First Tee clinic at Ivanhoe builds character as well as golf skills

Devon Ledesma shanked it.

If he was frustrated by one of the most frustrating sports, the 10-year-old boy from Round Lake didn't show it.

Neither did his coach for the day, Jim Sobb, the PGA director of golf at the Ivanhoe Club.

Sobb made some subtle changes to Devon's stance and balance. And then Devon hit a beauty, high and on target.

"Look at that!" the teacher said.

"It was pretty cool," the student said.

Devon and about 20 other young golfers - the best for their age in Lake County - learned from the pros during a First Tee of Greater Chicago clinic at the club near Mundelein.

"It's really not about golf," said Rick Kaye, a First Tee board member. "It's really about building character.

The First Tee's mission isn't to mold the next Tiger Woods, but to instill values through the game.

Honesty. Sportsmanship. Respect. Responsibility.

"It's not about teaching them to be great golfer," Kaye said. "It's about teaching them to be great human beings."

They first learned etiquette over lunch (gentleman, for instance, must excuse themselves to leave the table), practiced shots off the driving range and ended the clinic by playing nine holes.

McKenna Sosnowski, a 10-year-old from Lake Villa, worked on her rhythm swinging pink clubs, and she didn't mind the calluses on her hands.

"They're all putting forth the effort and have a passion for the game," said Darryl Stackhouse, First Tee's director of educational programs.

It was the third time the club hosted the program for players at the top of point standings, said member Jim Brownlie.

"These kids are special," Brownlie said, "they really are."