ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Two-time U.S. Open winner Hale Irwin, left, shows Christian Bachand, 8, of Dover, N.H., how to properly grip the club during the junior clinic at Salem Country Club on Tuesday.
By ANNE MARIE TOBIN
PEABODY — More than 100 North Shore juniors, including a busload from the Camp Eastman summer day camp program at the Torigian Family YMCA in Peabody, were treated to a junior golf clinic at Salem Country Club during Tuesday’s U.S. Senior Open practice round. The children not only received a brief introduction to the fundamentals of the golf swing, they also received a strong message from five-time USGA champion (three U.S Opens and two U.S. Senior Opens), Hale Irwin, and honorary chairman and National Hockey League Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, who conducted the clinic.
The message? Don’t specialize in just one sport.
“I played baseball in the summers and and a lot of hockey, but summer was baseball and I think the break from playing just hockey actually helped my hockey,” Bourque said. “The time to learn the fundamentals of any sport is when you are young, and it’s been my experience that kids who play other sports in addition to their favorite end up better off not just as athletes, but in life in general.
“Today everything is so specific to one sport now and I don’t like it. I think if the kids don’t get away from the sport they are playing, it kind of gets in their face and becomes more like work than play. When you step away, you are excited to get back to it.”
Two lucky attendees were plucked from the enthusiastic group to help demonstrate how to properly swing a golf club, 8-year-old Christian Bachand of Dover, N.H. and 10-year-old Jacob Guthrie of Lynn.
“We are both volunteering for the tournament this week,” said Mike Bachand, Christian’s father. “Christian has been playing golf for three years now and he just loves it.”
The clinic also included many local schoolchildren from Lynn, Peabody, Salem and Danvers, who received complimentary admission for the day.
“We distributed 400 tickets to the schools in those four cities, so the kids got to come to Salem and experience the championship,” said general chairman Bill Sheehan, a Peabody native. “It’s sort of reversal of the way these things go. Juniors are admitted free with a fully ticketed adult, but today, the parents got to get in with their child.”
Irwin enlisted the aid of a couple of players who were practicing on the range next to the clinic, one being Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez. He helped Bachand with his posture, getting him to bend his knees. The result? A beautiful shot right down the middle.
“How about that advice,” said Irwin.
Bourque said he didn’t have the opportunity to play golf until he came to Boston to play for the Bruins.
“I wish I had played when I was younger, but once I had the chance here, I developed a love for the game.”
Tournament director Eddie Carbone was also on hand.
“This is what it’s all about, the kids having a chance to see the world’s greatest players,” said Carbone.
Salem head golf professional Kevin Wood was the master of ceremonies.
“That’s the best advice I have heard in a long time,” he said. “I played football, basketball, hockey and baseball and didn’t take up golf till I was 14. Kids should play the sports they love and not be pushed into having to choose just one.”