A HELPING HAND GOES A LONG WAY

USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional George Claffey from Berlin, Connecticut, has a passion for giving. He works with The First Tee in five cities in Connecticut, and teaches about 3,000 kids in the New Haven schools, running their gym classes when it comes to golf. Claffey’s humanitarian efforts extend all the way to the Philippines, where he has helped a young lady get her start in the game. While riding in a popular mode of transportation there, a jeepney, the driver told Claffey that his young daughter, Nina, was interested in golf and wanted to learn the game. Claffey met her that afternoon at a local golf club where he teaches when he’s in the Philippines, the Bacolod Golf & Country Club in Negros Occidental, and proceeded to give her some introductory instruction. Later, The First Tee program donated equipment to Nina, and she has become quite a local celebrity, as she is only one of five girls who play golf nationwide in the Philippines. Claffey closely monitors her progress, and sponsors her instruction with a local pro named Ramon when he is not there. According to Claffey, Nina Onate has some serious talent, and is hopeful that one day she may be able to play the game professionally. As her family is quite poor, it would be a great rags-to-riches story if she were able to make it to the top level of the professional game.