With LPGA Tour golfers practicing nearby Tuesday, about 1,400 fourth-graders and teachers from Autauga and Montgomery county schools gathered on the driving range at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Capitol Hill Senator course for a Junior Golf Clinic sponsored by Alabama Power.

Southern Division members of the Alabama Power Service Organization greeted each arriving student and gave them a T-shirt. Each shirt had one of nine words:  honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy or judgment – the core beliefs of The First Tee National School Program.

Students were entertained for an hour by eight professional golfers participating in the 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Prattville Sept. 16-21. The world’s No. 1 player, Stacy Lewis, was joined by fellow previous Yokohama Classic winners Lexi Thompson, Katherine Kirk and Maria McBride.

PGA professional Eric Eshleman of the Country Club of Birmingham engaged students with trick golf shots, competitions between kids and golfers, and in a unique, up-tempo manner, presented the lessons of golf. His main theme was that golf is for everyone.

“It doesn’t matter how tall or short you are. It doesn’t matter if you are skinny or not. Anyone can play golf,” he said. “Golf is the coolest game in the world.”

With support from Alabama Power and Southern Company, students around the state are participating in the PGA Tour’s First Tee National School Program, which helps students develop an appreciation for the positive personal and social values associated with golf. Students engage in safe, fun lesson-activities that lead to motor-skill development while gaining an introduction to golf and its recreational and health benefits.

–Mike Jordan