Teeing off with Lawrence Middle School students

Though the cooler, breezy weather could be signaling an end to the golf season, 40 girls, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from Lawrence Middle School, hiked to the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club for an informal clinic on Oct. 9.
Middle school physical education teacher Rhonda Barsel, who takes golf lessons at the club and whose husband Richard is a member, said that Leo McMahon, the LY&CC’s general manager, and golf pro Peter Procops had reached out to her about introducing girls, who typically would not have been exposed to the game.
“Through the Council of Unity and Superintendent Gary Schall and [middle school principal] Willis Perry we selected girls who need extra attention and structure to build up their confidence and self-esteem to do better academically,” Barsel said.
The Council of Unity is a leadership-training course based on a curriculum that explores role models in society who have overcome personal challenges on their road to success. There is a middle school course for girls and a high school course for boys.
Under Procops’ guidance and along with his assistant pros, the girls learned to hit a golf ball off a tee and competed in a putting competition. Hitting the ball with the finesse and touch required for skillful putting was at a premium early, but most of the girls appeared to learn they don’t need to swing hard to do well.

“You never know what a little bit of exposure will do for them,” Procops said, adding that he hoped more than a few would be interested enough to begin playing.
Many of the girls had never watched or played golf, but a few began driving the ball with power and a couple showed some promise. Most of them looked surprised when they did hit it well.
Divine Ezihie, an eighth-grader, was one of the girls who generated a powerful stroke. “It was good, I learned golf and never played before,” she said. “Yes,” was her response to the question about doing it again.
Barsel said they hoped to get the girls out to the club once more this fall and possibly once next spring. “We are about teamwork and helping each other,” Barsel said. “You never know, we might find a hidden talent.”