Each year has its own distinctive makeup. That’s true regarding life in general, or in Colorado golf.

And so it was in 2018, which is quickly coming to a close.

Since 2009, we’ve made it an annual habit to go back through the golf stories of the year, pick out the most prominent ones and rank them for a retrospective on the CGA website.

For most of the last several years, we’ve broken the list into two installments to keep things a little more manageable. We go in reverse order, for the sake of suspense, and add an honorable-mention list that will be included with Part II, which will be published in the coming days.

Today, we’ll cover Nos. 25 through 13.

So, without first ado, here’s our 10th edition of Colorado golf-related stories of the year:

25. Second Colorado Topgolf Site Gearing Up: Since August 2015, there’s been one Topgolf location in Colorado — the one in Centennial. But three months ago, ground was broken at a second site — at I-25 and 60th Ave., in Thornton. The 65,000-square-foot, three-level facility is scheduled to open to the public in late 2019. It will have 102 climate-controlled hitting bays — where players hit microchipped golf balls at targets with varying point values — in addition to a restaurant and three bars. There will be 250 HD televisions, a rooftop terrace with fire pits and 3,000 square feet of space devoted to private events. The Centennial Topgolf employs about 500 people, the same number that is expected in Thornton.

24. Annika Returns to Colorado for First Tee Event: Over the last three years, the folks who run the CoBank Colorado Open Championships and The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch have brought in tour players to conduct exhibitions and chat with kids from The First Tee programs in the state. During the first two years, doing the honores were Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer, Paula Creamer, David Duval, Lexi Thompson and Mark O’Meara. This year, there was no letdown in talent as Matt Kuchar came for a late June exhibition at GVR, and World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam (above) for a CoBank PEAK Performers event in August at The Broadmoor, where Sorenstam won her first LPGA title — the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open. The PEAK Performers event was particularly unique as nine kids from First Tee programs around the country had the opportunity to play golf with Sorenstam for six holes each as part of a four-day, all-expenses-paid outing. READ MORE

23. Sibling Sweep for Bryants: A year after Davis Bryant and younger sister Emma completed the “Bryant Slam” by jointly winning all four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in 2017, they posted a “Sibling Sweep” when they prevailed at both the boys and girls 5A state high school tournaments in the same school year. Almost eight months after Davis Bryant claimed the 5A boys crown as a senior at Eaglecrest, Emma held up her end by capturing the 5A girls title as an Eaglecrest freshman in May at Boulder Country Club. It’s the first time two players with the same surname have won the boys and girls state individual prep championships in one school year. READ MORE

22. High Honor for Irwin: Hale Irwin (left) had to contend with Jack Nicklaus on the golf course plenty of times over the course of their careers. But in June, it was Nicklaus and the Captains Club that honored Irwin — a three-time U.S. Open champion and World Golf Hall of Famer who grew up in Boulder — as the 2018 Memorial Tournament honoree. And it’s no small tribute. Others who have received similar status since 2010 include Seve Ballesteros, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson, Ray Floyd, Annika Sorenstam, Nick Faldo, Johnny Miller and Greg Norman. “I have a hard time putting myself in that category with the greats of the past, so I am absolutely delighted.” Irwin said.

21. Schalk Still Undefeated in High School Ranks: When then-Holy Family sophomore Hailey Schalk won the girls 3A state high school tournament in May, it gave her two titles in two seasons of high school golf. But even more impressively, Schalk remained unbeaten in her two years of high school tournaments and kept alive her chances for an unprecented four Colorado girls state high school golf titles. Schalk became the eighth player to win at least two Colorado girls state high school championships, joining Lynn Ann Moretto (3), Ashley Tait (3), Jennifer Kupcho (2), Becca Huffer (2), Kelly Jacques (2), Jennifer McCormick (2) and Emily Wood (2). Schalk, now a junior, later verbally committed to play her college golf at the University of Colorado beginning in 2020.

20. 25 and Counting for Eaton: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton wasted no time in 2018 tying Carol Flenniken’s record for career CGA/CWGA women’s titles. In May, she teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Janet Moore in winning the Brassie Championship, giving her 25 such victories in her career. Though Eaton came up short — in a playoff — of notching No. 26 at the CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play at her own home course at Greeley Country Club, she’ll have additional opportunities at the outright record in 2019. READ MORE

19. Spiranac Continues to Make a Splash: It’s hard to fathom how big a social media sensation 2015 CGA Women’s Match Play champion Paige Spiranac has become. At last check, the former Colorado resident had 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 215,000 on Twitter. Before largely giving up competitive golf, Spiranac not only won the 100th CWGA Match Play, but finished ninth in the 2016 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open and won the 2010 CWGA Junior Stroke Play as well as the 2006 CJGA Tournament of Champions — all in Colorado. Spiranac, who appeared in the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, is now a periodic columnist for Golf.com. READ MORE

