By: Jaxie Pidgeon
Published in: Lone Star Golf Magazine
For golf aficionados, hitting the links on a gorgeous summer day is as good as it gets: the smell of freshly cut grass, the welcome sight of an open fairway and the feeling of a tailwind coming in strong behind you. But, for many, the sport also can be a financial obstacle.
Fortunately, Youth on Course (YOC), one of the newer initiatives of the TGA Foundation, is making the game more accessible and affordable. YOC enables youngsters of all backgrounds to step up to the tee box. YOC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 2006 by the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA). The TGA Foundation launched its YOC program in January in San Antonio and offered membership to juniors, ages 6-18, for just $20 per year with zero restrictions on when to join. The cost-efficient membership includes access to play at participating golf courses for $5 or less, as well as internship opportunities, a caddie program and scholarships.
From the start, the eight courses that make up the Alamo City Golf Trail in San Antonio – Mission Del Lago Golf Course, Riverside Golf Club, Willow Springs Golf Course, Brackenridge Park Golf Course, Olmos Basin Golf Course, Northern Hills Golf Club, Cedar Creek Golf Course and San Pedro Driving Range – have participated in the program. The program has been steadily growing in popularity in the San Antonio area and currently includes 64 active members who have played more than 170 rounds of golf.
Recently, the TGA announced a new alliance with the U.S. military that has paved the way for the addition of three historic military base courses to YOC in San Antonio. Fort Sam Houston Golf Club, established in 1929, Gateway Hills Golf Club, established in 1946, and Randolph Oaks Golf Course, established in 1950, bring the total to 11 courses participating in the program in the San Antonio area.
Dave Roberts, director of player development for Air Force Golf, was instrumental in getting the military base courses added to YOC. He’s a proponent of adding more across the country. A 30-year veteran to the business of golf, Roberts said that being able to offer $5 green fees allows more kids to be able to learn the sport and gain important life skills such as honor, integrity and responsibility.
“The biggest stigma is ‘golf costs too much,’” Roberts said. “We are so keyed in on the senior guys and the weekend guys who pay the big dollars to go play and we forget about the others. Youth on Course is a way to rebrand junior golf.”
Roberts underscored the importance of how the program keeps youngsters engaged in a positive way.
“Golf reflects life,” Roberts said. “What you put into it is what you are going to get out of it, so if you want it, you got to go out there and get it.”
Thinking back on his own experiences as a child, Roberts said that the game of golf helps keep kids on the right track.
“The more you are on the course, the less trouble you get in,” Roberts said. “It saved me. I mean, my parents would drop me off, I’d stay there all day, and they would pick me up when they got off of work. No need for a babysitter.”
Contrary to popular belief, most military base golf courses can be enjoyed by members of the public after a security screening. According to the National Golf Foundation, the various branches of the U.S. armed forces operate more than 120 golf courses in the United States. Its database shows there are military courses in 39 U.S. states, with eight of them being in Texas.
Roberts said the three San Antonio military base courses are run by successful golf managers and have a strong teaching staff that the YOC members can benefit from. He noted that many of the nation’s military golf courses are designed by top-tier architects like Pete Dye, Robert Trent Jones Sr. and A.W. Tillinghast. Fort Sam Houston Golf Club, one of the new YOC additions, is a Tillinghast-designed course.
“These courses are not normally played by outsiders,” Roberts said. “We are now opening our doors to the public with waivers. So, not only does a military dependent get to play, now outside Joe public gets to participate, too.”
Since its founding in 2006, YOC has gained momentum nationally by partnering with state and regional golf associations. Today, the program is offered in 34 regions and has subsidized more than 900,000 rounds of golf.
“As operators of golf courses, we have to understand that these kids aren’t going to come to us, we have to have a program for them,” Roberts said. “The youth is our future.”
To learn more about Youth on Course, click here.
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