Camping out at the Lawrence golf course

Author Tom Boswell called playing golf “a good walk spoiled” due to the sport’s ability to frustrate its players, but for campers in the Five Towns learning the game at the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club appears to be more like good days under the sun.
During the summer about 90 kids ranging from fourth to eighth grade from Camp Hillel in Lawrence are meeting twice a week for eight weeks at the village-run club to learn the game from golf pro Peter Procops and his staff. “We get them started playing golf, maybe their parents will play,” Procops said.
During the last week of July, about 130 campers from Hebrew Academy of Long Beach’s Avnet Country Day School in Woodmere that serves as the boys’ sports fraternity spent four days at the club learning to drive, putt and chip.
Procops who called Friday’s competition “organized chaos” — he was grinning when he said it — helped to raise more than $5,000 for OHEL. Groups of boys rotated through the four stations that included hitting an inflatable Godzilla, driving for distance and accuracy, and putting.
“They learned a lot about golf, discipline and they learned the importance of raising funds for worthy organizations,” said Woodmere Director Jack Tarzik.
The busy summer started for Procops in May, when a team of 14 teens took part in the first year of the Junior PGA Golf League. The Lawrence team competed against squads from the Inwood Country Club, the Woodmere Club, Seawane, North Shore, North Hills and Huntington.
Young caddies at Lawrence (mostly high school age kids) are also getting to play and learn more of the game as they provided with course time. “In my ten years here as the head pro, I have never seen this many kids playing this great game as I have year this year,” said Procops, a former caddy, who has been playing golf for four decades.