Maryville Golf Academy

Maryville Golf Academy offers children, youth and young adults the chance to learn to play golf and to develop as players, caddies and clubmakers. Participants work, play and practice at neighboring golf facilities and take part in caddy training and in-school golf. The program teaches values and lessons inherent in the game of golf such as etiquette, respect, honesty, perseverance, responsibility and sportsmanship.

Maryville Golf Academy was established in 1994 and continues Maryville’s 140-year tradition that began when Saint Mary’s Training School (renamed Maryville Academy in 1950) started in 1883. The program teaches life skills to boys and girls in Maryville residential programs for displaced children, parenting and pregnant teens, the Department of Juvenile Justice Transitional Living Program and Charles H. Walsh Sr. Academy & Career Tech High School. The Maryville Golf Academy continues Maryville’s 140-year tradition of teaching children and young adults skill sets and life lessons and building their character to prepare them for a brighter and more successful future.

The program offers Maryville children residing on the Des Plaines campus the opportunity to work, play and practice at neighboring golf facilities, including Evanston Golf Club. It also offers in-school golf and caddy training at faith-based entities such as Providence St. Mel, Christ the King and Hope Excel, and trains caddies at the Salvation Army and Joan Kroc Community Center. Programs grew to include serving veterans and their families, and the academy is vested in areas where their children are vulnerable, specifically in the Austin, Marquette, South Shore, Jackson Park and Pullman neighborhoods.

Maryville Golf Academy is led by Program Director Juan Espejo, PGA. The program is inspired by two of the Illinois PGA Foundation initiatives, Project HOPE and Golf Works, and it hosts the IPGA/Maryville Gleason Cup Invitational golf event.

Last updated May 26, 2026.