Nine-year-old Trevor Boesiger addresses his golf ball on the executive course at Wilderness Ridge, his Boston Red Sox cap shading his eyes from the sun on this gorgeous, cloudless afternoon.

Nearby, his father, Brian, and grandfather, Dennis, watch.

Trevor’s already gone through his routine, one his grandfather reminds him of periodically throughout the round.

Feet apart. Left arm straight. Shoulders relaxed. Head down. Don’t forget to follow through.

Trevor brings the club back and pulls the trigger, swinging through the ball and lifting it into the air — a white pill against a blue canvas.

The ball lands, but continues to move, skipping quickly across the manicured green.

“What did you hit?” his father asks after it finally comes to rest in the rough at the back of the green.

“A six,” Trevor replies, sheepishly.

“Maybe next time an eight or a ‘P’?” his dad offers.

“No,” Trevor says, indicating his preference for swinging longer irons.

Brian smiles.

“That’s why I let Grandpa do the talking,” he says.

Youth golf is on the rise, with 19,000 young golfers playing rounds during the last fiscal year on the city’s Jim Ager Junior Golf Course, according to Steve Hiller, Lincoln Parks & Recreation assistant director.

The number is up from the previous two years, he said. Jim Ager also has 300 kids playing in its summer leagues. That’s up 25 golfers from last year.

But what Hiller is seeing overall is more families playing the sport together.

“Dads, moms, grandpas … even grandmas,” he said. “It’s a great activity for parents and grandparents to get involved with their kids.”

That’s how it is with the Boesigers.

Dennis introduced the sport to Brian, who picked up his first club as a seventh-grader and played it competitively for four years at Beatrice High School.

“My mom played a lot of golf, too,” 40-year-old Brian said. “It was nice because all of us played.”

Dennis, 70, semi-retired from the agricultural construction and equipment distribution company he co-owns in Beatrice, is doing it again with Brian’s son.

He introduced Trevor to the sport two years ago, enrolling him at a clinic in Beatrice.

Now, with summer youth baseball finished, grandpa and grandson try to play at least once a week.

Brian, a financial planner, joins them when he can.

“Trevor and I are still learning; Brian’s the golfer,” Dennis said, smiling.

The Boesiger men enjoy playing together.

Most of the time.

It depends, Trevor admits, on how well he’s playing.

Today, there are some good shots, and some bad ones from all three.

The good ones from Trevor bring  a chorus of “nice shots” from his father and grandfather.

The day also includes some good-natured ribbing between Dennis and Brian.

“See Trevor — that’s where you get that hook, from your dad,” Dennis says after Brian pulls a drive into the trees lining the left fairway.

On the final hole, Brian splashes his second shot in the water in front of the green.

“Ohhhhhh Trevor,” Brian hollers. And this time it’s Trevor who’s smiling.

Maybe dad should have used a 6-iron.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.