Golf
Mickelson: Golf a Way To Educate
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
For Phil Mickelson, the U.S. Department of Education was as good a place as any to escape the 40-mph winds of Royal Birkdale.
Mickelson was in town yesterday, fresh off a lackluster finish at this year's gusty British Open, giving golf tips to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and a group of 20 Washington area students.
He was demonstrating how math and science are relevant to golf, using a miniature golf course outfitted with pint-sized schoolhouses.
"I've never putted into a barn before," Mickelson said, sinking an easy seven-footer into a "No Child Left Behind" schoolhouse.
Mickelson conducted the short putting clinic before testifying in front of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and Spellings might have been the only golfer who was, well, left behind.
"Go ahead and address this ball," Mickelson said, kneeling in front of Spellings. "I'm going to line it up for you. By lining this up perfectly toward the hole, you don't even need to make a perfect stroke. Go ahead and hit it."
Spellings hit the ball. Wide right.
"Maybe we need a little work on our stroke," Mickelson said.
It took Spellings three tries to sink a putt, and Mickelson generously moved the ball about two feet from the cup.
Novice Amanda Thomas, 9, caught on quickly enough. She had never picked up a club before yesterday, and to her, Mickelson was just a guy in suit, teaching her to hit a ball with a stick.
Two tries, and she was ready to take on anyone at Putt-Putt.
Mickelson, who tied for 19th at Royal Birkdale on Sunday, testified concerning the America Competes Act. The legislation provides funding for math and science programs designed to make Americans more competitive on the global stage.
Mickelson and his wife, Amy, developed the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, which instructs elementary school teachers how to make the subjects more palatable to their students.
"That's our way of trying to make an impact and reverse the trend we've had where we've been declining in our engineering and science graduates while other countries have been increasing," Mickelson said. "We feel like that's a real threat to us globally as a leader."
-- Soraya Nadia McDonald
