NATCHEZ —Natchez’s young golfers will have the opportunity to improve their games at Duncan Park this month by attending the Norman Puckett Junior Golf Academy.

Each Monday in June, starting June 6, the Duncan Park Golf Course will host 24 youth golfers for an instructional session taught by former Champions Tour Pro and New Orleans’ Lakewood Golf Club Director of Instruction John McGough.

“We are very excited about having John (McGough) come,” Duncan Park golf course superintendent Greg Brooking said. “He played in the U.S. Open, won the North and South Amateur Tournament and was a two-time All-American at North Carolina. John is a nationally known teaching pro.”

Eleven-time Natchez City champ Pete Powell will also be guest instructing the camps, Brooking said.

The camps will be split into two age groups. Eight- through 12-year-olds will be from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 13- through 17-year-olds will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Only 12 golfers will be allowed per session and those slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, Brooking said. Parents can register their children at the pro shop at Duncan Park.

“Parents need to start signing up now,” Brooking said. “Some people have already signed up in the older age group, we have (approximately) six signed up for the 13-17 group. No one has signed up for the 8-12 group.”

Brooking said he will leave the sign-up sheets at the pro shop and parents can come sign their children up for any of the camps they want. There is a $5 deposit required, which is refundable when the child shows up for the camp.

Brooking said much of the onus is on the parents to give their children the chance to learn the game.

“The greatest thing you can give a child is opportunity,” Brooking said. “We want to give (children) the opportunity to learn to play this game. It is up to the parents to seize the opportunity for their child. A lot lies on the parent.”

Brooking said the instructional classes will feature different aspects of the game. The first camp will start with chipping and putting and each camp following will move further away from the green.

Brooking said the camp has several goals in mind, including giving children recreational activities to try to keep them out of trouble. He said, McGough will also teach them proper golf manners and etiquette.

But, the main goal is to develop the golfers of tomorrow, because he sees a lack of interest in the game from the younger generations, he said.

“In the long run I hope we end up making future golfers,” Brooking said. “We hope to find children that like (golf) and we can develop them. But, in the end the only person that can make you good at something is you.”

Brooking said the camps are for every child that is interested in golf in Natchez.

“(The camps) break all socio-economic barriers,” he said. “It is a public course, and it’s free. We don’t want to prevent any child from coming here.”

The only limitation is that class sizes need to stay small to get each golfer the personal attention they need from the instructors, Brooking said.

“We can only teach 12 at a time, and 24 children a day, to give them hands on benefits. It’s an injustice to try to bring more in,” Brooking said.

This will be the fourth year Duncan Park will host the camps. They will culminate in two youth tournaments in July.

On July 11 Duncan Park will host the Natchez City Junior Golf Championship Tournament. Golfers must be 18 years of age or younger, and the entry fee is $5.

On July 18 Duncan Park will host the Natchez Junior Golf Championship Tournament. That tournament is $35 to enter and will feature the same age divisions of the camps. Prizes will be given to the top three finishers in each age division.

Parents can register their children for the tournaments at the Duncan Park pro shop.

The Parker Yelverton Foundation for the Advancement of Junior Golf funds all the golf academy camps and tournaments.