Fore newcomers

Alan Tong doesn’t hide the fact he found golf boring.

"I don’t have the patience to stand still when I am doing something," he said.

His impression has drastically changed since joining the South Philadelphia High golf team last fall. These days, Tong has no problem coming down to the First Tee of Philadelphia at FDR Golf Course, 20th Street and Pattison Avenue, everyday to work on his putting.

"My impression of golf has changed a lot," he said. "I have fun hitting the ball."

Golf returned to the Philadelphia Public League last fall after a 13-year sabbatical. The addition of golf coincided with Public League teams joining the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, the state’s governing body for high-school athletics.

Southern and Furness are the only two South Philadelphia schools fielding teams, but there are a total of 11 throughout the city. The season runs from September through early November. With the majority of high-school golfers being newcomers to the sport, Philadelphia teams aren’t concerned about qualifying for state tournaments just yet.

Southern, for instance, has eight seniors who are teeing up for the first time. There are no country clubs or public golf courses in walking distance from their homes; the students must take public transportation to FDR Golf Course.

"This is the only place I can play golf," Southern senior Yun Chen said. "I am going to just keep learning until I get better."

Southern coach John Shevlin didn’t need anybody to convince him to take the job. Like most golfers, Shevlin considers the sport one of his favorite hobbies.

"My wife says I couldn’t live without golf," he said.

Shevlin is such an avid golfer that, when his team is practicing on the driving range, he is right next to them hitting the ball past the 100-yard marker. If the students are inside working on their putting game, so is the coach.

"I am not a teacher," Shevlin said. "I’ve just played the sport and read some magazines."

When it comes to teaching golf, the coach relies on The First Tee of Philadelphia Director Don Leuthy and PGA Class A Professional Instructor Adz Kozlowski to lend a hand. The First Tee is a World Golf Foundation initiative dedicated to providing young people of all backgrounds the opportunity to develop, through golf and education, values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship. The First Tee has more than 200 facilities across the country, including the South Philly location that opened last year. It features an indoor putting green and two hitting stations.

"Don and Adz have helped me quite a bit in simplifying the game," Shevlin said.

THE FIRST TEE of Philadelphia has taken an active role in teaching high-school golfers the game through a variety of programs. In August, the center hosted a clinic geared toward students. Kozlowski helped mentor the kids by stressing the fundamentals of golf, such as swing and technique.

"For many of the kids this is their first time ever holding a club," Kozlowski said.

First Tee of Philadelphia has a contract with the School District of Philadelphia to visit area middle schools, such as Southwark, Barratt and Vare, to introduce students to golf.

"We afford them the opportunity at no cost, a place to play and a place to develop," Leuthy said.

The district has supplied students with their own set of clubs, which are stored at the First Tee facility. During the season, the team averages about four trips a week to FDR Golf Course, which usually includes one match. Leuthy and Kozlowski also provide valuable lessons pertaining to rules, as well as proper golf etiquette.

"You learn a lot of life skills when you play golf," Leuthy said.

Leuthy said he hopes to add a summer golf league so students can work on their games during the off-season.

With golf being a Public League sport, Southern students can look forward to coming down to FDR Golf Course to practice their long and short games. Monday, senior Rafael Rojas and Tong were on the driving range practicing their long game, while Chen was nearby working on his putting. Despite being new to the sport, Rojas said he has had no problem picking up the game.

"Golf is never hard. It’s only hard if you make it hard," he said. "You just have to focus enough."

Shevlin knows there is still plenty of work to be done as his golfers aren’t quite ready to contend for any titles. Unfortunately, his team has been very senior heavy both years. Last year, 10 of the 12 team members were seniors and, this season, all eight are seniors. In coming years, he hopes to get younger students interested in the sport.

"Golf is a difficult sport to be really good at," he said. "If students don’t come out as ninth-graders they won’t be ready [to compete for titles]."

At the very least, his students leave Southern with a long-term hobby.

"Golf is a life sport that you can still play when you’re 80," Shevlin said.