Ah, kids today.

Admittedly, that’s an opening many folks seize upon to launch into a soliloquy about what’s wrong with the world today and perhaps offer a story about some kids to support their case.

This is not one of those stories. Mostly because golf is my passion and traveling in circles that orbit the game has afforded me countless opportunities to meet young people with significant character. So many of them also have a substantial concern for the future of golf and for instance, there’s Kris Hart.

He was a kid once, growing up in Longmeadow, matriculating at Bryant College, always loving golf. He was still just a kid when he came up with the idea of something called the College Golf Pass, which inspired him to dream bigger.

Sure enough, NextGenGolf came along and suffice to say, our game is healthier, and more inclusive, because of Hart and his vision.

Drew (left) and Jason Temel.

Where Jason and Drew Temel will take their vision remains to be seen, but what is already clear is this: These brothers from Newton love golf and already feel a need to give back – and they're still just teenagers.

“Golf will always be a part of our lives,” said Jason, who just completed his freshman year at Northwestern. “Golf is important to us.”

Introduced to the game as caddies at Charles River CC, their passion for golf goes far beyond the personal level (Jason plays competitively and was part of the Northwestern team in 2020-21; Drew will be a freshman at Duke later this month and hopes to play club golf). It extends to a desire to see that those less fortunate have an opportunity to share in the game.

“Clubs For Kids” is the project they introduced in 2017 and never did Jason and Drew expect the staggering enthusiasm that their initiative ignited. “Honestly, it began in our garage one day when our dad looked at all the clubs we had and suggested we find somewhere to put them,” said Drew.

The boys didn’t want to sell them. Nor did they just want to give them away haphazardly. “We looked around and wanted to distribute them to places that would use them,” said Jason. “Our charity was born out of that.”

There is a website – clubsforkids.org – and Alex Tamel, a lawyer, helped his sons form their 501(c).

Given that the brothers both attended the Noble & Greenough School “where we’re encouraged to get involved in community service,” said Jason, they tackled the “Clubs For Kids” endeavor with diligence.

They set up tables at Charles River CC and The Country Club and soon had more clubs than they’d imagined. Through the New England PGA junior tournament director at the time, Jacy Settles, Jason and Drew were told of a program that would benefit the Ghana Golf Association in that country on the west coast of Africa.

Different, for sure, but the boys put together a generous supply of clubs that were shipped to that country. There were more clubs, plus golf bags, in their possession, so Jason went to the First Tee program at D.W. Field in Brockton and donated there, too.

“Our dad had gotten us into the game and both he and our mother (Jennifer, a doctor at Mass. General Hospital) encouraged us to go after something we feel strongly about,” said Drew.

They were 16 (Jason) and 15 (Drew) at the time they launched their charity work and more than 725 donated clubs later, their desire to help is still there. The thing is the pandemic turned most of the world upside down and the supply of clubs has dwindled.

“COVID slowed things a lot,” said Jason, who has no doubt that he and his brother could replenish the supply. “But the biggest obstacle is finding where to donate the clubs. We’ll have to explore that.”

Given their passion and their commitment, you know that their investments will enrich the game. Kids being kids.