Above Par : Students Building Miniature Golf Course on Campus

Math, art, science, social studies. Every high school offers the usual courses.

Only one, though, offers a miniature golf course.

It’s in East Los Angeles, where teen-agers are building their own six-hole golf layout between classroom buildings at Monterey Continuation High School.

Students are using math skills to design the pint-size castle that will crown the third hole and serve as the centerpiece of the 1,400-square-foot course. Their science knowledge is helping them build chutes that will carry balls between holes.

Each hole has a different historic theme. And students have encircled the project with a mural called “Around the World in 80 Feet” that illustrates each theme.

Youngsters have been digging decorative moats and pouring concrete since last summer. At the rate they are going, they figure they can swap their shovels for clubs sometime in April.

“At first I didn’t think we would accomplish it. I thought it would be too much work,” said Maira Lira, 16. “But the way everybody’s working together, I don’t feel that way anymore.”

About 50 students have chipped in, said Principal Ken Easum. He has been puttering with the campus golf idea for nearly three years.

“I thought what better way to get kids involved,” Easum said. “There would be something for everybody.”

Besides breathing life into academic and physical education classes, the golf project is offering fund-raising and hands-on construction experience for youngsters.

The fund-raising part turned out to be Easum’s ace in the hole when he approached Los Angeles Unified School District officials for permission to pursue the $50,000 layout. He pledged that it would not cost the cash-strapped school system a dime.

“There’s no way I could allocate that much money to an individual school right now,” said Dan Isaacs, head of the district’s high school division.

Donations have come from local businesses and professionals such as architect Gregory Villanueva of Los Angeles and builder David Blankmeyer of South El Monte. Villanueva helped students polish their design and introduced them to Blankmeyer.

“The cement pour we did last time was in the middle of the rain. But the students stuck with it,” said Blankmeyer, whose Campbell Construction Co. has given about $10,000 worth of concrete. “For kids with no construction experience to take this on takes a lot of guts.”

Teachers at the continuation school--which enrolls youngsters who are at risk of becoming dropouts--were as skeptical as their students when the project started.

“Some faculty were opposed because they didn’t think there would be academic involvement. But they’ve come around,” instructor David Verharst said. “When students saw the scale model, they said it couldn’t be done. They changed their minds when construction started.”

Student Victor Sanchez, 18, was surprised they could wedge the six-hole layout into the tiny corner of the Fraser Avenue campus, next door to Garfield High School.

“When we poured the first hole I thought we might have a chance. Now, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Sanchez said.

Supervised by science teacher Louis Darbeau, students molded a waterfall this week that will flow beneath the “ancient civilizations” second hole. The other five holes will highlight prehistoric times, the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the age of discovery and exploration, the age of nationalism and revolution, and the Western experience.

“We’ve put our minds to it and done it,” said Luz Torres, 16, as she wiped wet cement from her hands. Excited by what she has done, Torres plans to look into a career in construction after graduation.

The school’s neighbors and children from a nearby elementary school will be invited to use the miniature golf course when it opens, Easum said. And alumni such as Torres will be encouraged to return and tee up.

That’s the fair way.