18. 25 Years and Counting for Denver Golf Expo: What started out relatively modestly at the Colorado Convention Center in the early 1990s has turned into quite an annual affair. In 2018, the Denver Golf Expo, now run by Mark and Lynn Cramer, celebrated its 25th anniversary. The Cramers, who bought the show from Colorado PGA professional Stan Fenn in 2000, will be honored in June by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award. READ MORE

17. Memorable Year for Andonian-Smith: It was a year of “firsts” for Colorado PGA professional Sherry Andonian-Smith. She, along with fellow Coloradans Janet Moore and Marilyn Hardy, qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The Centennial resident became the first woman to qualify for the national Senior PGA Professional Championship and ended up finishing 29th out of a field of 264 there. She was named the Colorado PGA’s inaugural Women’s Player of the Year after tying for second place in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship and winning the Section’s West Chapter Championship for the second time in three years. And Andonian-Smith and Alexandra Braga became the first women from the Colorado PGA to qualify for the national PGA Professional Championship.

16. And Love-ing It: After getting advice from World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III, son Dru (left) made an eagle in a playoff to win the CoBank Colorado Open. The younger Love carded an eagle and nine birdies in his final 19 holes of the tournament. It was the biggest win of Dru Love’s career, and he made $100,000 in the process. Davis Love III won the PGA Tour’s International twice in Colorado, while Davis Love II claimed the title in the CGA Junior Match Play in both 1953 and ’54. READ MORE

15. Kevin Stadler, Kaye Make Long-Awaited Returns to ‘The Show’: The year 2018 marked the return to PGA Tour action for two Colorado-based veterans who hadn’t competed in golf’s top circuit for quite a while. Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye, a two-time PGA Tour winner, had last played in a PGA Tour event in 2011, but in March he landed a spot in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, where he missed the cut. And part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler, who hadn’t competed on the PGA Tour since 2015 due to a broken hand, returned for the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, but likewise missed the cut. Stadler is expected to be a regular in PGA Tour events in 2019 as he plays on a major medical extension.

14. ‘Youth on Course’ Debuts in Colorado: A year ago, CGA executive director Ed Mate predicted that the Youth on Course program could become a “game-changer for player development” in Colorado. The initiative, which makes golf more accessible to juniors by capping their cost for a round at $5 at participating facilities, came to Colorado in 2018. Fifteen Colorado courses participated this year, and many more are expected to be on board in 2019. READ MORE

13. Web Tournament Formalized for TPC Colorado: Colorado last hosted an open-age PGA Tour-affiliated event in 2014, when the BMW Championship PGA Tour playoff tournament was held at Cherry Hills Country Club. But in a September announcement, the Web.com Tour confirmed what had long been known — that a Web.com Tour event would be conducted at the new TPC Colorado course (left) in Berthoud for at least five years, starting in 2019. The event, known as the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, will debut the week of July 8-14, with 156 players competing for a $600,000 purse. The Web circuit — then known as the Nike Tour — previously had a tournament in Colorado in 1996 and ’97, when Riverdale’s Dunes Course in Brighton hosted the Nike Colorado Classic. READ MORE

Also on the subject of new courses in Colorado, Fred Funk said in late June that the Raindance National Golf Club course in Windsor that he’s co-designing may open as soon as the fall of 2020.

When PGA head professional Dan O’Shaughnessy and the rest of the folks at Meadow Hills Golf Course in Aurora first heard about the Youth on Course initiative coming to Colorado early in 2018, his reaction was simple:

“Win, win.”

A win for kids in the Youth on Course program, who pay no more than $5 per round at participating facilities. And a win for those courses, which receive a subsidy as part of the initiative, and which can be adding long-term customers. And it’s also a victory for golf in general, helping kids fall in love with the game, which can pay dividends years and decades down the line.

In Colorado, Youth on Course was launched at the beginning of 2018 with the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado — founded and operated by the CGA and the Colorado PGA — overseeing the program in the Centennial State. Fifteen courses in Colorado signed on for 2018 — some allowing the kids to play for $5 or less anytime, and others with day and time restrictions.

Those 15 courses include facilities from the western half of the state (Lincoln Park in Grand Junction, Gypsum Creek and Vail Golf Club), the south (Silver Spruce in Colorado Springs) and the north (City Park Nine in Fort Collins), besides the Denver metro area. All five City of Aurora courses were among those to embrace the initiative in its first year in Colorado. For a complete list of the participating facilities in the Centennial State, CLICK HERE.

Overall, 661 junior rounds were played in the state as part of Youth on Course in 2018, with more than $3,800 in subsidies paid out to participating facilities by the national Youth on Course foundation. Soon, Colorado-based funding will be used to pay the subsidies.

Youth on Course was one of the topics of conversation last week at the annual Colorado Public Golf Operators Meeting held at Meadow Hills.

