CHINA GROVE — Life’s greatest lessons are the ones that have the chance to last a lifetime. China Grove Elementary’s physical education coach is hoping the First Tee golf program at her school will do just that.

On Monday, 4th and 5th grade students from China Grove Elementary lined up their best golf shots at the Carolina Golf Mart, toting along nine weeks of practice through an elective course.

“It’s called introduction to golf,” said Pam Austin, China Grove Elementary’s Title I reading specialist.

Leslie Sechler is the principal at China Grove Elementary. She explained that through the First Tee program, several of her students were able to pick up a golf club for the first time.

“We have an elective program that allows our kids to experience things they might not get the opportunity to experience,” Sechler said. “We just try to give kids the opportunities that they might not economically have the opportunity to do.”

Sechler said that the entire course was physical education teacher Sara Phillips’ baby.

“This is one of her favorite things to expose the kiddos to sports they might not normally get the opportunity to play,” Sechler said.

According to Phillips, the course taught a lot more to the students than simply a basic mechanical understanding of the game of golf.

“(First Tee) was designed to get kids to be able to fail in a safe environment where they can engage in lessons by perseverance,” Phillips said. “(We) Teach them that you will not get it perfect the first time (and that) you have to keep trying.”

Learned behavior about persistence leads to higher self-esteem among the students, Phillips said, and will encourage them to think twice before giving up just because the going gets tough.

While those valuable life lessons are pre-packaged into the coursework, honing the ability to swing a golf club and make contact with the ball is also part of the program.

“We start with indoor equipment and then progress to outdoor,” Phillips said. “They have to learn how to take turns and learn how to keep score. They had to learn a lot of motor mechanics. I am really proud of them. A lot of them have never been to a golf range or held a golf club so this is showing them that this is a lifelong activity.”

Austin explained that while the program was made possible through the school system, community contributions also helped make it a reality.

“We inherited some golf clubs from different people in the community,” Austin said.

Phillips added, “The First Tee program comes with tees and indoor clubs. I got people to donate clubs from the community, even left-handed ones. We got super lucky on that one.”

With the equipment, Phillips set up a range at China Grove Elementary, where students could practice with wiffle balls.

“(We) Set it up outside on the sidewalk, and the kids hit wiffle balls out into the yards,” Phillips said. “It was great.”

Contributions of time and space also made Monday possible. Austin’s husband, Jeff, a longtime pro at Corbin Hills in Salisbury and later the Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, helped instruct the students.

“Bob Timm (owner of Carolina Golf Mart) graciously said, ‘Come on out, and we will take care of you,’ ” Austin said.

For the PE teacher, seeing her students catch on made it all worthwhile.

“Some of them are surprised at how good they were, and hopefully, they will continue to do it,” Phillips said.