Students from Lee, Collier schools apply STEM skills on the golf course

FGCU brought students from around SWFL to a golf course Sunday to teach them new skills.

The kids might not be the best golfers out on the course, but they definitely gave it their all.

“I was trying to hit the ball but it wouldn’t go up and then it kept sliding and I almost gave up,” said one participant.

The students that participated were selected from more than 50 Lee and Collier County schools for FGCU’s STEM camp at Alico Family Golf.

PGA mentors showed the kids how science and math are applied to improve a golfer’s game. From the geometry of a solid swing, to the best angle for launching a golf ball, the students combined what they knew from inside the classroom with their athletic abilities.

And the students even got the opportunity to learn from a local athlete, Trennen Turco. Turco recently helped Canterbury Baseball achieve yet another state championship.

“I’ve always been the student, but now I’m becoming the teacher and get to teach these kids. It’s pretty awesome,” Turco said. “I mean, golf’s my passion and I love coming out here and just doing it.”

But playing golf isn’t the only career option those passionate about the sport can pursue And that’s exactly what the STEM program wants to teach students as it introduces them to the opportunity to study the sport and others in SWFL.

The golf program associated with FGCU is unique, in that it’s only one of two in the state of Florida that have the PGA program associated with it.

Regardless of whether the students become future golfers or not, they all leave with new knowledge of the game and how to apply what they already know to something they never dreamed they could excel at.