Youth was the theme at Falls Country Club Wednesday morning as FCC hosted their junior golf clinic.

Clinic organizer, FCC Golf Pro Tom O’Connell was on hand surrounded by eager young golfers looking to learn the game of golf.

“Our number one rule is to have fun,” said O’Connell. “That is really what junior golf is all about.”

The clinic is designed for younger beginning players and is open to all golfers between the ages of 5 and 12.

“This is the biggest camp I have seen in my 9 years,” said O’Connell. “We had a lot of new kids this year.”

46 kids participated in this years camp with an average age of 8 years old. 20 girls and 26 boys took part in the experience.

“If all the kids do look for is golf balls in the woods and for frogs in the ponds, we are OK with that,” said O’Connell. “We want kids to have fun at the course and have it be a good experience.”

The beginners camp is a stepping stone to  the advanced golfers camp that is held later in the year.

The advanced camp is designed for aspiring high school golfers and the older kids who may need to work on specific aspects of their game.

“Some day they will feel the magic of hitting a golf ball,” said O’Connell. “They will become a golfer.”

The youth clinic provides a chance for younger kids to experience the golf course, learn about golf and also learn some life lessons.

“We really stress the importance of golf and life aspects,” said O’Connell. “We stress the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated yourself.”

The camp is designed to create trust and build positive relationships between the golfers and the instructors.

“We had to trust one another,” said O’Connell. If we trusted them, they had to trust us, we were team out there. I want the kids to feel that they are part of something.”

The junior golf clinic is held on the first monday after school gets out, with the second clinic happening about two weeks later. The advance golfers clinic will be held some time late in the summer, information will be printed in The Daily Journal as soon as the dates are set.