First Tee of Lake Norman hosts golf clinic for visually impaired youth

By Larry Sullivan
Published: July 24, 2009

» 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Past program participant and current coach Travis Sherrill considered the ones taking part in this summer's First Tee of Lake Norman's Golf Clinic for the Visually Impaired at an advantage.

"You're lucky,'' noted Sherrill, of Mooresville, to as many of the golfers attending the mid-morning into early-afternoon session at the Mooresville Municipal Golf Course that could hear him. "You don't have to see the ball to hit it. That's great."

Sherrill was one of the number of coaches and other volunteers on hand to help provide guidance to those participating in the affair that is part of the local-based First Tee program's regular calendar of events.

"These kids really look forward to it,'' beamed Michael Abate, the youth-oriented organization's Director of Golf. "They're excited about being here. We weren't about to let a little rain spoil it for them. It's really a joy and a pleasure to watch them all participate."

Rain tried its best, with no avail, to put a damper on the scheduled affair. Some surrounding areas received nearly two inches of rain during an early morning storm system. But only a slight cloud cover and even a few streaks of sunshine were in place during the four-hour long gathering.

A number of visually impaired participants help make the affair complete, with those on hand primarily representing Camp Dogwood. Staff members there as well as those from the host MMGC along with a handful of first Tee of Lake Norman youth all served as volunteer coaches and supporters while also providing some helpful golfing tips.

The crowd spent most of the morning session attending various areas of skills related to the game of golf. In groups, golfers participated in putting, chipping, full swing and driving drills all designed to get a better feel for the game.

After spending a designated amount of time as each of the sites, they took turns at the locations in order to get a handle on all the aspects of the game.

After lunch that was provided to the field, the afternoon session was filled with games and contests that enabled all campers to put to use what they had learned during the morning sessions.