JACKSON TIGERS AND TIGRESSES IN THE MAKING

JACKSON -- Though only 12, Kelsey Shearon is twice as old as the youngest fellow participants in the youth golf camp under way at Bent Creek Golf Course this week. But she's only eight sunshine-filled seasons younger than Se Ri Pak, who just became the youngest woman ever to win the U.S. Women's Open.

Track, swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, figure skating and hockey have consumed Kelsey's playtime until now, but this summer she's learning to play golf.

Kelsey's father, Alan Shearon, often is away on business but has decided to start playing the game again this summer.

"My dad and I thought it would be a good thing to do together," she said.

The class is part of the Jackson Youth Lifetime Sports series sponsored by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation. The goal of the series is to teach sports like golf, tennis and bowling that can last through a lifetime.

Mike Litzelfelner, one of the owners of the golf course, is leading the class. Assisting are Harry Guth, who teaches at a number of golf courses in the region, along with Mike's nephew, John Litzelfelner, a member of the golf team at Southeast Missouri State University.

They are introducing the 13 students to the basics of the game, from three different kinds of ways to grip the club to the stance to aiming at a target. The first three-hour day started out in a meeting room but continued to the driving range, the practice green and onto the course.

"I don't think we'll make any Tiger Woods in one week but we're going to do what we can," Mike Litzelfelner told them.

This is the generation of golfers Tiger Woods begat. Tiger is the favorite of 11-year-old Nathan Leoni. But he also was wearing a shirt with "Favre" on the back.

For 11-year-old Andrew Schlick, playing his first year of golf, the knickers-wearing shotmaker Payne Stewart is the man.

Litzelfelner stresses safety, instructing the golfers to hold the club by the business end when not swinging it. And no one is allowed to swing indoors.

Along the way during the five-day class the teachers will cover rules, etiquette and sportsmanship. The junior golfers will be tested on their knowledge Friday.

On the driving range the first day, Kelsey and Andrew demonstrated an early aptitude for the sport by hitting some solid shots.

Kelsey likes Tiger Woods, too, but doesn't have a favorite woman player.

"I don't watch much women's golf," she said. "I probably should."

Six-year-old Chelsea Sturtevant is one of only three girls in the class. She has her own set of Lynx clubs and already has taken a few private lessons from Guth. "She really pays attention," he said.

Chelsea is the daughter of Stephen Sturtevant and Lisa Scribner. Both are golfers, and she said she wants to learn so she can play rather than just do caddy work for them.

For most children, age 6 is a bit young to maintain the concentration necessary to learn golf. But Litzelfelner says his son, Matt, began playing the game when he was only 4 or 5. "He wanted to learn," he said.

Matt, now 13 and helping out at the golf camp, is going to attend a golf academy soon.

The junior golfers are only being allowed one practice swing before they hit the ball this week. "We just saw the U.S. Women's Open and it took them 25 minutes to play one hole," Litzelfelner said. "Golf is no fun if it takes 25 minutes to play a golf hole."

The teachers hope their pupils discover just how much enjoyment the game can offer when you know the fundamentals.

"It's really fun," Kelsey says. "Especially when you start to improve."