When it comes to one-on-one golf instruction, you can’t do much better than learning from PGA star Brandt Snedeker.

That was the case for several youth golfers from northern California, who had the opportunity to participate in a special putting clinic with Snedeker at an event sponsored by RBC Wealth Management, City National Bank and Youth on Course, a national nonprofit based in California that aims to improve the accessibility and affordability of golf for kids ages 6-18.

Snedeker, who is one of 14 world-class golfers on Team RBC, shared his putting strategies and offered one-on-one tips to the participants, who were eager to learn.

“Brandt worked with all the kids individually, and as a group,” says Jeff Clark, director of development with Youth on Course, which gives kids life-changing opportunities through subsidized rounds of golf, caddie programs, paid high school internships, college scholarship and more. “Some of them took away from the event some real insights into the improvement of their own game.”

That California event is just one example of how RBC is commitment to golf, and uses the game to connect with kids in local communities.

Connecting youth with golf opportunities

RBC supports golf around the world through high-profile relationships with the PGA TOUR and Golf Canada. The firm is the title sponsor of both the RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open tournaments. The RBC Canadian Open is the world’s third-oldest national Open Golf Championship.

Team RBC is comprised of household names like Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, Brooke Henderson, and more. And while the success of Team RBC helps build RBC’s worldwide brand, the golfers also help the firm with another important mission: to connect with the communities where RBC employees live and work.

In past years, golfers from Team RBC joined the firm for a special event called “Shot for College,” where the pros provide insight and instruction to youth golfers age 12-17. The youth participants would then have an opportunity to earn a scholarship for sinking long putts. At a Shot for College event, RBC partnered with nonprofit The First Tee, which helps at-risk youth develop life skills using the game of golf as its teaching tool.

Chris Glassman, a financial advisor in RBC Wealth Management’s Baltimore office, serves on the board of the First Tee’s Baltimore chapter and says there’s a lot that kids can learn through the game.

“Golf helps with interpersonal skills, it helps with managing your emotions, and it helps with honesty and integrity,” Glassman says. “Golf is unique in its ability to teach values and habits that we often take for granted.”

Similarly, the youth who participated in the Youth on Course event learned important lessons from Brandt Snedeker about doing what’s right, says Michael Schipper, director of RBC Wealth Management’s Northern California complex, which was involved with the putting clinic.

“Brandt talked to them about the ethics of the game,” Schipper says. “He really embodies the core values of the game of golf, which are also the core values of RBC. Those showed through to the kids.”

And that’s why it’s important for RBC to connect youth with golf opportunities, he thinks.

“It underscores the core mission of our brand, which is to do well by doing good in our communities,” Schipper adds. “It’s about investing in communities, and investing in children who may not have access to the game of golf.”

Committed to a better future. Learn how RBC Wealth Management supports the communities where we live and work.

RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.