Youth on
Course —
the non-profit organization providing young people with subsidized golf,
college scholarships, caddie programs and paid internships, in partnership with
Golf Canada and Alberta Golf – breaks international ground and brings
affordable junior golf to Canada.
Initially, Youth on Course will be launching as a two-year pilot in the
province of Alberta and will be recognized under the umbrella of Canada’s
National Junior Golf Program – Future Links. With 17,000 junior member golfers
and nearly 1,400 Golf Canada member clubs from coast to coast, Golf Canada will
evaluate the results of the pilot prior to expanding the program nationwide.
In Alberta, the list of courses offering junior golf rounds for $5 or less are:
Goose Hummock Golf Resort
Westlock Golf Course
RedTail Landing Golf Club
Whitetail Crossing Golf Club
Eagle Rock Golf Course
Olds Golf Club
River Spirit Golf Club
Heatherglen Golf Course
Serenity Golf Club
McCall Lake Golf Course (18 & par 3)
Shaganappi Golf Course (18 & 9)
Banff Springs Golf Club (Tunnel 9)
“Golf Canada and Alberta Golf continually inspire and
nurture a new generation of golfers by providing access to affordable rounds,”
says Adam Heieck, CEO of Youth on Course. “With the highest per-capita
golf participation in the world, Youth on Course’s expansion will benefit the
sport’s sustainability.”
Youth on Course will be a significant addition to the existing Future Links
suite of programs and offers an on-course application for facilities to offer
to youth, eliminating golf’s barrier of affordability and providing more
opportunities for kids to play golf. Golfers, ages 6-18 will be able to join the
Youth on Course international network, getting access to 1,000 golf courses in
29 different states.
“When first introduced to Youth on Course, we felt it was a very strong
initiative to advance junior golf and we are pleased to be involved in this
pilot stage for the program in Canada,” says Jeff Thompson, Chief Sport Officer
of Golf Canada. “Together with Alberta Golf and our participating partner
courses, we are eager to give community access to golf at an unprecedented
level of affordability.”
Golf Canada runs a variety of grassroot level programs under the Future Links
brand, aimed at introducing and developing the game of golf amongst Canadian
youth. A national junior program conducted in partnership with the PGA of
Canada and Canada’s 10 provincial golf associations, Future Links is focused on
three primary pillars of engagement – an in-school program, facility programs
and outreach programming, all of which have contributed to the success of
Future links, which has eclipsed the mark of 1.7 million youth engaged in golf.
Operating in every U.S. region, Youth on Course has more than 50,000 active
members. Since 2006, juniors have played more than 10 million holes and 765,000
rounds while the organization has helped generate more than $5.2 million in
tee-time revenue reimbursed back to individual golf courses. In addition to
subsidized rounds, Youth on Course also facilitates paid internships, a caddie
program and nationwide scholarships. They have awarded 223 students with
college scholarships totaling more than $1.4 million in financial support. The
current Youth on Course scholarship retention rate is ninety-four percent, with
80 students already graduated.
