The First Tee of Aiken is the local chapter of a youth organization that promotes life skills and leadership through golf. Earlier this year, in an effort to serve more children and teenagers, the First Tee started offering junior adaptive golf clinics at Houndslake Country Club.
"This is a way to include all youngsters, not just the able-bodied," said Lexie Milford, The First Tee's director of programming.
The first clinic was held in March, but the second, scheduled for April, was canceled because of wet weather.
The next clinic will be Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Others will be held June 25, July 23, Aug. 13, Sept. 17 and Oct. 22.
"They're open to anyone who is interested who is 5 to 17 years old and has a disability of any kind," Milford said.
The First Tee teamed up with the Augusta-based Walton Foundation for Independence last year to conduct adaptive golf clinics for adults at Houndslake.
The adaptive clinics use SNAG Golf equipment. SNAG stands for "Starting New at Golf."
"It was designed for adaptive and beginner golf," Milford said. "There are oversized, colorful clubs, tennis balls and Velcro targets that the balls stick to. It's easy to be successful with the SNAG equipment without a lot of practice. We set up various types of games that kids may be familiar with. For example, we love to play golf baseball where the kids hit the ball off a tee with a club and run the bases."
The clinics also introduce the different types of golf shots to participants.
"As the season goes on and we have some repeat kids, we may do some more advanced things," Milford said. "Eventually, some of them might be able to transition to traditional equipment.
"We have plenty of coaches," she added. "Our goal is to do this one-on-one because that gives the children the best benefit and the best opportunity to succeed."
For more information, call 803-226-0053 or visit The First Tee of Aiken's website at www.thefirstteeaiken.org.
Houndslake Country Club is at 901 Houndslake Drive.
Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard.