When Dustin Jensen became the director of youth programs at the Colorado Golf Association in 2004, one thing that struck him was how many organizations were working all too separately toward essentially the same goal regarding junior golf.
There was the CGA, the Colorado Women’s Golf Association, the Colorado Junior Golf Association, First Tee, Open Fairways, the Colorado Section PGA, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf and the Gold Crown Foundation, among others.
“It seemed like everybody was working apart, and I didn’t understand why,” Jensen said. “We’re all trying to see how we can get more kids to play.”
Jensen and others among those many groups felt there must be a better way, and decided to do something about it. One result is the Colorado Junior Golf Experience, a prominent feature of the Denver Golf Expo, which runs Friday through Sunday (Feb. 6-8) at the Denver Merchandise Mart Plaza (I-25 and 58th Ave).
More importantly, coinciding with Friday’s opening of the Expo, a web site (coloradojuniorgolf.org) will be launched that aims to be the go-to resource for kids seeking instruction, camps/clinics, tournaments/competitions, and opportunities/scholarships for caddies.
“We thought we needed to create a better database,” said Jensen, who has spearheaded the effort. “It’s a neat web site that people can work with. We want people to be aware of where to go, and this way you get to see all the opportunities within the state. “
The movement toward consolidating junior golf efforts and information started a year ago when the Colorado Junior Golf Committee, comprised of 30-40 people from the various organizations, met to discuss the matter. Though no concrete plans came out of that meeting, several committee members kept working on ideas, and last summer a game plan of sorts was formulated, with organizers agreeing that the web site should be the first priority. From there, coloradojuniorgolf.org was established, with plenty of co-branding in the process.
“It was a “˜Why can’t we all get along?’ mentality,” Jensen said.
And out of the web site formation came the plans for the Expo, where kids 16 and under will be admitted free. There, the Colorado Junior Golf Experience, aimed toward juniors who want to get a better feel for the game, will include separate areas for chipping, putting and full swing. Each youngster who wants to participate will be given a scorecard to keep track of their progress, and those who go through all three areas will be awarded a goodie bag, which includes a punch card for free golf for kids (accompanied by a paying adult) at various nine-hole par-3 courses.
“The whole idea is for parents to bring down their kids who want to get into golf,” said Mark Cramer, owner and manager of the Denver Golf Expo. “When you bring more golfers into the game, it helps the industry as a whole.”
Said Jensen: “We want to bring (kids) in and let them experience the game. Hopefully we’ll make an impact on one kid, but if it’s 1,000, great. It’s all about getting more kids to play the game. You can learn a lot from the game of golf. Everyone wants to grow the game — that’s in all our best interest. But right now, what we want to do is to impact kids’ lives.”
The Golf Expo facilitates the growth of junior golf in another respect. The annual Golf Swap, where customers can purchase new and used clubs and other equipment, benefits junior development programs. Last year, Jensen said, the Swap raised almost $14,000, bettering the previous record for the event by almost $6,000.
This weekend’s hours for the Expo are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 9-5 Saturday, and 10-4 Sunday. The cost is $10 for adults (17-49) and $8 for seniors (50 and over), with those 16 and under admitted free.