That site was appropriate given that Meadow Hills led the way on the Youth on Course front in Colorado in year 1. O’Shaughnessy, who accepted an award on behalf of Meadow Hills for that reason (left), said the course had about 230 Youth on Course rounds in 2018.

“They gave us the info (on the program) in February or March. We read it over and thought, ‘Win, win,'” O’Shaughnessy said after the meeting. “Number 1, we’re not doing something that reduces our revenue. We keep it the same, but by reducing the cost to the participant, it’s a winner. A kid comes in at 2 o’clock, $5, he’s off and playing. We’ll get our $6 back (on an $11 junior green free). It’s fantastic from that perspective.”

YOC, a non-profit started in 2006 as a Northern California Golf Association initiative, has been steadily taking root across the country, mainly through USGA-affiliated Allied Golf Associations — traditionally known as state and regional golf associations — and affiliated organizations. To date, according to the Youth on Course website, there have been 45,000 members, with 900 participating courses and more than 700,000 rounds of golf having been subsidized.

In Colorado, in order to participate in the Youth on Course program, youngsters must be JGAC members. Youth on Course members in Colorado can play for $5 or less at participating courses outside the state as well.

In Meadow Hills’ case, Youth on Course was used in part to lessen costs for junior golfers as the facility launched a league for kids 14-16 years old — just older than those who participate in PGA Jr. League.

“We did quite a few through that league,” O’Shaugnessy said. “They would come out every Monday, play in a league, play match play, play stroke play, and have fun and it would cost them $5 (per round). That was easy to put into a package and we had about 50 (participants) this year. We hope to double it next year. There were two prices: $250 and $170. All they had to do to get the $170 deal was join the Junior Golf Alliance and become eligible for Youth on Course. It was a pretty simple equation.”

Meadow Hills uses Youth on Course as part of a bigger initiative to build junior golf.

“We didn’t see a lot of loveblood” years ago, O’Shaugnessy said. “But we built a little three-hole course on a dead area on the course. We paired with First Tee of Front Range to bring in their programming here. So this (Youth on Course) was part of a bigger puzzle to try to build our club to be more junior focused. We’ve been doing PGA Jr. League for six years — we’re one of the initial ones to do that — so that’s been a great component. And now we’re building some other components around it because it’s got a lot of momentum. It’s a high priority.”

CGA executive director Ed Mate predicted a year ago that Youth on Course could be a game-changer for player development.

And what’s his impression after one year of having the initiative in Colorado?

“I think it’s a good start,” he said. “Like most things, it takes time to establish them. … My sense is we’re going to double next year easily, then it will just go from there.”

One issue is potentialy making the Youth on Course initiative work for facilities that have “kids play free” programs already in place. It’s possible moving forward that Youth on Course can help such facilities by using subsidy dollars for marketing and advertising such programs.

“Today just proves we need to be nimble to adjust,” Mate said after hearing some feedback from public course operators.

But generally speaking, Mate sees great promise for Youth on Course — and the potential for considerable growth, both locally and beyond.

“It’s such a small footprint of courses doing it (so far in Colorado), but the ones that were — like Dan here — just loved it,” Mate said. “I’d love to see more of the Youth on Course stuff in windows, but I just think we did a really good job of setting the stage for next year.

“This group today (at the Public Course Operators Meeting) is our core audience for that because it’s not something you offer through private clubs. It’s a public golf initiative. That’s one of the reasons I love it. If it wasn’t for public golf, I wouldn’t be a golfer. And if wasn’t for municipal golf, I wouldn’t be a golfer. This is my home here.”

And at facilities like Meadow Hills, the bottom line is that Youth on Course helped increase rounds among junior golfers — which is exactly what the initiative is all about.

“They played a lot more,” O’Shaghnessy said of participants. “You’re just taking the number of rounds up. If they played two or three times — he or she has that many dollars — and now they have more dollars (thanks to the subsidy) and they play five, six, seven times. We definitely saw that.

“I don’t know if it brought a new player into (the game) — there are other avenues to get kids in — but an established kid that wanted to play heard about this program, signed up and played more.”

For more information about Youth on Course in Colorado or to inquire about joining the program, contact Holly Champion from the Colorado PGA at hchampion@pgahq.com

Public Course Operators Meeting Notes: Fifty-two people attended the Nov. 1 Colorado Public Golf Operators Meeting at Meadow Hills (left). As always, much of the discussion at the event was centered around best practices — and bouncing ideas off one another — so that public operators can run as efficiently as possible. Also, attendees were brought up to date on programs and activities operated by the CGA, Colorado PGA and the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. During the winter and early spring, the CGA compiles data from a rounds and revenue survey of the public golf operators that gives a sense of the general direction of the golf business in the state.

The trajectory of the three-year-old Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado is reminiscent of watching the ascendance of a tee shot hit by Dustin Johnson on Protracer.

A steady, impressive rise to the sky.

