George Solich has a soft spot in his heart when it comes to golf-related programs that can help develop youngsters into productive adults.
After all, he was the product of just such a program.
Solich earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado after going to school on an Evans Caddie Scholarship, and now he’s doing his best to pay it forward.
His latest venture in that regard is one on a very large scale. With a $2 million lead gift from Solich and his wife Carol, the CGA on Monday announced the formation of the Colorado Golf Foundation, which will provide assistance “for innovative programs that use the game of golf to instill hard work and self-reliance in young people.”
For Solich, the kids are the key.
“I love golf and what it can teach kids of all socio-economic backgrounds — good lessons about character and competition,” he said. “For me, the game has affected my life in so many great ways.”
The CGA has been designated the organization that will manage the day-to-day affairs of the CGF, with guidance provided by an independent nine-person board of directors and five advisory directors who will review opportunities and distribute appropriate grants.
Former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., a lifelong Coloradan who helped structure the foundation, has been named the CGF’s chairman.
Among the programs the Colorado Golf Foundation anticipates funding are two which Solich has helped fund and support in the past: the year-old Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course, and the CGA’s Evans Scholarship Recruiter position. Others programs that have been specified for anticipated funding are other Colorado-based caddie programs and the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround.
(Solich is pictured above congratulating a participant in the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.)
And the plan is to consider support for “other youth-based programs and initiatives that place a high value on leadership, character development and the traditions of the game of golf.”
“I think the (CGF) will make a big difference,” said Nicholson, who has a long history of volunteerism in the game. “And I think it will be great particularly for young people; that’s the emphasis. I’m delighted and honored that George asked me to be chairman.”
Like Solich, Nicholson believes golf is an especially effective vehicle for instilling key values in young men and women.
“The key is that golf is a game of self-discipline and doing what’s right when no one is looking,” said Nicholson, who last year was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Solich hopes to see the $2 million seed he’s planted blossom into something that other philanthropists support and which will grow and thrive over the long haul.
The foundation “is almost a co-op for a lot of different programs we want to support through golf, and we hope others see the benefit (and assist in the effort),” Solich said. “I hope that $2 million (grows to be) a much bigger foundation and will drive some good programs in the state of Colorado that are rooted in golf and that will have a broad effect on people’s lives.
“When we look back in five or 10 years, I hope we can say, ‘Look at what we started and how many kids we affected.'”
The nine members of the CGF board, which must include at least two members of the CGA Board of Governors, are Nicholson, George Caulkins, former Cherry Hills Country Club head professional Clayton Cole, Jim Hayes, Phil Lane, CGA president Tom Lawrence, CGA executive director Ed Mate, Geoff Solich (George’s brother and an Evans Scholars alum) and Castle Pines Golf Club general manager Keith Schneider.
The advisory board will include George Solich, World Golf Hall of Famers Hale Irwin and Judy Bell, and Colorado Sports Hall of Famers Jack Vickers and Dow Finsterwald.
For several reasons, Solich feels the CGA is the ideal organization to manage the day-to-day affairs of the foundation.
“The mission of both organizations are strongly aligned, and what the CGA has done with CommonGround (which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA) as a tool is so admirable. They have the caddie program, the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program; it’s turned out to be an incredible confluence, a great staging area to deliver all these great programs. I also believe the leadership at the CGA has never been stronger, and the mission and direction has never been stronger. So it was perfect alignment.”
Providing the lead gift and guidance for the Colorado Golf Foundation is the latest of several major endeavors Solich has taken on in the golf realm over the last several years.
He was a major force in bringing the 2014 BMW Championship PGA Tour playoff event to Cherry Hills Country Club, and he will serve as general chairman of that tournament. The BMW Championship helps fund the Evans Caddie Scholarship. And in a related matter, Solich has been a Match Play Challenge partner in an initiative in which major donors match contributions of $2,500 or more to the Evans Scholarship. And that’s all in addition to the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy — which is named in honor of brothers George and Geoff, both former Evans Scholars and prominent players in the oil and gas business — and George funding the CGA’s Evans Scholars Recruiter position.
“I’ve been blessed to be able” to give back, Solich said.
For more information on the Colorado Golf Foundation, or to support the CGF, contact Will Nicholson at 303-585-7100.
