The now ten-year-old returned to the course to attend a camp and his passion for the sport gradually grew from there. 

“I went to a friend’s birthday party at the driving range and I really enjoyed it,” Stephenson said. “So we went back and kept playing and eventually went to a camp. 

“It’s such a fun sport, it’s not just drills like soccer training, we come and have fun. It’s also not just the driving range and putting on the green, we go and play holes and different games.” 

This is the reaction Port Kembla Golf Club is hoping to elicit from children in the Illawarra at weekly introductory sessions coaches will be running throughout August and September. 

The free clinics will take place on Saturday afternoons and are aimed at beginners hoping to participate in sport in a fun, friendly environment. 

Port Kembla coach Mitchell Donlan said the clinics are designed to introduce children to the sport and instill a lasting passion for golf.

“The challenge for me is to make sure they’re enjoying themselves,” Donlan said.

“Each kid’s attention can vary, so I have to keep changing it up, running competitions quite regularly within the class, with prizes handed out here and there. 

“When the kids come down, we teach them the basic fundamentals of the game, the grip, posture, stance. Then we take them through each area, from the short game with chipping and putting to the long game with drives and irons off the tees.”

Stephenson, who now plays two to three times a week, enjoys the way classes are mixed up, with games like baseball-golf incorporated into the sessions ensuring he never gets bored. 

Now having fallen in love with the sport, Stephenson is hoping to play long into adulthood.

“You can play for a long time,” Stephenson said. “It’s not something you have to retire from, you can play until whenever you want.”