The JGAC, an organization founded and run by the CGA and the Colorado PGA, largely wrapped up its year with its Tour Championship and season-ending banquet on Oct. 7 at Denver Country Club. And it was an impressive season in numerous respects.

In fact, most of the numbers for Alliance-related events and programs were up substantially in 2018, year over year:

— Membership — which is now divided into three levels (Tour, Series and Introductory), depending on the skill and needs of given participants — hit 995 in 2018. That’s an 11 percent jump from 2018.

— At the various levels, there were 5,007 entries for JGAC events, up 12 percent form last year.

— This year, the JGAC oversaw 106 events, including 10 Drive, Chip & Putt qualifiers and the PGA Jr. League state championship.

— Speaking of Drive, Chip & Putt, there were 1,286 participants in 2018, up 18 percent from last year.

— In PGA Jr. League, 1,849 players competed, 29 percent more than in 2017. A total of 157 teams joined in, up 19 percent from last year.

— Fifteen courses in Colorado participated in the first year of Youth on Course in the state, with 658 rounds of subsidized golf (so far) on the books, and $3,864 in subsidies paid to the courses. Youth on Course makes golf more accessible to juniors by capping their cost for a round at $5 at participating facilities, possibly with some date/time restrictions. Then a subsidy of a similar amount per round is paid to the participating course.

— And funding has been approved for 10,053 kids to participate in the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program, which is supported by all the Allied Golf Associations in the state. The final number of participants for 2018 is to be determined as fall programming continues. Golf in Schools introduces kids to the game each school year through their P.E. classes at school.

“Our success is shown through our growth and our numbers and different things like that,” said Ashley Barnhart, the CGA’s director of junior competitions, who helps oversee the JGAC along with many other staffers and interns from the Colorado PGA and the CGA. “And I think people are becoming really familiar with our platform, which helps. There’s a lot of word of mouth. Coaches, instructors and people like that are becoming active in the program, which is what we really set out to do. I think we had a great year because of that.”

Beyond organizational success, JGAC members had some major individual and team accomplishments in 2018:

— For the first time in 44 years of competing in the boys Junior America’s Cup, the Colorado team won the competition against other squads from throughout the western U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico. Doubling the accomplishment, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins claimed the individual title in the event. Also competing on the Colorado team (left) were Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, Davis Bryant of Aurora and Walker Franklin of Broomfield, Bryant is now a freshman on the Colorado State University golf team while McCoy is playing for the University of Denver. Stewart, who just won the 5A individual state high school title while his Fossil Ridge squad earned the team championship, is expected next month to sign a letter of intent to play college golf at perennial powerhouse Oklahoma State starting in the fall of 2019.

— The JGAC hosted the Girls Junior Americas Cup for the first time in 18 years as Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen brought together some of the best girls players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. The team representing Colorado finished fifth out of 18 in the event, its best showing in five years.

— For just the second time in the short history of the Drive, Chip & Putt initiative, three Coloradans have qualified for the same National Championship. Three years after a trio of Coloradans competed in the national DCP event at Augusta National, Caitlyn Chin of Greenwood Village, Chunya “Bead” Boonta of Centennial and Grady Ortiz of Colorado Springs will do so in the 2019 event that will be held April 7 on the eve of the Masters. Each advanced through three qualifying events in 2018. Chin, who was one of the three Coloradans who qualified for nationals in 2016, will return next spring, making her the first player from the Centennial State to competed in the finals twice.

— Stewart claimed two AJGA titles in 2018. In June, he became the first Coloradan to win the boys championship at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. Then in early September, he prevailed at the AJGA Junior at Big Sky in Montana, coincidentally the same state where he won the Junior America’s Cup title. Another Coloradan that scored an AJGA victory in 2018 was Sofia Choi of Littleton, who won the AJGA Preview at Waubeeka in Massachusetta in early May.

— Also winning a significant title on a larger stage in 2018 was Nicholas Pevny of Aspen, who took the top spot in the boys 12-13 division of the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Florida in July.

— Another notable accomplishment came earlier this month when Lauren Lehigh of Loveland was among 12 girls — and 24 junior golfers overall — who were named to the 2018 Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-America Team by the AJGA. The honor is given to a very select group of junior golfers from all over the country and the world who particularly excel on the golf course, in the classroom and in the community. Lehigh’s cumulative GPA for her first three years of high school is 4.116, and her best score on the SAT has been 1,430. She was later named the JGAC’s 2018 Girls Player of the Year, while Stewart took the honor on the boys side.

— Hadley Ashton of Erie had an outstanding showing at a prestigious international tournament as she finished fifth in the girls 9-10 division at the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in the San Diego area.

— In May, Emma Bryant of Eaglecrest won the 5A girls state high school title as a freshman. The amazing thing about the accomplishment was that older brother Davis Bryant had won the 5A boys title last fall — in the same school year. It was the first time two players with the same surname have won the boys and girls state individual prep championships in one school year. (The Bryants are pictured at left.)

— Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village and Hailey Schalk of Erie, both high school sophomores at the time, made match play but lost in the round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in late April.

(All the award winners recognized at the JGAC’s recent banquet are listed below.)

While the junior golf season is nearly over in Colorado, there are some events held in mid and late October. For instance, the JGAC Parent/Child tournaments are scheduled for Oct. 27-28 at Indian Tree Golf Course in Arvada. And last Saturday, an Optimist Junior Tour event was held at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver, where 23 qualifying spots for the 2019 Optimist International Junior Golf Championships at Trump National Doral Resort in Miami were at stake.

The age-group winners included three Coloradans: Brandon Bervig of Colorado Springs (boys 16-18), Morgan Ryan of Centennial (girls 14-18) and Tyler Tyson of Arvada (boys 14-15).

2018 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Award Winners

Boys Player of the Year
Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins — Won individual title in Junior America’s Cup, which featured some of the top junior golfers from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. … Led Colorado to its first team title ever in the boys Junior America’s Cup. … Became the first Colorado boy to win the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … As a senior, won the 5A state high school individual championship and led Fossil Ridge to its first team title in boys golf. … Notched his second AJGA title of 2018 at the AJGA Junior at Big Sky in Montana. … Shared medalist honors in qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur. … Finished second at the Colorado Junior Amateur. … Has verbally committed to play college golf at Oklahoma State

Girls Player of the Year
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland — One of 24 players (12 girls) worldwide to be named to the Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-America Team by the AJGA. The Loveland High School senior earned that honor by placing in the top five in an AJGA open or invitational, then based on the following criteria: standardized test scores, grade-point average, school leadership and community service. … Won the girls division of the Colorado Junior Match Play, one of four JGAC majors. … During the course of 2018 at JGAC events, won three times, placed second seven times and third three times. … One of the runner-ups was in her title defense at the 4A state high school tournament. … Finished third among girls at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … Helped lead Colorado to a fifth-place finish at the Girls Junior Americas Cup competition at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, where Lehigh tied for 14th place individually. … Finished 13th nationally in Big I National Championship. … Has verbally committed to play in college at the University of New Mexico. … Has been a member of the Hale Irwin Player Program for three years.
 
Girls Most Improved Player
Ashley Kozlowski of Littleton — Sixteen-year-old JGAC Tour player saw her scoring average decrease 16 strokes compared to 2017.

Boys Most Improved Player
Will Balliet of Thornton — Scoring average for the 12-year-old in 2018 was 11.9 strokes better than in 2017.
 
Award of Excellence (based on community service, character, overcoming hardship and showing spirit of the game of golf)
Max Heupel (left) — The multi-sport athlete and dedicated golfer started a non-profit called “Bagging Homelessness”, raising money and buying supplies to create daily care packages for people living on the street.
 
10 & Under All-Stars
Taylor Wilson
Addison Hines
Maddie Makino
Livia Pett
Taylor Hale
Andre Dumonteil
Brayden Destefano
Clint Summers III
Sean Cary
Miles Kuhl

11-13 All-Stars
Charlie Flaxbeard
Matai Naqica
Wes Erling
Blake Sullivan
Nicholas Pevny
Hadley Ashton
Caitlyn Chin
Ashleigh Wilson
Emily Cheng
Kaitlin Zingler

14-18 All-Stars
Hunter Swanson
Maxwell Lange
Traejan Andrews
Tyler Tyson
Quinton Mosch
Amira Badruddin
Clara Hosman
Kaylee Jacobs
Jessica Mason
Elan Fleetwod

Tour All-Stars
Connor Jones
Emma Bryant
Walker Franklin
Charlotte Hillary
TJ Shehee
Caroline Jordaan
Davis Bryant
Hailey Schalk
Dillon Stewart
Lauren Lehigh

Points Chase Champions
Andre Dumonteil — 10 & Under Boys
Taylor Wilson — 10 & Under Girls
Charlie Flaxbeard –11 – 13 Boys
Hadley Ashton — 11 – 13 Girls
Hunter Swanson — 14 – 18 Boys
Amira Badruddin — 14 – 18 Girls
Dillon Stewart — JGAC Tour Boys
Lauren Lehigh — JGAC Tour Girls
 
