The Pellucid Perspective - May 2014 - (Page 6)

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PGA Junior League helping golf catch up Rapid growth for program as golf finally joins the organized youth sports game By Jim Dunlap I f League Golf, LLC CEO Bob Longmire and the PGA of America have their way, PGA professionals and golf course owners will no longer have to grit their teeth and flash green eyes of envy at the sight of local parks and athletic complexes teeming with youngsters happily romping about in their Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football or US Youth Soccer jerseys. In short, doing anything but playing golf and taking the first steps toward becoming paying and hopefully lifelong golf customers. Longmire, who has an extensive background in the development, administration, marketing and promotion of organized youth sports activities nationwide, in conjunction with the PGA of America for the past two years, has seen what is now known as the PGA Junior League program grow exponentially in just three short years. Longmire said participation quintupled from year one to year two, doubled in year two, and is on pace to double again by 2015 to 3,000 teams of a minimum of 8 players per team. There are currently 1,400 US courses involved in fielding a team and hosting matches, a number that Longmire anticipates will grow apace if the program reaches his goal of 8,000 teams and 100,000 players in the US by 2018, which Longmire anticipates will be matched by equal totals outside the U.S., where leagues are already forming in European and Asian countries and Australia. Granted, that would still be a far cry from Little League Baseball with its 2.6M players worldwide (2008 figures), US Youth Soccer with its 3M-plus and even Pop Warner Football with its more than 250,000 (2010), but there's little denying that golf, albeit slow on the organized youth sports uptake, is finally in the race and gaining. More information can be found on the PGA Junior League web site, but in a nutshell, the program is open to boys and girls age 5-13. Matches are 9-holes, typically played in the late weekday afternoons, with each "inning" consisting of 3 holes. Depending upon how many team members are in attendance, players are substituted in after each 3-hole inning, with the winning team each inning earning a "flag." Like Little League and others, kids do not have to "make" the team, just sign up, and every player is guaranteed to play at least one inning. The format is a two-person scramble, which helps to decrease the individual pressure, creates more of a team atmosphere, and helps even the less skilled youngsters to take pride in any small contribution they are able to make during their innings. The season culminates in a series of regional matches to determine the teams who qualify for the national championships. The economics of the program are similar to other organized youth sports leagues, with participants paying a base fee of $75 to join a team, which covers administrative costs, uni- 6 The Pellucid PersPecTive forms, prizes, etc. Unlike activities such as Little League, however, there is some compensation for the team coaches, or captains, who are all PGA professionals. Longmire said that the captains or their home facility may also add an up-charge to cover additional services and benefits such as individual coaching, equipment or travel. Longmire said that one enterprising but busy PGA professional he's aware of who heads up 8 teams generated $35,000 in membership fees and his facility logged another $17,000 in ancillary revenue such as F&B and cart fees in one year. The typical income generated is typically much less, with those fees determined by the PGA captain or the facility, and the PGA pros generally receiving more satisfaction from helping to grow the game than profiting financially. If some of that turns into individual lesson fees down the road, so much the better. "We've done a lot of research over the years into the top 10 reasons why kids play sports, and those never include competition or a desire to learn the rules," Longmire said. "Some things that are always in the top five are spending time with friends, having fun, and fashion in the form of uniforms. We added the element where they don't have to "make" the team, and they're guaranteed to play a minimum number of innings in each match." While the obvious long term benefit is the recruitment and cultivation of future golfers, Longmire said the PGA Junior League programs also offer inducements for golf courses and clubs to get involved and to benefit from the parental involvement. Noting that juniors' involvement in golf helps clubs to both recruit and retain their parents as members, Longmire said that facilities also profit from F&B or cart rental fees from parents who accompany their kids to the matches. On a recent Tuesday afternoon at my "home" course, Encinitas Ranch in North San Diego County, the course was awash in uniformed youngsters. In addition to a pair of high school matches and four PGA Junior League matches under the guidance of PGA Director of Instruction John Mason, a junior girls program was practicing and preparing for a celebratory snack in the clubhouse. Parents trailed along behind the Jr. League matches - they are allowed to communicate with their kids only between holes. As the first two teams played their third hole, a par-5, a dog walker passing by observed, "Hey, they're checking the distance from 285 - you gotta' love that." Soon after, the youngest member of the team at age 8, who'd told his mom he was excited because his partner that day was "one of the big kids," upstaged his older and more skilled teammate by chipping in from just off the green for the matchclinching birdie. That may have been the only shot of his the team used, but it's also the only one he'll remember. Hopefully n it's a memory that will keep him coming back for life. May 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2014

TOC
Why defectors are the key to stabilizing golf's participation decline
OpenTee opens our golf season
PGA Junior League helping golf catch up
Powering up long-term savings
Tom Abts: It's always fun at the Run
April '14 golf weather impact: Two (in a row) positive months
Dallas, TX: 'Big D' indeed, relatively speaking
ClubCorp acquires TPC properties in Michigan and North Carolina
It ain't over 'til it's over

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2014