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Fore! It's a field trip
Students from seven Pinellas elementary schools are introduced to golf at the Chrysler Championship.
By SARAH COLLINS
Published November 8, 2004
[Times photo: Joseph Garnett Jr.]
Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary student Yianni Marangos gets in a few practice swings on the driving range at the Westin Innisbrook Resort during kids day at the Chrysler Championship.
PALM HARBOR - With steely-eyed determination, they came, they saw, they . . . putted.
By the busload, students from seven elementary schools in Pinellas County came to the Westin Innisbrook Resort on Oct. 27 as the special guests on Kash n' Karry Kids Day at the Chrysler Championship. The event was an educational field trip for students - some of whom got their first-ever look at golf - to spend time with PGA Tour golf pros, and enjoy an afternoon out of school and in the sunshine.
Students in the first through sixth grades were invited to learn from tour players and then to practice what they learned. They were given souvenir cameras so they could record their day.
Dan Forsman, who turned pro in 1982 and has won five PGA tournaments, displayed his clubs. He demonstrated how to use the driver, the club that is used to tee off on long holes.
Forsman hit it so far and high that a promotional blimp on the course was nearly a casualty.
The students then got to practice their new skills on the putting green at the same time that the pros were preparing for the tournament. The kids also tried driving the ball.
Although this was just a single afternoon, many of the students showed promise, and improved as they practiced their swings.
Colin Brennan, 10, a fifth-grader at Sutherland Elementary School in Palm Harbor, enjoyed the day. "I think golf teaches you more than a perfect stance," Colin said. "It teaches you to be calm and patient."
Forsman echoed that sentiment. "I think golf is great for kids. It opens them up to the world, to let them have fun, and to let them feel confident about themselves," he said. "I think that's important, and that is what I live for."
Many students said they wanted to learn more about golf and continue playing. Marta Cikowska, 10, a fifth-grader at Highland Lakes Elementary in Palm Harbor, said she would like to play a round with her parents, and wants to watch the pros again.
The pros also see this as an opportunity to introduce the sport to children who might never get a chance to be on a golf course. Golf often is thought of as being only for the privileged.
"I love kids and I think it is our obligation to give back to not just wealthy kids but also to less fortunate," Forsman said. "Anything to help the kids, that's the key."
- Sarah Collins, 12, is in sixth grade at Palm Harbor Middle.
