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Charlie Vincent, a golf pro at the Point University Golf Club, is holding a clinic on Aug. 25 for police officers in Lanett, Valley and West Point to thank them for their service to the community.

This will be the first time Vincent will host a clinic for the officers, and he already worked with Point to host a clinic for Callaway High School football players in the summer.

“I’ve asked Point if I could give a free clinic to the police to thank them for everything they do for the community,” Vincent said. “I was told yes, so I called the chief of police. They’ve started a signup sheet. It’ll be about an hour and a half. I’ll spend time on the practice tee teaching them woods and irons and on the putting green.”

Only six officers have signed up, but Vincent is hoping for more.

“I’ve invited administrative associates too, but I don’t think there’s a lot of golfers there,” Vincent said. “Six is fine. Next time, we’ll get twelve. It’s important to make sure they have a good time. We’ll talk about the basics of the game. If they’re good players, I’ll help them as a good player. If they’re beginners, I’ll start at the beginning. The idea is to say thank you and let them have fun.”

Although this is the first time Vincent will be working with officers from the greater Valley area, he did work with the police in LaGrange before.

Vincent not only wants to thank the officers, he wants them to learn the game of golf.

“Golf is a game they can play the rest of their lives,” Vincent said. “I want to introduce them to the game if they haven’t played before. Maybe I can give them something fun to do when they’re not working. If they already play, maybe I can improve them. The whole idea is to talk to them about why golf is such a wonderful game. It’s the only game I know that has a fair handicap system. It’s also a great game to introduce your children to because it’s a game built on rules, etiquette and integrity. In my opinion, you’re not a true golfer until you break a rule and call it on yourself.”

Vincent will bring some clubs for the officers, and they’ll also use some clubs from the lost and found if the officers don’t bring their own.

Point will provide all the balls, and Vincent plans to hold this clinic every year.

“I’d like to get the fire department involved, but this is my first year down there, and I’m just kind of feeling my way around,” Vincent said. “My goal is to do this once a year with the police and fire department together.”