It’s not often that you’ll see a public golf facility going out of its way to dole out free rounds, even on a par-3 course. But in the case of the CGA and CWGA, you could say they’re on a mission about their mission.
In their big-picture quest to promote and grow the game, the state golf associations would like nothing better than having their kids course at CommonGround teeming with players, and if most of them are there free of charge, all the better.
In fact, the CGA and CWGA are expected to make significant inroads in that regard this year. With a major expansion of a golf-in-schools program, CommonGround officials are anticipating the number of youngsters playing the kids course for free to quintuple, going from about 400 last year to more than 2,000 in 2011.
“We want to have it busting at the seams,” said Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA. “The first couple of years, the (kids) course has been underutilized. But the primary purpose of the course is to grow the game of golf.”
Any youngster who participates in CGA/CWGA programs — which range from Golf in Schools to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, from Special Olympics to Girls Scouts of Colorado, from Goodwill to LPGA/USGA Girls Golf, and from the Montclair Recreation Center to The Challenge Foundation — can play the kids course free of charge.
Taking note of those outreach programs — many of which target underprivileged youngsters who wouldn”˜t otherwise be exposed to the game of golf — the USGA has been a major financial supporter of what’s going on at CommonGround. The national organization provided a $175,000 grant to help build the kids course (which opened in May 2009 along with the 18-hole championship course), and this year the USGA is kicking in another $20,000 to help fund junior outreach initiatives at the course.
A formal presentation of that $20,000 will take place on Tuesday (May 17) when the CGA and CWGA hold their annual Colorado Golf Junior Golf Fundraiser at CommonGround, the course which the associations own and operate. USGA representatives, including Colorado-based USGA Executive Committee member Christie Austin, are expected to participate in the event.
About 128 golfers will play in the fundraiser, which brings in money for the youth programs at CommonGround. That cash — and the $20,000 from the USGA — will go for junior equipment, instructor and access fees and “anything and everything that allows us to provide access at no cost,” Mate said. “We want to absolutely erase the barrier of cost and access.”
Mate praised the USGA for not only helping build the kids course, but following up by funding valuable junior programs at CommonGround.
“Having a facility is great, but what makes it run are the programs there,” he said. “Raising the money to build it is crucial, but if you don’t have the funds to do programming it’s an empty shell. They’ve shown a huge commitment to junior outreach and to growth-of-the-game initiatives.”
Dustin Jensen, director of youth programs for the CGA, noted that last year there was a directive from the CGA Board of Governors wanting additional focus placed on the outreach programs.
“They said the tournament programs are great, but how do we grow the outreach program?” Jensen said. “And now, our budget didn’t go up by a penny, but we’re going to go from seeing 400 to over 2,000 (youngsters) with a realignment of staff, so that’s great.”
At the beginning of this year, the CGA/CWGA’s existing golf-in-schools program became part of a larger, joint initiative of the Allied Golf Associations — the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program, presented by the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. Golf in Schools exposes kids to golf through physical education classes at their schools, then at golf courses themselves, and the program also includes family golf days at courses for the students and their families.
Among the CGA/CWGA’s Golf in School partners are the Lotus School for Excellence, Sable Elementary, Aurora Academy, Tollgate Elementary, the Girls Athletic Leadership School, Lansing Elementary and Peoria Elementary.
Besides the expansion of the junior outreach at CommonGround, the CGA has another major junior golf-related matter on its plate this year. The CGA will host the boys Junior America’s Cup matches July 27-29 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. A fundraiser for that event is planned for June 27 at Hiwan.
