I just saw this. Thoughts?

[Josh Stevens]

Tremendous asset, but is it economic?

My club has a 9 hole short course off to the side of the main track.  Fantastic for the littleuns.  They can skuttle about to their hearts content learning the game without annoying anyone.  Creates a fabulous family atmosphere, but not sure things would work as a stand alone facility.

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS290US291&gs_upl=0l0l0l4697lllllllllll0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=waltz+golf+farm&fb=1&gl=us&hq=waltz+golf+farm&hnear=0x89c6bc3a3875a77d:0xb9673b40767eaa15,Plymouth+Meeting,+PA&cid=0,0,3494027906608525604&ei=ODeMT5mvGc72ggf_2IG2CQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CC4Q_BI

Link to Waltz Golf Farm and Turtle Creek Golf Course in Limerick, PA.  I think this is a working example of a facility that truely helps grow the game of golf.  The Waltz family has created a one stop place for family fun at all levels the game can be played.  They are also some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  No coinsidence that this area has a high density of good puplic golf courses available.

[Jason Topp]

There is an executive course near my house with a great practice facility and the place is always packed with people.  Another one is about 4 miles away and is empty.  I think location is a big key for such facilities.

[JNC Lyon]

Golf should be cheaper for junior golfers--but it is already fairly cheap, so no major complaints there.

The most important thing for a junior golfer is finding a good group of friends to play golf with on a regular basis.  Beyond that, the type of golf course doesn't matter that much.  I was lucky enough to grow up at a fantastic club with a great group of kids (most of whom are still very close friends) and I learned to love the game of golf that way.  However, we played in junior tournaments at all sorts of courses, good and bad, and we had fun no matter where we played.  If you don't have a group of friends who play a lot of golf, I think it is tough to get into the game--and kids who only play golf with their parents are missing out on a vital part of the game.

[David Harshbarger]

Mac,

I'm delighted to report that Battenkill was awarded a grant to have an ASGCA member come out to our course and give us an evaluation of enhancements we could make to improve opportunities for new players.  I'm very excited to see how this turns out, given the small footprint of out plant.  However, we have a regular stream of novice youth and adult players, as well as local school teams, and I am 100% convinced we can make opportunities for them to engage and enjoy the game more.

Wouldn't have happened without this post. 

Thanks!

Dave

[Will Lozier]

Tom Doak,

What about your 5-hole course in Detroit at Marygrove College?!  This seems like the ultimate project in terms of whom it benefits.

http://www.midnightgolf.org/2011/10/long-odds-tom-doak-opens-short-heart-detroit/

Cheers

[Brian Hilko]

I am with Matt. Cantigny's commitment to jr. golf is unbeilevable. The jr. course has no par, is in fantastic condition, does not allow adults to play unless they are with kids, and also makes kids learn basics before they can play. I grew up at Cantigny. Even before the par 3 course they would let me play the 9 that was not being used that day for less than 15 dollars. Even though the course is high end public they made me feel welcome. I will always have special place in my heart for cantigny.

[Mac Plumart]

Very cool David!

[Jeff_Brauer]

Ben,

So you don't think golf course architects would be the experts on designing kids courses?  I don't follow that line of thinking.  Nor do I buy Mike's restraint of trade argument, even if he calls it "subtle."  He can take that mag or pamplet into the same clubs, if he wants to.

BTW, the initative is nothing new at all.  I recall the NGF pushing it back in the 90's.  I tried to convince a few muni clients with extra land to use it for such purpose, but back then, every course was chasing the high end dollar.  Really, if it doesn't make sense to invest in kids courses when times are good, I wonder who will do it in the current tough times.

[Mike Nuzzo]

David
Great to hear you are getting help.
How much is the grant?
What if the work recommended is over your implementation budget?
Cheers

Jeff
Ben said the PGA and ASGCA not golf course architects.
Mike can bring the pamphlet to a club, they fill out the grant, receive the money, and hire an ASGCA architect.
How is that open trade?

Cheers

[Ben Sims]

Ben,

So you don't think golf course architects would be the experts on designing kids courses?  I don't follow that line of thinking.  Nor do I buy Mike's restraint of trade argument, even if he calls it "subtle."  He can take that mag or pamplet into the same clubs, if he wants to.

BTW, the initative is nothing new at all.  I recall the NGF pushing it back in the 90's.  I tried to convince a few muni clients with extra land to use it for such purpose, but back then, every course was chasing the high end dollar.  Really, if it doesn't make sense to invest in kids courses when times are good, I wonder who will do it in the current tough times.

Jeff,

The press release is a puff piece.  This "initiative" is merely an attempt by the PGA and ASGCA to corner a market that doesn't exist.  And where does the money for "First Links" come from?  What line item covers the expenditures of those ASGCA qualified beginner's course architects?  Should it take an "initiative" by these organizations to get golf architecture in general to recognize the value of beginner's areas?

I know I am being harsh, but I don't think my statement on page 1 was too judgmental.  Like Mike said, I said ASGCA, not golf architects.  I don't subscribe to the notion that the organization is the expert.  The individual members are the experts.  Releasing an initiative and attaching a pamphlet to it implies directly that one architect is equal to another is homogenization at a high level. 

By the way, why would a nonmember bring a pamphlet from the ASGCA on the value of beginners areas? 

[Ulrich Mayring]

We have a Kid's Course at one golf resort here in Germany and they even have larger holes, which has the nice side-effect that all the adults don't want to play there, but the kids love it!

Ulrich

[Doug Braunsdorf]

I am not sure if this qualifies, seeing as it's on the same course, but Lederach offers 'yellow' tees on most of the holes that are well past a lot of the carries, trouble.  I am not sure if this was on Kelly's part or someone else's, but it seems to be a good idea in order  to open the course up to more people.  Hopefully he will weigh in here. 

[David Harshbarger]

I'm delighted to share that thanks to the First Links grant program, sponsored by the PGA and the ASGCA, my home club, Battenkill CC, in Greenwich, NY, will have the opportunity to engage the services of Lester George, to help us identify opportunities to improve our facilities in support of growing the game, through access for beginning and lapsed Golfers.

Lester was one of four ASGCA members listed as available to participate in our area.  All were imminently qualified, but Lester's qualifications stood out in one particular area, his support for the First Tee, and the many facilities he has designed specifically to engage beginning Golfers. 

Our club, like many clubs around the globe, from the small towns of Scotland to the plains of the Midwest, exists to provide the people of our community grounds for golf.  II is only through golf's intrinsic joys, shared with friends and family, that our course exists and persists.  If through this program we can encourage more members of our community to persist through the trials beginning Golfers face, opening up to them the pleasures golfing brings to all of us, as a lifetime recreation, this program will be successful.

Many thanks to the PGA and the ASGCA for making this opportunity available.  I am very confident Lester will produce a number of strong ideas to help Battenkill grow interest in golf.  The onus will be on us to translate those ideas into facilities and programs, but I am very confident that our club, like so many community courses, has the enthusiasm and energy to do what is needed to make the gift of golf relevant in the lives of our community, now and into the future.

Dave

[Lester George]

David,

Very much looking forward to my visit.

Lester