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NATCHEZ — New Orleans golf instructors Khater Salomon and Jimmy Headrick will work with children during the Norman Puckett Junior Golf clinic held June 11-12 at Duncan Park.. Headrick will be there the first two Mondays. He said he has had the privilege of teaching in the junior clinic about five times. 

Headrick joined the Professional Golfers Association in 1978 and was awarded the PGA of America Junior Golf Leader Award in 2008.

He formerly coached golf at the University of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina and currently coaches golf at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans. Headrick has been named three times to the US Golf Kids top 50 Best Junior Teachers of the Year in the US. He teaches the golf swing so it is instinctive to a child. 

“I want the kids to take ownership of the game and they will take more initiative and have fun,” Headrick said. “My approach is simplified and they will leave better golfers. My goal is to excite them and they will want to play forever. I like to get the families involved too. It is key to their growth as a golfer.” 

A golf coach for 45 years, he said he has never seen a golfer fail when kids and family are excited about the game. It is important to get kids started in golf at a young age because it opens the door for a lot of opportunities, he said. 

Additionally, Greg Brooking and Pete Powell will help teach the students. Headrick said he is excited to work with them because they are talented and caring.

Solomon returns for his second stint with the clinic and will coach the final two weeks. A professor at Tulane University, Salomon uses his teaching program called turn2blue to teach juniors how to play golf starting out with short clubs. 

If you haven’t enrolled in the Norman Puckett Junior Golf Clinic held at the Duncan Park Golf Course you might want to do so before spots fill up. It is $50 per child for four Mondays of golf instruction. Registration forms can be picked up at the clubhouse. 

Golf Course Superintendent Greg Brooking said the clinic is open to kids six-years-old to 17 and there are only 12 spots in each age group. The age groups are six to 11 which meet at 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12 to 17 which meet 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m every Monday in June.