From left, Paige Braseth, Cord Braseth, Paiten Braseth and Piper Braseth play on the junior golf course at La Grande Country Club recently. The grand opening for the four-hole youth course was June 4. (Craig Braseth photo)

Dana Londin remembers — and has witnessed — what it’s like being a young golfer stepping up to the tee box on a dauntingly lengthy hole, or being quickly ferried along by the adults they’re golfing with.

“When kids go out on the golf course, they’re scurried along (and) hurried up with their parents or grandparents, or whoever they’re with,” said Londin, the general manager and head golf professional at La Grande Country Club. “They hit a couple of shots, but they never truly learn how to play the game.”

Thanks to some outside-the-box thinking by Londin and LGCC Director of Instruction Stuart Smart, that appears to be a thing of the past for La Grande-area youth.

LGCC recently hosted a grand opening for its junior golf course — a four-hole, 305-yard miniature mecca specifically for junior golfers — youth 17 years old and younger — to learn the game at their pace and their size.

“Everything is kid-sized,” Londin said. “The flag sticks are kid-sized. The tee signs are kid-sized. It’s all the height of a kid, so that they’re not feeling like, ‘This place is big.’ The cups are huge. They’re eight-inch cups.”

The idea came to mind about a year ago when Londin and Smart were looking for a better way to enable youth to pick up the game.

“We wanted to come up with a place where they could actually learn to play the game (and) learn everything they need about playing the game in a fun, safe environment,” Londin said.

An unused area on the north end of the property was turned into a series of greens and cups for youth to play on.

“We got some play out there last year. This year, we decided we’re going to make it into a real, little, tiny course,” Londin said.

This spring, tee boxes and signs were installed, fairways were mowed to give it a true golf course feel and the enlarged cups were put in place.

“The initial reaction (last year) was, ‘This is great. It’s a great place for us to go. The kids are perfectly comfortable out there,’” Londin said, calling the progression to turn it into a full course of its own “natural.”

And two weeks ago, it opened.

“It’s something truly unique. There is no place in the Northwest that has anything like it — (not even) the most exclusive clubs in Portland,” Londin said.

It is, indeed, unique. The four holes range in length from 65 yards to 100 yards. The undersized flag sticks and tee signs make it welcoming for youth, and the oversized cups make putting easier and more fun to learn.

Londin said they also use a special ball, called a “birdie ball,” from the tee and the fairway. The ball, which looks like a two-inch square piece of PVC pipe, is designed to go 45 yards.

Once they get to the green, the youth can then putt with a standard ball.

And it is, in fact, just for the youth. Adults who want to play with their children or grandchildren have to be guests on the course.

“That’s what I told them at the opening,” Londin said. “‘This is your place. It’s not your grandparents’ place or your dad’s. This is your golf course. If they want to play with you, they have to be your guests.’ They were pretty excited about it.”

The adults who accompany youths to the course are excited about it, as well.

“They go out there, and they really get the feel of what the game’s all about on their own course,” said Craig Braseth, who has four grandchildren between ages 6 and 10 who play. “(They’re) not being pressured by having to keep up with pace of play on the big course. It’s just a great experience for them. They can’t wait to get out and play.

“As a grandparent, I want my grandchildren to be involved with golf. This is a great way to start.”

Presently, the course is open to just members of LGCC. Londin said, though, that it will be available during junior camps in the summer.

The idea of expansion is also a possibility down the road, according to Londin. With how new the course is, however, Londin is focused on seeing how the reception of the course continues during the year.

But for now, area youth have a way to learn the game that is scaled to them.

“The whole thing is just perfect,” Londin said.