Students at 100 Mile House and Mile 108 elementary schools were kept on the ball when they were visited by Kathy Gook, School Golf director at Golf British Columbia, June 19-21.
She was promoting the Playground to Fairway School Golf Program, which introduces basic golf skills to school-aged children throughout B.C.
Using over-sized plastic golf clubs, children were taught the nuts and bolts of gripping and swinging the clubs in a fun atmosphere. They moved through a set of stations in the school gymnasiums, which were filled with targets and colourful apparatus.
They also learned about putting, chipping and pitching. The balls they used were the size of tennis balls, but were similar in weight to golf balls.
Gook says the goal of each session was to teach the students how to be safe while golfing, have fun and learn one new thing about golf, so they could apply it and have fun with it.
Gook says she received good feedback from the students and is convinced she changed the impression of the game in some people's minds.
"A girl in Grade 7 said she thought golf was boring at first but after taking the lesson, she found out there's a lot more to it.
"Golf is a sport that can be played throughout your entire life and with different generations. You learn lots of core values and you learn about yourself."
Each student who participated in the program received a voucher for a free round of golf at Marmot Ridge Golf Course and an invitation play a round on Marmot Junior Golf night, which is every Tuesday. They will receive special pricing and a free hotdog and be eligible to win prizes.
The Playground to Fairway program is five years old and 100 Mile House was one of the last communities on Gook's list to visit. She would like to see the community continue to foster the idea of getting young people involved in playing golf.
Next September, Gook will be promoting a new project called SOAR, which stands for Sharing Our Activities and Resources. It's a joint effort between Golf BC, Curl BC and Tennis BC and its purpose is to deliver sports programming to elementary school children in remote regions of the province.
Gook just finished a SOAR pilot project in Prince George and she has several communities in that vicinity lined up to receive instruction in the fall.
She has been teaching golf for 25 years and says she has a passion for working with children.