Learn to play early swings

For the teachers and golf professionals who offered swing lessons, they hope it will become a gateway to a lifelong avocation.

McCormick trained with The First Tee junior golf program and received support from the PGA's Northeastern New York Section, New York State United Teachers and the school's PTA. He purchased callaway razr x irons designed to minimize the risk of injury.

"It's a lot of fun. We're learning to respect the game," said Noah Parker, a fourth grader who had only played miniature golf before.

They're trying to grow the game to counteract golf's decline, hastened by the 2008 recession. The number of frequent golfers has dropped 3 to 4 percent annually since 2006. More golf courses have been closing than opening for the past five years. The number of rounds played at municipal courses and memberships at country clubs have plummeted during the stubborn economic downturn. There are now an estimated 26 million golfers in America. The PGA has an ambitious goal of increasing that to 40 million by 2020.

"It's a good idea to get kids started when they're young," said Ziamandanis, who began playing at 7. "Golf taught me to be independent and to overcome obstacles."

Pepper grew up competing against boys on the golf team in Saratoga. She played boys' varsity beginning in eighth grade, a first at the time. She said her teammates were welcoming and she has remained close with several of them.

"I might end up liking it more than football," said Wyatt Dill, a fifth-grader who never picked up a golf club growing up in Brandon, Miss. He transferred to the school in December.

Pepper's dad was a pro baseball player and she learned to swing a bat at a tender age, but switched to a golf club in elementary school after she saw her grandparents play. She chipped in a corner of the basement and putted on the dining room rug. "It was really fast callaway diablo edge irons and I learned every break all the way into the kitchen," she said.

McCormick's course will culminate with a scramble tournament for his students on May 26 at Hiawatha Trails, a kid-friendly, par-3 golf course in Guilderland. A focus of his teaching is to underscore The First Tee's nine core values, which include honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and perseverance.

McCormick is an avid golfer earning a doctorate in sports psychology at the University of the Rockies. He teaches golfers how to improve the mental aspect of their game. But he never had the equipment to teach golf to his students during 13 years at the school. He tried Frisbee golf and golf with lacrosse sticks, with mixed results.

"This was a really good start on the future of the game," said Scott Warren, golf pro at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland and a friend of McCormick's since high school.

"We're excited about what Dennis is doing and we hope to make this a pilot program for other physical education teachers to follow," said Tracie Warner, executive director of the PGA Northeastern New York Section. Voorheesville is one of six elementary schools discount golf clubs in the Capital Region teaming up with the PGA and The First Tee, which has set a goal of doubling involvement to 8,000 elementary schools nationwide by 2015.