PIQUA — More than 25 years ago, Echo Hills Golf Professional Ken Green saw a need for Junior Camp.

And that camp continues on, benefiting not only the juniors who participate in the camp — but all the golfers that play Echo Hills Golf Course.

When Green left for Miami Shore, Echo Hills Golf Professional Chip Fox continued the camp.

Fox retired after last season and Andy and Ashley Johnson — two golfers who participated in the camp as youngsters and have served as volunteers at the camp for a number of years, stepped up to run the camp this year.

Approximately 45 golfers participated in this year’s five-week camp.

One of the big purposes of the camp has been to introduce new golfers to the game at an early age and teach them the proper golf etiquette.

That can range from fixing ball marks on green, knowing when to let faster groups play through, the order of play, how to mark a putt, not walking in other players lines in greens and many other things.

“It doesn’t just benefit the golfers in the camp, it benefits everyone,” Andy Johnson said. “Golf is a game you can play for a lifetime and it is important to understand the golf etiquette.”

The first three weeks of the camp encompasses instruction on different areas of the game.

“We used the driving range and putting green to give them instruction,” Johnson said.

There were also some skills competition held out on the golf course.

The finals two weeks the youngsters got a chance to take what they learned to golf course.

“We wanted to give them a chance to get out there and play,” Johnson said. “So, they got to play using a scramble format. It is a way to give them a chance to play and have fun.”

As always, the volunteer coaches are vital the success of the camp and this year was no exception.

Volunteers included Maggie Bergman, Evan Clark, Brian Deal, Matthew Dieperink, Cam Haines, Sabastian Karabinis, Ron Schultz, Hunter Steinke, Dave Tobias, Bill Wise and Zane Wise.

And as always the golfers at Echo Hills were the real winners.