sebastian River High School Varsity Golf, Co-captain (9, 10, 11, 12)
Golf is a passion, but it is not where my future lies, except for its pure lifetime enjoyment of the sport. I have been playing golf since 5th grade and I am blessed to live in a community that encourages youth golf participation regardless of skills or socioeconomic barriers. Golf is a continuous journey full of learning and discovery and epitomizes the ultimate challenges of life. It is a sport I consider almost impossible to master and improvement requires unwavering discipline and patience. I have never before encountered something so difficult that, even when I dedicated myself to it, I did not succeed. Perhaps this is why I chose golf because it does not come easily. My biggest challenge in playing golf has been not crumbling under golf’s many sudden shifts of the unexpected – a wayward tee shot into the woods, a duff into the water, a failed attempt at hitting out of a sand trap, a troublesome three-putt. There is no comfort zone. Thus golf has garnered my unwavering focus over the years, always striving for perfection, regardless of scores or the perception of others. The goal is to be my best every day. I’m proud to say that golf has taught me to embrace the unexpected and not stress over the little things. I’ve learned to approach each situation with self-assurance, welcoming the opportunity to learn. It is the culmination of shots that make up a good round. The game of golf has shown me how to befriend uncertainty to make me stronger, both as a golfer and as a person. That is why I look forward to taking it on every day of my life.

I would like to thank you and the Indian River Golf Foundation for all of your support and guidance
throughout these past eight years. Golf has become such an important part of my life that I will
continue in college.”

By Katelyn Wahl (2018)

IRGF / Friends / Manners / Fun

“After interviewing Blake the first word from his mouth was, “Friends.” We were able to recall over 35+ boys & girls, golf pros & parents that he would never have known if not for IRGF. But he said Dad, “Nick!” I wouldn’t know Nick at all & they have been best friends almost 4 yrs. They met at John’s Island Club (West Course) at skills challenge and have been inseparable since. He recalls a lot of “Epic matches & moments,” one being the hole-in-one of Nick at Quail Valley and the hard fought win of Blake over Connor Sloss at VBCC, lots of laughable moments when he was embarrassed being teamed up with other young ladies and wound up really enjoying it. He is very fond of you in the sense that you laugh & joke with him, teach him(especially the rules Blake might be a lawyer or rules official one day), & how you make him tuck his shirt in, take his hat off at the end of a match, shake hands & introduce himself.

“Manners” as he says but all very important things for kids to learn and carry with them in life. Blake mentioned that he has played every golf course twice or more in IRC but Windsor! To me that’s incredible!!! I am pretty sure that any kid in America can say they have enjoyed the premier facilities and courses that you have been able to get on.

Blake also says, “I’m going to buy Roger a new cell phone for his birthday!” Kids think their elders need the latest and greatest of tech to function I guess. But I think Blake’s biggest thing was time he’s spent with me going to events, friends, experiences on & off the course, learning the game & quality of facilities!

I can attest that he’s realizing through golf how much attitude, self discipline and dedication are in life as well.

Claiborne G Reed
Cgrinc@icloud.com
(772) 584-0757.”

IRGF Impact on My Life

“It will take me a about an hour to write this. But from the time Blake & I became involved with IRGF…..let’s just say you’ve greatly impacted my life, the life of Blake & so much more. I am actually going all in on becoming a PGA teaching professional and while I played college golf, had I not had the opportunity to be around kids, get to know you, share tons of memories with Blake & many other kids….I never would’ve realized at 37 Golf would be my career path. I have had the opportunity to meet tons of wonderful people, realize how much junior golf impacted my life and how important it is to pass it on. I have accepted a job at John’s Island, caddied & been involved with golf as much as possible for the past several years. The opportunities & dedication I have seen from you is amazing. You’re relentlessly creating new ideas & opportunities, getting kids out that otherwise wouldn’t have ever been introduced to golf, been able to afford it, and provided a rewarding experience structured with building character, respect for one another on the course & in life. Key points to have measurable results & setting goals with evaluations after each teaching period. You’ve implemented ways for kids to have fun & not be overly serious, but also while teaching the proper rules, course management and a clear path for each age group/graduating class to continue to progress into playing tournaments beyond the IRGF, middle school & HS golf teams. And if I am not mistaken I believe you have been successful in many achieving college scholarships and more.

Personally, I am incredibly grateful for your patience, encouragement and dedication to the kids in this county. You’ve done an excellent job with having HS players help with younger players and give the kids some real opportunities to learn how they can become one of those guys or gals one day.

You have successfully found ways to have men & women assist across the board, getting into schools with kids at a young age. SNAG golf has been great. You have essentially created an organization that a child can come out with nothing but the desire & willingness to want to try to give golf a try. And without clubs or a dollar to their name this organization has been able to make it possible for clubs, fees, instruction & equal participation for any kid that has the desire to come out. Not to mention, Sandridge, Sebastian & Pointe West giving kids a chance to attend without major issues getting to a location near them. Roger has integrated team golf, the PGA team golf & been very successful with all these endeavors. Roger has always made it a point to invite parents to learn & interact, to really befriend boys and girls & interact with them on their level. I could write an essay on what IRGF has done for my son, step-son & myself. I have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for the foundation and hope I am able to have 1/10 of the impact Master Professional Roger Van Dyke has with being a tremendous steward and teacher of the game in not just this county but quite a few in other states. Roger has easily been responsible for introducing 10k+ kids from Michigan, Georgia and right here in Indian River County to this wonderful game. My apologies for writing this off the top of my head while I had a break from work….but hopefully that may answer a few questions about IRGF and its validity, success and importance to the county!”

By Clay Reed – Father of IRGF Youth Player Blake Reed (2026)