Elementary students from across the West Boundary who attend schools in Greenwood and Rock Creek were given a day on the links at the Kettle Valley Golf Course last Friday and they weren’t about to let the threat of rain deter them.
Twenty of the students turned out on Friday morning at the Kettle Valley Golf Course Clubhouse at 10 a.m. – along with parents, staff, a school board member and a couple of administrators who each took a team of kids around the course.
Organizer Ray Harrison said there were a total of 35 kids taking part in the extracurricular class that met once a week for lessons over the past month – Monday afternoons in Rock Creek and Tuesdays in Greenwood.
Harrison said Heather Hollingsworth and Michelle Hermanson helped him this year. The program teaches the kids the fundamentals – how to grip the club, hit the ball and course etiquette.
For some of the kids this was their first time on the actual course. Two hours were set as the time to meet back at the clubhouse for lunch.
“This was a fun tournament,” said Harrison. “There is no cost to the kids.” The program is funded through donations solicited from Bill Baird through his Area E grant in aid budget, Greenwood Board of Trade, Heritage Credit Union and Kettle River Lions; and is made possible through a partnership with the Kettle Valley Golf Club.
Extra funding was needed this year to expand the program to West Boundary Elementary, as this was the first year that the after-school program was provided at the school in Rock Creek.
“We are excited to have Ray providing this opportunity for our kids,” said West Boundary vice-principal Jennifer MacDonald as the kids were being sorted into teams on Friday morning.
Kettle Valley Golf Club offers free golf to junior golfers throughout the season as a way to bolster their membership ranks with a few younger members.