Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Is Full of Hart
Jim Hart has been introducing Las Vegas kids to the sport of golf for the past 27 years. In that time, and after working with hundreds of kids, he has a simple answer when asked what the best part of his work has been: “It has been seeing the kids come in not knowing what to expect and then being excited when they have that first little bit of success.” –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
Hart is being recognized for his years of work and dedication and will be enshrined in the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame on Oct. 7, 2023. The other inductees are Chuck Bombard, Tim Cashman, Todd Roberts and Warren Schutte. Tickets are available at www.lasvegasgolfhof.com
Hart said over the last three decades, he’s seen the progress kids have made working at Las Vegas Golf Club and other courses. From kids anxious to learn everything they can about the sport from the very first time to those who are less-than-happy to be at the course, Hart has seen it all. Her operates his Golf with Hart program at the course and has also assisted the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association and other organizations over the years.
Golf with Hart is free for kids and is held nearly every Thursday at the city-owned course.
“Sometimes it’s obvious it wasn’t their choice to be here,” Hart said with a laugh. “It might be mom or dad or grandma who wanted them to try something new. But once they get out here, more often than not, they find that one little thing that brings a smile to their face.”
Hart then jumps on that positivity.
“When they have success, I’ll say ‘I didn’t do that, you did that,’ ” he said. “Then I’ll ask them ‘How do we make that happen more often?’ ”
He added that there are no limitations when it comes to the kids.
“We had an adaptive class where we had some kids with special needs,” he said. “We didn’t worry about how tough it would be. We just worried about making sure everyone could enjoy themselves and learn. We were the ones who needed to adapt and open our eyes to what we needed to do to make sure everything worked smoothly.”
He’s also just got finished with a new project, an eight-week camp for Ward 5 kids held in conjunction with the SNJGA and Ward 5 councilman Cedric Crear. It was another chance to introduce kids to golf and to get the word out about the sport he’s loved for so long. Hart also helped with the First Tee of Southern Nevada locally and nationally and also the Southern Nevada Inner-City Youth Golf Association. He also is a Shriners Children’s Open volunteer and oversees the standard bearer program annually.
“It’s more than just the golf,” Hart said about what he has done over the years. “We are using golf and making it relatable to life. We’ve had a lot of people come through the program and a lot of them have gone on to college…some have not. But one thing that we stress is we’re exposing them to more than just golf. We’re getting them to interact with other kids and it brings some kids out of their shell. It’s just been great to see how the kids may come in not knowing what to expect but then many of them come back for years and then go on to thrive both on and off the course.”
“I can’t tell you how great this makes me feel,” he said. “It’s nice to be honored by those in golf but that was never the hope. Helping all of those kids over the years and seeing a lot of successes…that’s what it’s all about. And whether it’s about golf or their future, I’ve talked with an awful lot of those kids after they have left the program. It’s nice when they come back, even years later. It just shows that we’ve made an impact.”
For more information or to get kids involved, Hart can be reached at 702-521-8537.
