Hole in one for Black Knight Golf Academy

FINDLAY — Youngsters in Hancock County have been attending the Black Knight Golf Academy every summer for almost 20 years. The camp takes place during the first week of June at Sycamore Springs Golf Course, just south of Findlay. Kindergarteners through ninth-graders spend four days, Monday-Thursday, learning the basics of golf, like how to putt, drive, chip and swing a club, from a group of volunteers. On the last day, the kids get to show off their newly learned skills and play a real game of golf. Eric Heitkamp, business and technology educator and head golf coach at Van Buren Local Schools, founded the camp in 2004. "In my fourth or fifth year of coaching golf at the high school level, I saw kids coming into our program as freshmen, inexperienced (at) golf," he said. "(Golf) is a game with a lot of unwritten rules and a lot of nuances. Where to stand and who goes first. Or they didn't have the necessary, proper equipment." Sports like football, soccer and baseball all have youth leagues accepting kids as young as 4-years-old. But "golf had nothing," Heitkamp said. "That really was the driving force." Over 100 kids from kindergarten through 9th grade registered for this year's camp. Heitkamp opened the program up to kids from any local school district about four years ago. "Last year we were at 80 and now we're at 110," he said. "So (the program) really has grown quite a bit." Volunteers come from from Sycamore Springs, members of the golf team at Van Buren High School and a few alumni. "I was real little at the time and my mom saw the ad for the golf camp and she reached out to (Heitkamp) because it was listed for kindergarten and up and she asked if it was all right if I came out and he gave the okay," said Trey Switzer, 2017 Van Buren graduate and former camp participant. "Next thing you know, I got a friend for life sitting next to me here," he said, referring to Heitkamp. "To me, Black Night Golf is just about family and it sounds cliche-ish, but we do our best to make relationships and build bonds and friendships," Heitkamp said. "I didn't think in 2004 when we started this, that this little kid on the range was going to end up being one of my best friends. And just to watch him grow into this awesome young adult is great." Being safe and having fun are the two most important aspects of the camp. "Off the top of my head, especially with this first group of younger kids and stuff, the biggest thing is just keeping them safe," Switzer said. "Outside of that, let them love the game." "I want them to have fun," Heitkamp added. "I want them to know that they can come out here to this public golf course and that people are going to be super friendly and they're going to welcome everybody with open arms and they're going to help you explore the game. Even if we're not here guiding you." And the best part is? Watching the kids get excited about playing golf. "I see fist pumps. High fives. Or when we go back into the big groups, they're telling the other kids what all they just did," Switzer said. "It all comes back to keeping everyone having fun." "We just want kids to have fun and know that there's an option to play golf at the high school level when they get to that point," said Heitkamp.