Newton Recreation Commission Junior Golf Clinic Newton, KS

Summer 2014

Henderson Leads Crusade In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Michael Henderson is leading a crusade to help make golf affordable and accessible to every child in the community. In addi-tion to serving on the Board of the South Central Section of the PGA and working as General Manager of the Lakeside Me-morial Golf Course, Henderson is doing everything he can to cultivate the next generation of golfers.

Beginning May 27, Lakeside Me-morial Golf Course is offering children under the age of 16 the opportunity to play, receive instruction, and borrow equipment free of charge. With the help of PING Golf, US Kids Golf, and the GCBAA Foundation Sticks for Kids Program, chil-dren in Stillwater can learn about and ex-perience the game of golf without having to worry about any financial constraints.

Children new to the game will receive instruction on golf fundamentals and golf course etiquette. Children will be able to play with an adult on weekends until 2 p.m. and on their own after that, depending on course traffic. They will be allowed to play on their own Monday to Thursday.

Henderson believes making golf more accessible will prove to help revital-ize and grow the game.

“I’m taking a leap of faith that this new program will be successful, but

I really believe that financial constraints keep the game from growing,” Hender-son said. “Once I document the financial benefits of my program to the PGA and fellow golf course operators, I am sure that others will follow suit. Thank you so much for the opportunity to partner in this new endeavor.”

In addition to his pilot program at Lakeside, Henderson is currently in-volved in raising funds to bring SNAG programs to all local elementary schools, hoping it will help generate an interest in golf that will carry over to the golf course. The Sticks for Kids Program provides the next logical step at Lakeside, which has already been recognized as a PGA Fam-ily course and a South Central PGA Junior Golf Leader.

Henderson’s Sticks for Kids grant application was recently approved and the Lakeside Memorial Golf Course will soon receive 10 sets of junior clubs and Sticks for Kids program materials. Both Henderson and the GCBAA Foundation Board are excited to see how the pro-gram in Stillwater will develop in the years to come.

For more information about Lakeside Memorial Golf Course, contact Michael Henderson at (405) 372-3399 or mhenderson@stillwater.org, or visit www.stillwatergolf.org.

Enlists Sticks for Kids SupportCOMING SOON•Eagles for Education

Grant - How to apply

•New program - Boys & Girls Clubs of America

•New program - Links Across America

•New program - Michigan Women’s Golf Associa-tion

•GCBAA Foundation Scholarship recipient - Eric McCarthy

•2013 Year-End Survey results and Sticks for Kids Program Status Report

Michael Henderson believes cultivating an interest in golf at a young age is key to growing the game in the future.

A group of female junior golfers practice together at Lakeside Memorial Golf Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Youth Golf Event a Smashing SuccessAttleboro, Massachusetts As past recipients of Sticks for Kids Program grant funding, the folks in Attleboro, Massachusetts knows the positive impact golf can have on the lives of children. Tim Killion, Community Outreach Coordinator and Youth Center Director, reached out to the GCBAA Foundation this spring with a unique request. The Recreation Department wanted to purchase 10 sets of youth golf clubs to be used in the annual golf event and then donated to children who par-ticipate regularly but do not have their own equipment. Tim worked with Lori Romano, GCBAA Information & Educa-tion Coordinator, to compile the order.

The Attleboro Youth Center provides children in the community with engaging after school activities and positive role models. Funded by grants from the United Way, Community De-velopment of Attleboro, and proceeds from the annual Attleboro Youth Center

Charitable Golf Outing, the Youth Center is run by the local Recreation Depart-ment and the YMCA. With help from the Attleboro Area Golf Association, the owners of the Locust Valley Golf Course, and Drew Chapman, Head Professional at the Highland Country Club, the 2014 youth golf event was a huge suc-cess.

On Saturday, May 3, more than 40 youth and their parents gathered at the Locust Valley Golf Course, where they enjoyed a golf clinic, a round of golf, a cookout, and raffle prizes. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and volun-teers, participants enjoyed a free day of fun, sun, and golf.

Tim shared the following note from the mother of one participant, thanking the GCBAA Foundation and Sticks for Kids Program for helping make it all possible:

Hi Tim,

My son, Tye, attended the youth golf day this past Saturday and I’m so glad he did.

He had a great day and we are so thankful for your generosity in giving him the golf set. He now has a whole new interest and uses them all the time, “to work on his swing” or just play.

We will definitely be back next year! Thank you again for put-ting together the event and your generosity.

