Twelve-year-old Alyssa Denneler and her brother Mason take a few tips from Eagle instructor Greg Dannevik during Eagle Bend Golf Course's Junior Golf Clinic.

The month of September brings with it the sounds of colliding helmets and howling crowds as football finally gets under way in nearly every corner of the nation.

But in some places, there are those who take time for something less noisy, but just as fun – like golf.

Last Wednesday and Thursday on the quiet greens of Eagle Bend Golf Course, Alyssa Denneler, 12, and her 9-year-old brother Mason definitely had fun.

“I’ve played since I was about five or six,” Alyssa Denneler said. “Our dad showed us how to play.”

The Dennelers, along with Timothy Barta and Sawyer Zook, took part in Eagle Bend Golf Course’s Junior Golf clinic instructed by Greg Dannevik.

The clinic teaches some fundamental points of the game, while stressing to the students to have fun.

The positive nature of the two-hour sessions is what instructors such as Dannevik like to see.

“It’s good to see them out there,” Dannevik said. “They come out and learn and really have a good time.”

Although the clinic had only four students out at the course for last week’s session, Dannevik cited the low turnout as merely the result of the changes that come with fall.

“We really get a pretty good turnout in the spring,” Dannevik said. “Right now, school’s starting and the kids have other things to do.”

The new school year didn’t stop the handful of golfers from coming out to enjoy a cool Thursday afternoon under Clinton Dam to get some pointers on the game.

Barta, who attends Free State High, took the clinic to learn the elements of the game.

“I took a course in high school,” Barta said. “It was kind of just hitting the ball. I’m learning a few things here, like how to hold a stance.”

Timothy’s father, Jon, enjoyed the clinic for a number of reasons.

“This is nice,” Jon Barta said. “It lets him get some practice at the game and it gets him outside too.”

The two-day clinic focused on a number of areas in the game. On Wednesday the golfers got an opportunity to practice chipping, while on Thursday they took to the greens for some putting, and then to the driving range to hit for distance.

But even as each golfer hoped to improve their game, the overriding theme of the afternoon was what the game was basically all about.

“It’s just fun,” Zook, 12, said. “I’ve played for about a year and I like it a lot.”

Zook said he started playing with his grandparents and has enjoyed the sport ever since.

And approaching the game with a sense of enjoyment is what the instructors at Eagle Bend hope to instill.

“Sometimes I think that’s the best way to play,” Dannevik said. “Just go out there and have fun.”