Safety Considerations:

Putting Unit (in the gymnasium)

·        Warm-up in order to get the leg and walking muscles warm and active.

·        Make sure each group of students is putting to a well defined area (to avoid balls being played where other people may slip on them).

·        Make sure students are carrying out their strokes a far enough distance away from classmates so that they avoid contacting them with the putter.

·        Advice class not to retrieve balls until teacher says that they can in order to avoid them being struck with the balls of students who are still shooting.

Iron Play (in the school fields)  

·       It would be advised to use plastic golf balls, for most tasks using irons in the school fields to reduce chance of injury.  This would be the case in playing the chipping course, and reality golf.

·        Warm-up thoroughly to avoid muscle strain, with the trunk and other muscles active in the shot targeted.

·        Make sure each group of students is shooting to a well defined area (to avoid balls being played where they may hit someone or something not desired).

·        Make sure students are carrying out their strokes a far enough distance away from classmates so that they avoid contacting them with the club.

·        Advise class not to retrieve balls until teacher says that they can in order to avoid them being struck with the balls of students who are still shooting.

·        Advise the students of what the term ‘fore’ means, what to do when you hear it, and the importance of using it to make sure people are not hit with the balls.

Driving Range

·        Warm-up thoroughly to avoid muscle strain, with the trunk and other muscles active in the shots targeted.

·        Emphasize that there is only to be one student on or near each playing mat at one time.

·        Make sure students are carrying out their strokes a far enough distance away from classmates so that they avoid contacting them with the club.  In this case this means that fellow students will be instructed to be far enough behind their classmates.

·        Advise class that under no circumstances are they to venture out on to the grass past the matted area.  This is the most important safety point to be emphasized for this portion of the unit.

Golf Course

·        Warm-up thoroughly to avoid muscle strain, with the trunk and other muscles active in the shots targeted.

·        Make sure students are carrying out their strokes a far enough distance away from classmates so that they avoid contacting them with the club.

·        Because constant supervision will not be possible, the teacher(s) must move around the course as much as possible to provide proper supervision.

·        Due to the short nature of the holes on the pitch and putt, instruct the class not to shoot until the entire party in front of them have completed their hole.

Note:   Special safety considerations will have to be made for our four students with unique learning disabilities.  Our two A.D.D. students should not be paired up in our exercises, as they may be encouraged to ‘feed’ of each other in overactive or inappropriate manners.  The parties in which they are golfing in for the pitch and putt must be supervised more closely than the other parties.  As well, safety concerns such as proper retrieval methods may need to be more thoroughly emphasized to these students in regard to their safety as well as safety for others.

            Our two foreign exchange students with English language barriers also have unique safety concerns.  The teacher(s) must be sure that the two students understand the unique safety issues involved in golf, and may have to reiterate safety issues to these students until they are positive that they comprehend these issues.  Many of the activities in the unit involve partnerships.  There should be an English speaking student partnered up with an ESL student at all times, this should help the students in understanding tasks as the English student can do extra demos for their partner.

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