COLUMBUS — East Mississippi Community College has had its hands full at Lion Hills Golf Course this summer as this week wraps up the third EMCC Lion Hills junior golf camp.
Children ages 5-12 have come to Lion Hills to not only learn about golf and improve their skills, but also to enjoy a week of fun, games and plenty of time in the pool.
“It’s pretty all-inclusive and it’s for varying skill levels,” Colin Draving, assistant Lion Hills golf pro, said. “We try to keep it as fun and entertaining and light-hearted as possible. It’s more about having fun and growing the game at the end of the day.”
Draving, along with head pro and EMCC men’s golf coach Ashton Maddaloni, have been running weekly golf camps since early June.
Camps run from 8 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Thursday at Lion Hills, with camp capacity sitting around a dozen per week, depending on the week.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Draving said. “It’s been really nice seeing members bring their kids here, but also people who aren’t members, sometimes employees’ kids out here having a good time with the camp.”
For younger golfers, most of the focus is on putting and their short games, where most golfers use up the majority of their strokes on a given hole. The campers learn how to read greens, get backspin on wedge and iron shots, and practice placing shots when near the green.
“One of my favorite golf quotes is, ‘Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated,’” Draving said. “Our first thing is making sure everyone is safe, and then it’s everything from how you hold a club and how you swing it to what clubs you use in certain situations. We go over the basics, but for kids who have played a bit, we go into more intricate stuff.”
The 2023 season is Draving’s first at Lion Hills as a golf pro and his first season helping to lead summer camps.
Days are usually broken up into two parts, with golf lessons and practice in the morning and time at the pool and lunch later in the day.
After a few days of training and practice, along with games and competitions, campers spend Friday playing the course and learning more about the intricacies of a round of golf.
“Golf teaches a lot of core values, such as integrity, sportsmanship, honesty, perseverance, confidence, and courtesy,” Maddaloni said. “So, I think it’s a great game for every kid in that it teaches these core values. … I try to make the camps fun and engaging and hopefully they develop a passion for the game of golf along the way.”
Following this week, there will be a few weeks’ break at the beginning of July before the final three camps of the summer begin July 11.
“Every summer we get a lot of different personalities and it’s always fun to get to know and engage with the kids in the community,” Maddaloni said. “I love working with kids, and I especially love growing the game. They can make lifelong friends playing golf and it is a sport they can play their entire lives.”
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