LYNN — The Gannon Golf Club will be holding its weekly junior clinic starting Monday at the Gannon Municipal Golf Course.
The clinic will run every Monday until Aug. 1 at 8 a.m., providing pointers to aspiring young golfers and to those who want to try out a new sport, from young kids to 18-year-olds.
“The way it works is we promote it to the kids in the city of Lynn as a free clinic, so we offer instruction for four consecutive Mondays. They come, and we break them into age groups, and we work on various aspects of the game,” said David Sibley, Gannon’s head golf professional.
Following the free one-hour clinic, participants can pay $5 for nine holes of golf. Junior Golf Play, as it is called, begins around 9:30 a.m. after the clinic and lasts about two and a half hours.
To Sibley, the junior clinic is another way professionals can foster a love for golf in the younger generation.
“We want to do everything we can to continue on and make sure generations to come have the ability to learn the game, play the game and enjoy the game,” said Sibley.
Tara Friedman, who works with the 6 and under age group at the clinic, echoed Sibley’s point saying, “David Sibley and everybody chips in to make sure we are building the game for the future and for the kids of the city of Lynn.”
Both Friedman and Sibley underscored the importance of the volunteers and staff that make the whole clinic possible.
“Over the course of the four weeks, we have many volunteers that help teach; it is a lot of the members of the club who come out to support us. Myself, my staff, as well as the volunteers from the club, come out and try to promote it. It is future generations for the club in itself,” said Sibley.
“Thank God for the volunteers; without the volunteers from Gannon Golf Club, none of this would be possible,” said Friedman.
Friedman, a past participant in the clinic when she was younger, said it is exciting for her and all the volunteers to help teach the kids a sport they love.
“It is great. We all talk about it afterward. How did they do? How did this one do? How did the kids and group do, and just watching them improve as the week continues,” said Friedman.
For Sibley seeing the improvements in the participants is the best part of the clinic.
“The best part of the clinic, to be honest with you, is to see the kids that come week after week and take to it and really enjoy it,” said Sibley.
Along with the clinic, the club and volunteers, through generous donations, give away a set or two of clubs, usually to a boy and girl who have taken a liking to golf.
Those interested are encouraged to participate in the clinic; no registration is required. All you have to do is show up at the course for the 8 a.m. start time.
“Our goal at the end of the day is to get the kids to enjoy the hour plus with the clinic and then the time on the golf course. For us, we really stress the fact that we want the kids to have some fun,” said Sibley.
