The snow on the ground remained plentiful but for Casey MacNeil and those who long for golf in these parts, it is never too early to get a start on the season. Nor are the children ever too young to be introduced to a sport that has grown plenty in recent years.
A few weeks back, MacNeil was paying a visit to Westmount Public School, courtesy of the Golf in Schools program, working with a grade three class of generally very enthusiastic youngsters.
"It really is just about getting golf clubs in their hands," explained MacNeil, the group utilizing undersized plastic clubs and an assortments of accessories in order to be able to mimic putting, chipping and pitching in a gymnasium setting.
"They do pretty much every sport but golf in gym class," added MacNeil. "This way they can play a little without any harm."
Some picked up the basics more rapidly than others, though a background in hockey appeared to be a good starting point for the more athletically-inclined - even if there are some very large differences.
"Usually in golf, you have somewhere to aim and there is nobody in your way," explained eight year-old Easton Boissonneault. "In hockey, there is a goalie and stuff - and there's no offsides or anything."
Boissonneault was among those who seemed to benefit from at least some pre-knowledge of the sport - "I think a par is when you shoot the ball three times; two is a birdie" - as he went on to explain some of what they learned in slightly less than an hour or so.
"I maybe golfed a little bit, but not much," he said. "You have to have a club that is the right hand and you have to hit the ball where the hole is."
Classmate Rachel Nadjiwon has actually been out on a course with her father, recalling some of her favourite memories. "I got to drive the golf cart," she said with a smile.
"When I went with my dad, I got it (the ball) in the forest - but I found nine other balls. We had to go search for a lot of our balls."
If only she knew just how much so many of us can relate to that comment
Like Boissonneault, Nadjiwon could pull on a little experience with hockey, something she noticed as she began to get a feel for the game on the greens.
"In hockey, you have to use ten times more force than putting," said Nadjiwon. "For putting, you just hit it very lightly and it rolls - but you need to keep your hands together."
That was one of the focuses, according to MacNeil, along with some other key fundamentals.
"Just keeping your eyes on the ball," noted the golf instructor at Golf Sudbury. "You're hitting a non-moving object. Just having some basic fundamentals can go a long, long way."
