The Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program introduces school age children across the state to the game of golf and the valuable life skills it teaches. This program, which is offered to schools at no cost to the student or the school, was created as a collaborative effort between the founding associations of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation: the Colorado PGA, Colorado Golf Association, Colorado Women’s Golf Association and Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents’ Association
The CGA and allied associations were active this year, providing programs at Rock Canyon High School, Side Creek Elementary, Virginia Court Elementary, High Tech Elementary and McAuliffe Middle School. Programming focuses of safety, short versions of the game in pitching and chipping lessons, hitting a full swinging motion, and games and team building. Students are then hosted at a golf facility to experience the game as it’s actually played.
CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned by the CGA, regularly hosts these trips for the schools with individualized instruction from PGA professionals. In many cases, this is the first time any of the kids have held a golf club or been on a golf course so the introduction to a lifetime of sports is a huge priority for schools the program alike.
Since its inception, the Golf in Schools Program has introduced close to 40,000 school-aged children to the game of golf. In 2016, the PGA has engaged 44 schools across Colorado serving more than 8,000 kids.
The far-reaching success of the program is not possible without generous funding. Partners such as Colorado PGA REACH, Colorado Open Golf Foundation, Colorado AvidGolfer and the Colorado Golf Foundation provide strong support for the program, but additional funds from donors and community members are needed to continue the success and growth of the program.
If you, or your school, are interested in the Golf in Schools Program please contact Erin Gangloff at the Colorado Golf Association (email link) or Holly Champion at the Colorado PGA (email link). Those interested in donating to the Golf in Schools Program can do so through the CGA website. Currently you can also support the program by entering the CGA Golf Vacation to Vidanta Resorts Mexico raffle for which all proceeds support CGA Community and Wellness programs including Golf in Schools.