Academic All-Stars
Emaan Adil – Greenwood Village
Christian Agelopoulos – Denver
Ewan Albright – Boulder
Gavin Amella – Pueblo
Elisandro Aragon – Highlands Ranch
Brendan Archer – Vail
Amira Badruddin – Parker
Savannah Balint – Grand Junction
Brynn Balliet – Thornton
Jamie Banghart – Fort Collins
Parker Beasley – Denver
Katie Berrian – Castle Rock
Liam Beshoar – Montrose
Pierce Bickerton – Windsor
Logan Biggerstaff – Cherry Hills Village
Andrew Blair – Denver
Christian Blair – Denver
Emmett Bleem – Windsor
Caroline Brandon – Denver
Davis Bryant – Aurora
Emma Bryant – Aurora
Dylan Bundy – Lone Tree
Caleb Busta – Centennial
Logan Byler – Parker
Qwenton Caldwell – Littleton
Cody Caldwell – Woodland Park
Paige Carlson – Parker
Owen Casey – Denver
William Chadwick – Boulder
Kaylee Chen – Denver
Christina Cheng – Colorado Springs
Emily Cheng – Colorado Springs
Benjamin Chin – Greenwood Village
Caitlyn Chin – Greenwood Village
Alyssa Chin – Greenwood Village
Ella Chism – Centennial
Sofia Choi – Littleton
Noah Clough – Fort Morgan
Christian Cohan – Golden
Alex Colby – Castle Rock
Jax Collins – Golden
Alexis Cunningham – Denver
Benjamin Daane – Rapid City, S.D.
Garrett Dalton – Parker
Mitchell Davis – Strasburg
Mario Dino – Denver
Dakota Dolph – Pine
Jake Dost – Parker
Drex Duffy – Littleton
Raven DuKane – Broomfield
Graham Dzengelewski – Highlands Ranch
Sydney Elder – Centennial
Wesley Erling – Castle Rock
Dylan Everett – Highlands Ranch
Ryan Falender – Colorado Springs
Nick Fallin – Highlands Ranch
Nolan Farrar – Larkspur
Nicole Fatovic – Broomfield
Jack Finch – Centennial
Tyler Findlow – Lone Tree
Jack Flaherty – Broomfield
Bobby Flaherty – Broomfield
Charlie Flaxbeard – Greenwood Village
James Flaxbeard – Greenwood Village
Jeth Fogg – Colorado Springs
Oscar Ford – Centennial
Kaden Ford – Colorado Springs
Nick Formby – Frederick
Jaxon Franklin – Broomfield
Walker Franklin – Broomfield
John Fredericks – Denver
Brendan Fricke – Highlands Ranch
Oliver Gibbons – Lakewood
Jacob Gilbert – Watkins
Devin Gilbreath – Aurora
Anthony Giordano – Denver
Alexander Goeltl – Fort Collins
Jonas Graham – Parker
Christopher Gunlikson – Longmont
Taylor Hale – Eagle
Logan Hale – Eagle
Kalai Hamlin – Monument
Sam Hammock – Fort Collins
Ben Harding – Longmont
Maryn Harlow – Fort Collins
Corbin Harris – Littleton
Booth Hayes – Frederick
Allie Henson – Windsor
Max Heupel – Littleton
Thomas Hicks – Greenwood Village
Charlotte Hillary – Englewood
Carter Hinkle – Windsor
Clara Hosman – Parker
Landon Houska – Fort Collins
Kylee Hughes – Aspen
Freddie Ingham – Lone Tree
Kaylee Jacobs – Denver
Jack Jacobsen – Englewood
Jordan Jennings – Montrose
Clara Jeon – Centennial
Rhett Johnson – Littleton
Hadley Johnson – Thermopolis, Wyo.
Hardy Johnson – Thermopolis, Wyo
Connor Jones – Westminster
Trey Jones – Colorado Springs
Caroline Jordaan – Lakewood
Marie Jordaan – Lakewood
Nathan Kim – Castle Pines
Holden Kleager – Glenwood Springs
Carter Kovarik – Englewood
Ashley Kozlowski – Littleton
Brooke Kramer – Aurora
Benjamin Kriech – Parker
Drew Laake – Colorado Springs
Gisella Lagrimas – Castle Rock
Amalei Lagrimas – Castle Rock
Noah Larchick – Aurora
Will Leary – Fort Collins
Jake Legg – Montrose
Katelyn Lehigh – Loveland
Lauren Lehigh – Loveland
Jack Leibold – Littleton
Emily Kate Lisle – Evergreen
Frank Lockwood – Englewood
Davis Long – Lafayette
Josh Lowrey – Highlands Ranch
Josee Lurcott – Englewood
Macallister Lurcott – Englewood
Mason Magley – Loveland
Katherine Malcolm – Parker
Aidan Mann – Boulder
Natasha McClain – Denver
Cole McCoy – Highlands Ranch
Cal McCoy – Highlands Ranch
Sarah McDevitt – Elizabeth
Campbell McFadden – Denver
Piper McFadden – Denver
Gavin McWhorter – Loveland
Benjamin Medina – Denver
Andrew Merz – Colorado Springs
Grant Meyers – Brighton
Bennett Meyers – Brighton
William Mitchell – Lafayette
Jessica Morrissey – Golden
Tyler Mulligan – Parker
Roger Nakagawa – Denver
Zach Nehm – Grand Junction
Max Noffsinger – Greeley
Brittlynn O’Dell – Grand Junction
Yusuke Ogi – Arvada
Kota Ogi – Arvada
Liam O’Halloran – Colorado Springs
Finn Olson – Castle Pines
Eshaan Palanati – Aurora
Sam Patrick – Highlands Ranch
Will Perez – Denver
Eva Pett – Denver
Livia Pett – Denver
Elaina Phiel – Denver
Carlo Pine – Telluride
Dylan Pyle – Boulder
Nathan Rabuck – Denver
Keaton Rich – Arvada
Maya Romero – Aurora
Kailer Rundiks – Denver
Ryan Sangchompuphen – Denver
Spencer Schlagel – Parker
Jack Schubert – Highlands Ranch
Isabella Scott – Castle Rock
Travis Seitz – Steamboat Springs
Suchit Sharma – Thornton
Brady Shaw – Pueblo
TJ Shehee – Mead
Timbre Shehee – Mead
Isabella Short – Evergreen
Jack Siler – Aurora
Aidan Sim – Parker
Windrem Smith – Fort Collins
Mena Song – Lew – Colorado Springs
Jack Stafford – Parker
John Stevens – Green Mountain Falls
Peter Stinar – Colorado Springs
Molly Stratton – Centennial
Blake Sullivan – Castle Pines
Carter Surofchek – Colorado Springs
Hunter Swanson – Denver
Sydney Taylor – Fort Collins
Leanne Telle – Colorado Springs
Conner Thomas – Frederick
Dawson Thulin – Denver
Jack Tickle – Centennial
Collen Todd – Golden
Jack Tourault – Broomfield
Lauren Tucker – Lone Tree
Taylor Tucker – Lone Tree
Charlie Tucker – Castle Pines
Zach Tyson – Arvada
Tyler Tyson – Arvada
James Wagner – Erie
Sean Wallace – Denver
Kelsey Webster – Boulder
Max Weisser – Denver
Jake Welch – Highlands Ranch
Gabrielle Werst – Fort Collins
Jacob Whelan – Highlands Ranch
Matthew Wilkinson – Centennial
Blake Williams – Lone Tree
Blake Williams – Lone Tree
Jadie Wilson – Denver
Ashleigh Wilson – Highlands Ranch
Taylor Wilson – Highlands Ranch
Liam Wood – Boulder
Garrett Wood – Centennial
Colin Young – Highlands Ranch
Grace Young – Highlands Ranch
Max Zadvorny – Centennial
Jessica Zapf – Windsor
Ian Zweifel – Orlando, Fla.
 

