You could say Ethan Sculley is a chip off the old block.

“According to my dad, he put a golf club in my crib,” said Ethan, 10. “I’ve been playing as long as I can remember.”

Still, at the Mattapoisett Recreation golf clinic, Ethan said he learned some new things.

“I learned how to chip better. Whenever I chipped, it would just roll. It’s actually doing what it’s supposed to be doing and going up in the air,” he said.

Ethan and 11 other kids, aged 6 to 12 participated in the first collaboration between Mattapoisett Recreation and Reservation Golf Club, held on three consecutive Sundays this month.

Jim Rogers, a member of the Board of Governors, said the Golf Club used to have youth programs but hasn’t in recent years. The short program was a way to see if there was interest in the community and to ease kids into the sport.

“This was our way to start this foundation up again. I’ve seen it to be very successful,” said Rogers.

Jennifer Jeppson of Rochester brought her son, Camden, 7. She and her husband had been on the hunt for a good program in the area for kids starting out. The three-day clinic was perfect.

“We wanted to be able to introduce him to golf because it’s a great time to learn when you’re young,” she said. “He’s had a great time.”

From newbies like Camden to those with their own pintsized golf clubs, the kids came with varying levels of experience, said Rogers.

Dominic Casilli, 9, had never been on a golf course before the clinic, and admitted that golfing was harder than it looked.

“When you play golf you gotta use your brain a lot. You’ve gotta take your time to focus,” said Cailli, a resident of New Bedford.

Chase Besancon, 8, started putting last year. Through the camp, he said, “I learned to put better, put and drive.”

When asked why he likes golf, Chase said, “I like to put, I like to chip and I like to drive.”

Those three aspects of the game were emphasized at the clinic, but Rogers really drove home the rules and etiquette.

His message to the kids was: “Treat everybody with respect.”

That included pausing to let other golfers play through and cheering them on when they made a good swing.

Rogers and fellow teacher Charlie Rider hope they’ve given the kids a good foundation through the brief program and would like to see it continue next year.

“We wanted to see how it was going to take off. So far it’s taken off really well,” said Rogers.

Both Rogers and Rider, a member of the golf club and Mattapoisett Recreation Committee, plan to hold the clinic next summer.

“We want to do it a little bigger next year,” said Ryder.