Caledonia — Emmons Lake Elementary third-graders recently had a “par-tee” in a gym class while learning golf fundamentals.
At a putting station, Matilda Doyle stood with her feet spread extra-wide apart because, as she claimed, it was the best stance to ensure a hole in one.
Next to her, Grayson Zink held up a brightly colored golf ball and said, “This ball is going to give me more luck.”
With his next swing, he got a hole-in-one, followed by three more.
“Four in a row!” he cheered.
Gym teacher Paul Waneless said he wanted to try something new and different with his students to teach the fundamentals of a potential lifelong sport.
“I’m really excited for this unit and to expose students to golf,” he said. “Hopefully, I get them hooked on something they can build their skills on through life.
“Some students think (golf) is easy, but it’s a challenging sport.”
Using district bond funds allocated to Emmons Lake, Waneless purchased putting pads and cups, a short putting green and a variety of golf clubs sized for kids.
During their bi-weekly gym visits, students rotated between five stations to practice what they learned. The stations featured a putt-putt golf course hole constructed from traffic cones, pool noodles and lots of duct tape.
Third-grader Hudson Miedema said practicing his swing at the putt-putt station helped improve his aim.
His classmate Karly Le observed, “When I hit it, the ball goes all the way over there. If I hit it soft, it may only go halfway. It’s impossible.”
Waneless’ instruction included key rules of the game, like the fact that the lowest score wins, and how to swing a golf club like a clock’s pendulum.
“Tick, tock. Tick back and tock forward,” he said while demonstrating the movement. “It’s not a fast swing, it’s a slow-tempo swing.”
At the end of the unit, Waneless said each class will put their new skills to the test and compete against each other in a mini-golf championship.
Matilda reflected on what she’s learned about the game of golf during gym class: “If you keep trying, then you’ll get better and better and you’ll make the shot.”
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