Today's a big day for novice golfers

By Bill Henley
The Post and Courier

Friday, July 18, 2008

Wescott Plantation golf pro Perry Green (left) shows D'Amonta Shepherd how to grip a golf club. Green is donating his time to the North Charleston Recreation Department's Introductory Golf Program. He visits recreation centers on Thursdays to introduce the game to young people.

Want to help?

The North Charleston Recreation Department is looking for volunteers and donations of golf equipment from individuals or businesses. If you're interested in the program, contact North Charleston Recreation Department athletic director Rufus McDonald at 724-1028.

Assuming the weather holds out, today is a big day for dozens of novice golfers. Most of them picked up their first club to begin hitting practice balls just a few weeks ago, but the young golfers are going to descend upon Wescott Plantation to try their hand at the real thing.

North Charleston Recreation Department, in conjunction with The Golf Club at Wescott Plantation, has added the Introductory Golf Program to its summer schedule, and the pilot program has taken off beyond expectation.

"I was thinking we'd start with 20 to 25 kids and it would dwindle back down to four or five," NCRD athletic director Rufus McDonald said. "Instead, we have them wanting to come back every day."

McDonald and Wescott teaching pro Perry Green head the traveling program that teaches young people a proper golf swing. Eight recreation centers have been equipped with youth-sized golf clubs and "almost golf balls" that mimic the flight of a real ball but don't travel as far.

For the first few weeks of the program, youngsters have been working just to make contact with the ball. Today, they're scheduled to find out at Wescott how practice translates to a real course with real balls.

"I think it's working well. Our idea is to touch lives," Green said." Some will get hooked and for some, it's something to keep them busy. It's great for them to get the exposure and see who wants to pursue it."

Green has put together inner-city golf programs in Illinois. He said one program he worked with started with fewer than 100 kids and grew to 4,000 after it was expanded to the school system.

With McDonald's enthusiasm, the two have a hit on their hands. More than 70 prospective golfers participate each Thursday at the Northwoods and Murray Hill recreation centers.

"The kids are so fun to work with," Green said. "You just give them a little bit of help - not a whole lot, because kids need to figure some things out on their own. We need, as professionals with kids, to just shut up and let them do it."

Both see the program continuing to grow. Next summer, they want to conduct sessions at each of the recreation centers. "Right now, we don't have the staff for it." McDonald said.

Green said the summer program could seed other programs throughout the year. He would like to identify prospective female players, and he said future partnerships with the school districts are possible.

"If we can make this start to fly, I can write some grants to really make this work," Green said.

"Once we show that we can be successful with it, it's easier to budget for it."