The CGA has drawn rave reviews for one youth-oriented golf program that uses subsidies to good effect, and now it’s hoping another will be similarly successful.

Since 2012, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy has promoted the use of caddies by paying their base fees through a grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip. The Academy started at CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, and has since spread to Meridian Golf Club and to Grand Junction, and similar programs in Oceanside, Calif., and southeast Wisconsin have used the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy blueprint.

Now, in an agreement finalized late in 2017, the CGA — in partnership with the Colorado PGA — this year is becoming the latest Allied Golf Association to roll out the Youth on Course initiative. Youth on Course makes golf more accessible to juniors by capping their cost for a round at $5 at participating facilities, possibly with some date/time restrictions. Then a subsidy of a similar amount per round is paid to the participating course.

In Colorado, Youth on Course will be overseen by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which was founded by the CGA and the Colorado PGA. Leadership of the CGA, CPGA and the JGAC gave their blessing to the addition of Youth on Course late last year.

YOC, a non-profit started in 2006 as a Northern California Golf Association initiative, has been steadily taking root across the country. Colorado will be the 20th state in which the program has been formally sanctioned.

“If we’re half as successful as some of the other markets, it’s going to be a real game-changer for player development,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said recently. “I’m really excited about it.”

Adam Heieck, executive director of Youth on Course, said the program had more than 30,000 members nationwide and had subsidized 115,000 rounds as of the end of 2017.

“We’re pushing hard for this to be in all 50 states by 2021 and actively pursuing other state and regional golf association partners,” Heieck said via email this week. “We’re also getting a lot of interest from PGA pros nationwide. Adding Colorado is huge given the strength of the CGA and Denver as a key major market. We’re very excited to work with Ed and his team.

“We see Youth on Course as building a foundation for future golfers. Members are able to play more frequently with rates at $5 or less and they are therefore getting better. Removing cost as a barrier to enter the game can only help grow the base long-term.”

With the goal of developing a strong foundation of players who will sustain the game for decades into the future, some Colorado public courses in recent years have started offering free or deeply discounted golf for juniors, with some of those requiring a paying adult as part of the deal.

One of the most successful “kids play free” programs was initiated in 2011 by South Suburban Parks & Recreation. At most of the SSPR courses (Lone Tree, Littleton and Family Sports), kids can play free golf after 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays — and after 6 p.m. at the South Suburban regulation course — during the height of the Colorado golf season.

