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Sabers’ Yun helps wildfire-affected players get back on golf course

Senior has already collected more than 50 sets of donated clubs

By Robert Collias 6 min read

KAHULUI -- Jacelyn Yun's senior project idea at Maui High School changed after the Aug. 8 wildfire devastated Lahaina.

The standout golfer who rose through the Maui junior golf ranks wanted to make an impact for those impacted by the fire, combined with the sport she loves.

"Growing up playing golf it's been my favorite sport, something I like to do for fun, just go out on the golf course and play," Yun said prior to practice recently at The Dunes at Maui Lani. "I want other kids to experience that too, so I came up with the idea of a junior golf equipment drive because I know there are kids that are unable to afford the equipment because it's expensive."

She added, "That was before the fires, so my project was going to be more towards the junior golfers in Central Maui, but ever since the West Maui fires I decided to push my aim towards helping the West Maui community recover from the fire. So, that's when I made my golf equipment drive open to all ages and to do it for mainly West Maui. All ages, juniors like 5 or 6 years old to adults, like seniors."

So far, she has collected more than 50 sets of donated golf clubs.

Yun is being mentored by PGA Master Professional Scott Reinhart, who works at The Dunes. Chris Armanini, a teaching pro at Kaanapali Golf Courses who works with a bunch of West Maui golfers, is also helping Yun with her project that had several drop-off spots for donations, including the Wailuku Fire Station.

"Basically I have an inventory log on a spreadsheet of all the things that were donated and we choose from that log," Yun said. "Specifically we choose like which set to give them based on their age, the brand, their experience level. And after that we give it to them. (Reinhart) usually gives it to them or I come and help give it to them."

Yun's heart is warmed each time she gets to present a set of clubs to someone who needs them.

"Every time I give a set to someone you can always see their warm, happy smiles and it just makes you feel warm, it's that warm feeling," Yun said. "Like giving something to someone who has lost something -- it's for them, it's basically doing it for them.

"To see them happy and get to go out on the golf course is really what this project is all about."

She thought of her senior project over the summer with the help of her father Jasper Yun, who is president of the Maui Junior Golf Association.

"I've noticed that there are a lot of juniors who have a lot of clubs in their storage area and they have nothing to do with it," Jacelyn Yun said. "So, might as well make a golf equipment drive. There's a toy drive, there's a food drive, why not make a golf equipment drive?"

Maui High girls coach Brenda Rego is a retired golf pro herself who still helps her brother Art Rego at the pro shop at Waiehu Municipal Golf Course. Rego said Yun was a captain for her team last season and is likely to be again this spring.

"That was an awesome project that she did," Rego said. "It was something that needed to be done for those kids and people in Lahaina. That was pretty cool."

Reinhart said he was happy when Yun signed up to be a First Tee junior coach prior to the summer break.

"She went through background checks; she did Safe Sport, which is a multi-hour safety class; she did our coaches training; she helped for almost every summer camp that we had as a volunteer," Reinhart said. "And then somewhere in there she decided to make her senior project -- at the time we thought it was a double-headed, so she was doing the summer camps and the club drive.

"She just basically approached me and said, 'Hey, can you help me?' "

Reinhart knows several Maui County police officers and firefighters, "so I connected her with all the people who lost their clubs in the fire. ... She's been phenomenal. She is a leader. When I see her in the summer camps, it makes me want to be better."

Yun is 18 years old and has been playing golf since she was 9.

"There's a lot of kids who like to go out and have fun and just play the sport of golf," Yun said. "To get (more than) 40 sets is a really huge accomplishment, I did not expect that myself. I thought I was going to get maybe like five sets. It's amazing and I could not have done this, especially, without the help of my mentor Scott Reinhart. Like, he really helped my project become a reality."

The standout student will study marketing at Oregon State University. She plans to give up competitive golf, but the game will always be part of her life.

"My dream career is to work for the PGA or LPGA, some day," said Yun, who also plays the flute in several Maui High bands.

Yun also works extensively with many junior golf efforts, including First Tee and LPGA Girls projects on Maui. She speaks to very young golfers quite often on her experiences in the game.

"I just wanted to give back, like I said, just give back to the junior golf community especially -- that was the whole purpose of this project and what I want to leave my legacy as a senior, just giving back to the junior golf community," Yun said. "Coaching these kids really has helped me to realize that golf is more fun than I thought. Like, they help me a lot, too."

One of her most memorable moments in her talks with the kids came recently.

"It's a junior golf program mainly for the girls -- the first 15 minutes an inspirational speaker comes in to talk about, like, what it's like being a girl or sharing a positive message with them. After that last week we actually went on the golf course and I got to golf with a couple of the girls. That was very cool," Yun said. "It's just really fun playing out there with these kids. They inspire you, you inspire them. It's basically that giving back moment."

For those interested in donating unwanted golf equipment to Yun's ongoing drive, visit the website firstteehawaii.org and click on the "Get involved" tab.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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