Reaching out to pay it forward
“When I was a kid, I wasn’t quite sure what
path to take,” said Ryan Hartnett, current PGA
Assistant Golf Professional, and graduate
of the Lemon Bay Golf Club’s A Better
Shot program. “It was there that I learned
things like responsibility, honesty and
sportsmanship. ‘A Better Shot’ put me on the
right path.”
“I joined the junior program when I was 6
years old. I used to ride my bike here with
my pushcart,” laughed Hartnett. “To me, it
was a great place to come and forget about
the whole world. I met so many good friends
here and made so many connections. To this
day, this is where I hang out and play golf with
some of my closest friends.”
The program’s success
stories include doctors,
lawyers, nurses, business
leaders and entrepreneurs.
Ryan Hartnett and Yui and
Yuki Fuji, Yui’s brother,
are all graduates of
the program and early
scholarship recipients. All
three work in the program,
mentoring new students
and teaching life skills through the sport of
golf. They fi nd great joy in paying it forward
and feel the lessons learned at Better Shot
remain with them to this day.
“It’s a place that teaches you how to treat
others and where we strive to make everyone
feel welcome. We’re big on encouraging
people and building people up. As I came up
through the program, I started as a student
and then moved on to our junior coaches,
which is like a mentorship program. It’s all
about giving everyone a better shot and for
me, it certainly did,” explained Ryan.
At a time when children need personal
mentorship more than ever before, A
Better Shot fi lls that role for children in the
community.
“Everyone gets to a point, a crossroads,”
Ryan elaborated. “As mentors, we have the
opportunity to see a child who might be
heading down that wrong road, and we’re
just able to grab them in and encourage
them. We spend one-on-one time with them
As mentors, we have the
opportunity to see a child
who might be heading
down that wrong road,
and we’re just able to grab
them in and encourage
them. Ryan Hartnett
86 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • November/December • 2021
and listen, encourage them. We want them to
know we’re here for them to help them make
the right decisions in life.”
Ryan admitted to being the recipient of
this one-on-one mentorship in high school.
“I know I got pulled into the offi ce one time,
and they said ‘We’re worried about you. We’d
like to see you make some different choices.
We want the best for you and we’re behind
you.’ It meant a lot to me, having those
people there to stand behind me. Steering
me in the right direction. And the network
here; there are so many good people here to
help you.”
“We want to make kids feel important.
Sometimes you’ll get these quiet kids, and
it’s our job to bring them out of their shells
and to make them feel
comfortable,” added Ryan.
“I went through the
program, I was probably one
of the quiet kids Ryan was
referring to,” laughed Yuki
Fuji, who also works as an
Assistant Golf Professional
at Lemon Bay. “When I fi rst
came to the States from
Japan in 2008 we found this
summer program, and from then on I was
here every summer with my siblings. I found
most of my friends here coming in from
Japan. I had zero friends at fi rst and I found
the majority of my friends here through golf. It
was a great steppingstone just to get into the
country to get to know people, great people.
I still know a lot of them to this day.”
“There was a time after high school when
we gave you some guidance,” Ben McCoy,
P.G.A. director of golf at Lemon Bay Golf
Course, reminded Yuki. “That’s the focus of
the whole thing. We work with these kids and
make them feel like they’re the best things in
the whole world.”
“I had a few sit-down dinners with Ben in
between my college breaks,” Yuki agreed.
“He was someone important for me to talk
to. Ben spends time with the kids, he takes
everyone out to dinner and hangs out. It’s
important to have someone to touch base
with you and to see how things are going.”