“The benefit is really building the future, building some future business, growing the game, getting some kids involved,” Bill Ramsey, the longtime director of golf for SSPR, said during the Colorado Public Golf Operators Meeting in November. “It’s brought a lot of new people to our facilities, I think. The kids will come, the families will come in a lot of cases, so they’re learning about us. Some parents might sit in the bar for an hour or two while the kid is playing, so they might buy a drink or an appetizer or something like that. We probably generate some side revenue there.

“I think it’s been great.”

But part of the idea behind adding Youth on Course in Colorado is to make things uniform at participating facilities.

“This is really a great opportunity to simplify and make it consistent so that it’s a lot easier to navigate for the end user,” Mate said. Plus, “It’s taking advantage of the brand, the best practices and experiences of other states that have used (Youth on Course), and some initial funding. And it’s a chance to be a part of a national initiative.”

To participate in the Youth on Course program in Colorado, a youngster will have to be a Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado member, with that cost being $25 for Introductory membership, $100 for Series (intermediate-level) membership, and $150 for Tour (advanced-level) membership. Registration for JGAC membership in 2018 begins on Jan. 15. The three-tier membership is new this year for the Alliance.

Mate said the plan is for the JGAC to reach agreements in the very near future with at least a dozen Colorado public courses — six in geographically-appropriate spots in the Denver metro area and six others spread out around the remainder of the state — that will serve as pilot sites for the program. Those courses will commit to offering JGAC members rounds at a price of probably no more than $10 apiece, with the user paying $5 and the other $5 coming from the national Youth on Course foundation for the first 18 months, then from Colorado-based funding, possibly the Colorado Golf Foundation. Participating courses can set restrictions as to when the juniors (age 6-18) can play at the set rate.

“Youth on Course is a really nice added benefit across the board (for JGAC members),” Mate said. “We’d love to (eventually) have 50 courses participate in Youth on Course — and I think we’ll get there. But we want to walk before we run.

“We want to just kind of use this as a learning year, see what kind of feedback we get. The other great thing for us is we have an immediate ability to offer this to people who are already in the fold — and that’s everybody who’s already a Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado member will be a Youth on Course member.

“We already have a great system. We have the infrastructure laid. We’ll just have to be careful that the supply and demand match up.”

While the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy was born largely organically in Colorado, Youth on Course has been proven elsewhere. And Mate is fine with both situations.

“Youth on Course is already a great program,” he said. “Why try to create our own when there’s already a wonderful model so let’s use it — just like Drive Chip & Putt and like PGA Junior League. We didn’t invent those wheels but let’s put them to use for us. If these are the major initiatives (in the golf industry nationwide), wouldn’t you like to have access to those programs and be part of them instead of saying we’re doing our own thing over here?

“The other thing I like about Youth on Course — and this is my bias — is it was born out of a state and regional golf association. It’s SRGA DNA, which I really value because I think we do great work. Some of the best, most innovative ideas have come out of the state and regional golf association community (of which the CGA is a part). This is a chance to be part of that. And it’s a brand that’s building momentum.”

The addition of Colorado gives Youth on Course a solid block of participating states in the western U.S., (California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico), plus many in the Midwest and a few in the Southeast. YOC members in Colorado will be able to play for $5 or less at participating courses outside the state as well.

“To me, of all the initiatives that we as an industry can fund and support, this is right at the top of the list,” Mate said. “What is more important than reducing barriers of entry to young people getting into the game?

“I’d be surprised if there’s not an announcement sometime in 2018 that Youth on Course has been dubbed by the World Golf Foundation as an industry program.” If that were to happen, it would give Youth on Course similar status as The First Tee, PGA Junior League, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Drive Chip & Putt, Golf 20/20 and Get Golf Ready.

There are other aspects of Youth on Course — college scholarships, caddie programs and paid internships — but at least for now in Colorado YOC will be limited to subsidized golf for juniors. As noted earlier, the CGA already has a highly successful caddie program in the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.
 

On that day, six golfers plan to take part in “Racing the Sun”, in which they plan to play four courses — all in different time zones. Ballyneal (pictured) in Holyoke, which earlier this year was ranked 50th on Golf Digest’s list of “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses”, will be stop No. 3 on the trip.

The schedule calls for playing 18 holes at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan., Ballyneal, and Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. The group will tee off at Valhalla at 5:50 a.m. ET, and expects to complete its round at Shadow Creek at about 8:30 p.m. PT. The six players, including Youth on Course donors and the organization’s executive director, hope to average 2 hours, 15 minutes per round while walking with caddies. They’ll travel between venues on a chartered jet.

Racing the Sun will raise money for Youth on Course, a non-profit based in Pebble Beach, Calif., that arranges — thanks to subsidies — for kids to play rounds of golf for $5 or less. In addition, Youth on Course funds college scholarships, a caddie program and internships.

To learn more about the program, CLICK HERE.