IT all started last November with an offhand question from a student in his English class. She had been watching Hawthorne devour an old Golf Digest Magazine while on a long bus ride. Having never seen a golf club, she asked the ultimate non-player question, "Why do you like golf anyway?" Hawthorne, an avid golfer since his youth in California, sat speechless. He thought, "How can I explain that it can be a meditative experience, how a good golf shot is like a piece of artwork, how if you improve your golf game, you will improve your life." Instead, he simply whispered, "it's beautiful."

Her interest piqued, she asked in English, "can you teach us to play?" Currently there is only one golf course in Bulgaria and the closest driving range is two and a half hours drive from Montana. Knowing this, Hawthorne did not flinch. Without clubs or a course, he said "yes." That was the easy part.

Hawthorne immediately began searching for golf equipment donors. Without a stotinka to spare, he found Junior Golf Resources (JGR) on the Internet. Formed in 1995, by Jerry Berrows, JGR is a non-profit organisation based in the US dedicated to bringing as many juniors in to the game of golf as possible.

"My immediate feeling on receiving Jeffrey's first email was one of great warmth and considerable pride," says Berrows. "This man and those kids needed help, and I was very pleased he found my website and asked for that help." Their virtual relationship began as the cold winds started to blow. Berrows promised 14 sets of custom-made clubs and associated equipment. Now Hawthorne had to keep the kids interested through the long winter in Montana.

Bulgarians are known for their ingenuity. A quick glance at any house or car is a testament to their ability to improvise with found objects. So it wasn't such an outrageous request when Hawthorne asked members of his newly formed "Junior Golf Club" to bring their tochilkas to class. A tolchilka is a long thin Bulgarian rolling pin used to make banitza, a traditional bread. The students obliged and learned the importance of grip to the game. Using Ben Hogan's book, The Fundamentals of Golf: 5 Lessons, Hawthorne preached the mantra "if don't know the grip, you won't know golf." Meeting after school, they practiced for weeks.

He interspersed classes with lessons about the rules and etiquette of the game. Illustrating the course with colourful markers on paper, he explained the basics every beginner golfer should know. "This is the green. That is the rough where you'll find me most of the time," says Hawthorne. He complemented those lessons with a videotape of the Kemper Open. Using the freeze frame option, they analysed each player's swing and discussed the rules between play. The students soon discovered new heroes named Tiger Woods and Davis Love III.

Hogan's book focuses on five fundamentals with chapter titles: The Grip, Stance and Posture, First Part of the Swing, Second Part of the Swing and Overview. After learning grip, stance and posture the class moved onto the swing. Again, his acquired Bulgarian ingenuity surfaced. What could he use to explain the proper arm and shoulder positions for a correct swing? The answer came to him while watching farmers in the fields around him. They use a two-handed scythe called a koca to cut tall grass. As the snow continued to fall, the students practiced swinging with a koca but they were growing restless waiting for the equipment.

They certainly believed in Hawthorne and his tactics according to Laura Todorova, a member of the club. "Jeffrey explained it all in an interesting way," says Todorova. "I had watched golf on Eurosport but I never imagined I could do it too."

As the weather warmed, another creative teaching method brought some fun to their study. Hawthorne organised a cherry seed-spitting contest for the students. The goal was to visualise the ball's arc and a fixed target and also to keep the lessons light and entertaining. While the students were progressing, their parents may have questioned his choice of sport, but they were pleased to see how their children eagerly trusted him.

Finally, in July the long-awaited shipment of donated equipment finally arrived. The students tore open boxes and held clubs for the first time. "It was much harder to play than I thought," says fellow club mate Olessia Georgieva. Their excitement was well worth the wait and frustrations associated with 14 sets of golf clubs crossing the Atlantic" says Hawthorne.

"I had seen movies about this 'gentleman's game' and I thought it was for rich people. I never thought I'd be able to play," says Georgieva. That day, along with her friends, she received a custom-made set of clubs, a hat and shoes from JPG.

Donor Berrows says, "I personally love the game, and find it at various times an immense pleasure or a despondent humiliation. It's the perfect catalyst for teaching young people life's greatest lessons: teamwork, honesty, dignity, humility, patience and courage."

With a solid understanding of the game and now the right equipment, the only thing missing was the chance to visit a real course. That course is the Golf Club Air Sofia located in Ihtiman. Owned by the aviation freight company Air Sofia, the Club is the first 18-hole course built in Bulgaria. It was the vision of Lilian Todorov, Air Sofia's President, to build a full service Club in 2000 (see associated article). Recognising a similar pioneer spirit in Hawthorne, Todorov also donated his services to the kids. He allowed them to spend a weekend at the Club with free access to the driving range and free golf lessons from the Club professional.

"When the kids teed up, they gained an instant respect for the game," says Hawthorne. The theory of hitting that little ball 250 m is very different than the practice. "I learned it was more interesting to play this sport than to watch it on TV," says Todorova.

Their perseverance paid off. By the end of the day the kids organised putting and chipping contests among themselves. "As soon as they made contact, they were hooked," says Hawthorne.

They understood the near religious reverence for the sport. "It teaches patience and concentration" says Nellie Etimova, a promising hitter. "I really enjoyed learning something independently."

According to US-based PGA junior teaching pro Bill Goggin, "The game transcends borders as Jeffrey has made clear. It is a simple sport played with sticks and balls. Games like this have been played since the beginning of mankind. Everyone can relate to it."

Though Jerry Berrows and Hawthorne have not met, they clearly share the same passion.

"Kids realise early on that golf is the single most difficult sport we have ever invented.. Golf simply doesn't care. It stands supreme, superior to any human, and will frequently slap you right across the mouth. Every new golfer must learn to live with this. They were well worth the effort. Our kids just happen to be our only resource. And what we give to them as right-thinking adults in the savvy of golf gives us back a far superior product in the end.. "

Hawthorne agrees. Teachinga bunch of Bulgarian kids to play without equipment through the winter was an enormous challenge. But he cheerfully agrees it was worthwhile, "I am very proud of my students and the skills they learned, with patience being the most important one."