FriendCHIP in the making
Week two of the Connect: Golf Program
Once again the kids and I lucked out and the golfing conditions were PERFECT for the second session of Connect: Golf! We all met at our usual spot outside of the clubhouse, golf clubs in hand. After just one previous session, the kids were excited to see each other again and I could see some friendships forming as they bonded over Minecraft and the fact that summer vacation is right around the corner.
Unfortunately, instructor Jesse was absent this week, so instructor Brady joined us instead! The theme of this week was definitely friendCHIP, as this session focused on chipping the ball. Chipping, if you didn’t know, is what you do to get your ball onto the putting green as well as to get yourself out of a sand bunker.
Aberdeen Golf Course has a chipping zone, with white squares painted on the grass as targets. The kids and I placed our golf balls around the edge of the green and practiced chipping balls from different angles. Wow was I every impressed by how many of the littles perfectly chipped their balls toward the target. They were so good in fact that we quickly needed something more challenging – onto the sand bunker!
After the golf version of 52 pick up, the kids gathered up all of the balls and we headed to the bunker. Two of the boys in the group decided they were really in for a challenge so set up in a difficult spot, needing to chip their balls almost straight up to escape the sand. This quickly became a lesson in patience and humility as we all struggled to free our balls. I definitely have a new found respect for golfers who accidently get stuck in a trap. After some muttering under their breath, some of the littles took to digging in the sand and building road ways for a local spider. Needless to say, it was time to move on to something else.
To wrap up, Brady challenged the kids to a contest, and let me set this up properly because the stakes were HIGH! From the edge of the green, the kids were to chip their ball towards a bucket at the other end. If any little hit the bucket, Brady would buy them all a bag of chips. One by one they took their shot to become a hero among their peers. Close miss after close miss really made for some serious suspense, I didn’t know if I was watching a Connect: Golf group or the PGA Tour. But then, it happened, one of the little’s ball chipped perfectly up into the air, landing onto the green, and tapped the bucket on the other side. We immediately erupted into a round of applause! Brady, making good on his promise escorted us all to the clubhouse where the littles each picked a small bag of chips. A great ending to another great golf session.
June 27, 2022
Jane, BigsNBC volunteer
