Dawson Kipniss

Dawson Kipniss, a seventh-grader at Northwestern Middle School, has been playing golf since he was four years old. In addition to golf and academic commitments, Dawson is an active baseball player. He participated in the Cooperstown, New York tournaments with his baseball team during the summer of 2008.

Golf has a dual-function for Dawson: it's fun and social, but presents opportunities for concentration and focus. Dawson is no stranger to competition, having recently participated in golf tournaments at Pine Isle, Stone Mountain, Marietta Country Club, and White Columns. In early June 2008, he finished in 1st place at Eagle Watch Golf Club and achieved his lowest tournament score (80) at Marietta in late October.

Dawson has been practicing his golf game for the last five years under the leadership of Cody Barden, PGA Director of Instruction at WCCC. Dawson says one of the things he likes about White Columns is the "kid-friendly" course and club. While in the past Dawson struggled with driving the ball to the right side, he is now much more confident with his swing. "Cody's nice, and we get a lot done. It's hard, but it's fun," Dawson says. He adds that Cody packs a lot of material into the one-hour lessons, including drills like chipping balls into a basket. His current golf goals are to improve his accuracy and prepare for 2009 tournaments.