FORT WALTON BEACH — A new generation of golfers is rapidly developing at Wright Elementary School.
For the last two years, students have been allowed to try their hand at the sport during the school’s monthly Student Opportunities to Navigate Academics and Recreation, or SONAR, program.
Golf is one of the newest and most popular additions to the 3-year-old program. It’s run by the recently formed Okaloosa County chapter of The First Tee, a national program designed to get kids excited about golf and the principles that guide it.
View a gallery of the children practicing »
“I think this program is going great,” said Sheldon Morris, an assistant physical education teacher at Wright. “The kids seem to really love it.”
During lessons Thursday outside the school, 8-year-old Bethany Dowling lined up herself up, glanced down at the ball and up again before she took a swing.
She whiffed the shot but quickly lined up for a second try.
“Oh, I think your putter is too short,” First Tee coach Rod Kelley said of Bethany’s plastic club as he handed her a longer one.
Bethany hit the ball squarely after the switch and made no effort to hide joy.
She quickly set another ball down to try again. She missed, but with some coaching she managed to hit it.
“I think I think too much,” she said later.
Bethany is one of more than 70 students at the school who are participating in the program, which is expected to grow in coming years, according to Charlie Palmer, the chairman of the board of Okaloosa First Tee.
Come August, Wright, Elliott Point, Mary Esther and Kenwood elementaries will incorporate the program into P.E. classes. A few private and charter schools also have expressed interest, Palmer said.
“I truly believe by next summer we’re going to have a couple dozen schools and hundreds of students,” he said. “It’s just a perfect fit.”
Wright Elementary Principal Cathy Hubeli decided to offer golf shortly after meeting Palmer. She said the program not only helps students build character but opens doors for the future.
“We started this because we have the highest poverty rate of the county,” Hubeli said of her school’s students. “I know they might not ever get the opportunity to do something like this (otherwise).”
If students find a passion for golf, it could help them pay for college because scholarships are offered at nearly every school and too often go unclaimed, she said.
For now, all the students care about is playing.
“My grandpa always thought I would be a good golfer, so I tried it,” said 9-year-old Skye Snyder. “And I really liked it.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.
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Golf game builds character, opens doors (GALLERY)
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