Courtesy: Canadian golf academy, PEI.

My wife and I played a quick nine holes late one sunny Sunday afternoon back in September.

We were paired up with a father and his son, who was about 12. Dad wasn't a bad golfer but his son had one of those natural swings that kids magically seem to develop.

It was easy to tell that he was going to be a very good golfer when he got older and longer off the tee.

But raw talent remains raw unless it's molded a little. And that's where junior golf camps can be a real advantage.

When my son was 8, we got him into hockey (naturally, we're Canadian, eh?!). But he couldn't skate to save his life. Didn't have to sharpen his blades - he spent most of the time on his ankles...until we put him into a power-skating course!

Two seasons later, he was the league's top goal scorer.

Apply the same principle to a junior golfer and the results can be equally amazing.

Anne Chouinard, director of golf at the Canadian Golf Academy in beautiful Prince Edward Island and Lori Kane's swing coach, runs junior camps all the time. So who better to turn to for some advice?

"First of all", Anne said, "we try to group the kids according to their age. It makes sense when we pick learning activities and we introduce team or individual competitions that match their level and age".

She said the junior camps at the Academy are always a mix of instruction, games and life lessons.

"The instruction segment is made fun and very interactive. We keep it simple and give lots of images or examples from other sports", Anne told me. "When kids show they grasp the concept and can perform the skill to an acceptable degree, we introduce a fun game and later a fun contest. They absolutely love this!"

Each day, she said, they review what was covered the previous days. This way, by the end of the week, the kids have mastered the fundamentals.

Anne went on to tell me, "the life lessons are about core values (respect of others, respect of property, perseverance and courage, helping each other, honesty, sharing - and of course we cover etiquette and basic rules".

But it's not "all golf all the time". She said it's important to change things up for the kids. So they play some soccer, do a little fishing at the 7th hole at Fox Meadow where the Academy is headquartered or watch a fun golf video.

It sounds like a solid combination of learning and fun.

Now, I've played Fox Meadow in Charlottetown and it's a beautiful course in superb condition and with a frequent view of Charlottetown Harbor.

Just about a perfect place to learn how to play golf!

Tomorrow, Anne Chouinard on equipment for kids.