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Five years ago, everything I knew about the NCGA fit in my back pocket it was the card that had my handicap on it.

Today, I have a much better sense of our Association, which provides a range of member benefits and competitive opportunities a roster second to none, as you might expect from one of the largest regional golf associations in the country.

Here’s something you might not expect: the NCGA Foundation, operating as the charitable arm of the Association, is changing lives. That’s right-no hyperbole here-we have already reached some 30,000 kids, using golf to offer development opportunities to deserving youth. And kids are saying “yes” to that opportunity. It’s all under the umbrella of our program, Youth on Course.

Youth on Course is for the child who’s never picked up a club, for the family who needs a way to
spend more time together and for the young golfer who just can’t get enough of this great game. It’s given timid kids a chance to make friends, prompted youngsters with no goals to set ambitious ones, shown youth from Salinas an ocean they never knew was only 30 miles away and provided an open door to work in an industry previously thought to be off-limits.

And, we are just getting started!
Now, we are partnering with community non-profits to offer introductory clinics, internships and college scholarships for at-risk kids. We mayor may not create the next great golfer, but I know for sure we are offering kids a chance to create a better future for themselves. It’s all about youth development using golf as the tool, and we now have more than 120 facilities at which our kids will never pay more than $5 for a round of golf.

Did you have the chance to play golf in your youth? I sure did, and this wonderful, frustrating test of one’s make-up hooked me from the very beginning. Now I am very pleased to be part of the effort bringing the game to more kids who may well need the game more than you or I ever did.

You can be a part of the campaign to provide Youth on Course a better future and, frankly, we need your help. There are thousands of kids in Northern California who need an “18-hole intervention.” Please visit www.youthoncourse.org and make a contribution of any size. While you’re at it, tell us how the program has impacted your family or become our friend on Facebook.

The NCGA generously covers the majority of overhead expenses of the NCGA Foundation which means more than 90 cents of every dollar donated supports our kids. If you are business oriented, we offer a great return on investment. If you like to “do good,” there’s nothing I’ve been a part of that tops what we’re doing through Youth on Course.
Please join us today.

Sincerely,
Paul F. Morton
NCGA Foundation Board President

Northern California natives Jason Goldman, Matthew Goldman and Chris Qvale discuss their passion for golf and the need to share this passion with Northern California’s youth. They feel that giving back and supporting worthwhile causes is crucial to making the world a better place. Join them in helping to get Youth on Course.

The very first San Mateo Youth on Course clinic took place at the San Mateo Public Library on September 15, 2011. The youth participants are students from the Bayside STEM Academy and with the support of the George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy, the San Mateo Public Library and Youth on Course came together to provide literacy enhancing activities for the youth.

In addition to getting a behind the scenes tour of the library, the youth completed a literary scavenger hunt to collect facts about golf and its history prior to teeing it up at the Burlingame Golf Center in Mariner’s Point.

We are happy to announce that 34,341 rounds of golf have been played by Youth on Course members at participating facilities so far this year! June and July were the peak months of the season with 6,360 and 6,408 rounds respectively.

Youth on Course members must complete a life skills and values curriculum through a certified program or through the online curriculum. They play for no more than $5 at participating facilities.

Thank you to the partner facilities for supporting Northern California’s youth! A list of participating facilities may be found here. Youth on Course is made possible by the generous support of our donors.

Many thanks to the following 2011 Club Enrollment participants for their leadership, generosity and support of deserving youth!

• Ancil Hoffman Golf Club
• Antioch Seniors Golf Club
• Corral de Tierra CC
• Castlewood C
• Del Paso CC
• Lake Mered CC
• La Rinconada CC
• North Ridge CC
• Rossmoor GC
• Richmond CC
• Serrano CC