Terry Ball isn't much of a golfer, but he compares the stress-free excitement of skeet and trap shooting to the game of golf.
While many Polk County residents and visitors flock to the several golf courses in the area, Ball enjoys a day at the Imperial Polk Gun Club in Winter Haven. The skeet and trap shooting range is at 151 Racepit Road. More than 25 club members are regulars at the range.
Ball says the concentration and talent it takes to be successful at skeet shooting is equal to that of an amateur golfer.
"It's really hard to discipline yourself for both skeet and trap shooting similar to the discipline you have to have when playing on a golf course," Ball says. "The only thing you are competing against and have to beat is yourself."
Ball prefers skeet over trap shooting, but he says it takes equal talent to be good at either one. Skeet shooting is when a bird, better described as a round flying object made out of a clay-hardening substance, flies out of a high and low house.
The high house sits about 12 feet tall and shoots the bird high in the sky; the low house is about two feet off the ground. However, the high and low houses are set to go off at the same time in some instances, and the birds will meet in the middle of the target for the shooter.
Ball has been making the trip down to Winter Haven from Canada for many years and enjoys practicing his skeet shooting at the Imperial Polk Gun Club. Anyone who is interested in becoming a member has to pay $127 for the application fee plus an annual member fee of $107.
"Most of our members are generally hunters or retirees," Eli Joiner said.
The president of the Imperial Polk Gun Club, Joiner has been actively participating in skeet and trap shooting for 20 years. He also was named the "Member of the Month" for January and has been a member since 1991.
"I liked to hunt and fish since I was a little kid," Joiner said. "And the skeet and trap shooting gave me the opportunity to practice and stay sharp in between hunting season."
Joiner mentioned the 4-H Shooting Club program that area youths can participate in at the club. The educational programs for 4-H include volunteer development, shooting sports and sports fishing.
Roger Croghan and Tom Hartley Jr. are the two 4-H program instructors at the club. Croghan and Hartley picked up the sport in 1971 and both have earned their instructor certifications.
Four kinds of rifles are used at the club - a 12-gauge, 20-gauge, 28-gauge and a 410.
The 12-gauge is used strictly for trap shooting because it holds the biggest shell round of pellets. The pellets in the shells are released after the shotgun is fired to hit the bird.
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