Trish P. For more information about youth programs in the city of Attleboro, visit http://www.cityofattleboro.us/rec/youthc.htm

The Attleboro Recreation Department purchased clubs through the GCBAA to give to children who may otherwise not have the opportunity to own them. Proceeds from the annual event are used to fund year round youth programs in the community.

At the week-long clinic, children learn the fundamentals of the game and practice hitting, chipping, and putting.

The volunteer team is made up up local coaches and members of the Fox Ridge Golf Club.

Newton’s Recipe for Success Six Years...and Counting Severe thunder-storms and early morning flooding couldn’t stop a group of junior golfers in Newton, Kansas. They gathered at Fox Ridge Golf Club Thursday, June 5 to wrap up day four of the annual Newton Recreation Commission Junior Golf Clinic. Since 2008, the Newton Recreation Com-mission and Fox Ridge Golf course have teamed up with the Sticks for Kids Program to connect local youth with the game of golf, and it’s a collabora-tion that’s definitely work-ing.

In 2008, Jason Steadman, sports director at the Newton Recreation Com-mission, teamed up with Mike Riffel, co-owner/operator of the Fox Ridge Golf Club to launch what has become a very successful program. The weeklong clinic consists of four days of small group workshops, where children ages 7-18 practice chipping, putting, and driving, and learn the fundamentals of the game. On Friday, the kids enjoy playing the course with their families, and showing off the skills they learned and practiced during the week.

“When we first started the pro-gram, we had about 15 or 20 kids,” said

Steadman. “We’ve been holding steady at about 40 participants every year since and that is a good number. Some kids have been attending since the very beginning of the program.”

A group of dedicated volun-teers, made up of coaches and retired coaches from local schools, have been helping grow and sustain the program since its inception. Steadman and Riffel admit that they wouldn’t be able to run such a successful program without the help of the volunteer team.

“Jenny Gihring is a teacher and coach herein Newton,” Steadman said. “Then we’ve got Judy Noller, the

Remington High School coach. There’s Dick Hushka, a longstanding member of the golf club and Paul Buller, who is a former high school coach. Jim Pohlman is the coach at Peabody. Judy has volunteered since 2009, Jim since 2012. The rest have been volunteering since the program began.”

Steadman and Riffel also credit the GCBAA Foundation’s support, and the generosity of a number of local sponsors for the long term success of the

program. This year, in addi-tion to receiving several new sets of clubs as part of a Sticks

for Kids Maintenance Grant, the Newton clinic also received donations from Little Debbie sales rep Gary Esposito, Golf USA, Howard Love, Conrade Insurance Group, First Bank of Newton, realtor Gary Hill, Charlsen Insurance, Papa Mur-phy’s, Papa John’s, The Golf Warehouse, Wendy’s, Dickey’s BBQ, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Sonic. Donations from local sponsors help provide gift certificates, food and snacks, t-shirts, and certificates for program participants.

“We can’t thank the GCBAA and our sponsors enough,” Riffel said. “The Sticks for Kids equipment helps us make the program possible, and the sponsors

help us raise money to do stuff for the kids. I like to do something for our vol-unteers, too. Overall, it helps us keep the cost of the program very low so anyone can participate.”

Going forward, Steadman and Riffel would like to see the program continue strong, and for participants to leave with an understanding of the fundamentals, as well as an appreciation for the game.

“The most important thing to

us is getting junior golfers interested and started early,” said Riffel. “There are so many other sports that golf has to compete with, but we hope that if these kids are here today, they will come back. It may be tomorrow. It may not be for 10 years, but we hope that when they do come back, we’ve provided them with a solid foundation, so maybe they will want to share the game with their own kids. My vision is to really see golf make its way into the school systems. I had a chance to check out a SNAG Golf system,

and I think it would be a great option if we could find a way to raise funds for a set or two at our local schools. Get the kids interested early, teach them the techniques and fundamentals, and then continue to work with them as they grow.”

For more information about the annual clinic and other junior golf opportunities at Fox Ridge Golf Club, visit www.newtonrec.org and www.foxridgegc.com.

The Newton Recreation Commission’s annual Junior Golf Clinic is one of the most popular youth golf education programs in the area. The GCBAA Foundation has proudly supported this Sticks for Kids Program since its inception in 2008.

GCBAA Foundation | 727 0 Street | Lincoln, NE 68508

Tel: 402-476-4444 Fox: 402-476-4489

www.sticksforkids.org