Youth on Course Comes to Canada
Youth on Course – the non-profit organization providing young people with subsidized golf, college scholarships, caddie programs and paid internships, in partnership with Golf Canada and Alberta Golf – breaks international ground and brings affordable junior golf to Canada.
Initially, Youth on Course will be launching as a two-year pilot in the province of Alberta and will be recognized under the umbrella of Canada’s National Junior Golf Program – Future Links. With 17,000 junior member golfers and nearly 1,400 Golf Canada member clubs from coast to coast, Golf Canada will evaluate the results of the pilot prior to expanding the program nationwide.
In Alberta, the list of courses offering junior golf rounds for $5 or less are:
- Goose Hummock Golf Resort
- Westlock Golf Course
- RedTail Landing Golf Club
- Whitetail Crossing Golf Club
- Eagle Rock Golf Course
- Olds Golf Club
- River Spirit Golf Club
- Heatherglen Golf Course
- Serenity Golf Club
- McCall Lake Golf Course (18 & par 3)
- Shaganappi Golf Course (18 & 9)
- Banff Springs Golf Club (Tunnel 9)
“Golf Canada and Alberta Golf continually inspire and nurture a new generation of golfers by providing access to affordable rounds,” says Adam Heieck, CEO of Youth on Course. “With the highest per-capita golf participation in the world, Youth on Course’s expansion will benefit the sport’s sustainability.”
Youth on Course will be a significant addition to the existing Future Links suite of programs and offers an on-course application for facilities to offer to youth, eliminating golf’s barrier of affordability and providing more opportunities for kids to play golf. Golfers, ages 6-18 will be able to join the Youth on Course international network, getting access to 1,000 golf courses in 27 different states.
“When first introduced to Youth on Course, we felt it was a very strong initiative to advance junior golf and we are pleased to be involved in this pilot stage for the program in Canada,” says Jeff Thompson, Chief Sport Officer of Golf Canada. “Together with Alberta Golf and our participating partner courses, we are eager to give community access to golf at an unprecedented level of affordability.”
Golf Canada runs a variety of grassroot level programs under the Future Links brand, aimed at introducing and developing the game of golf amongst Canadian youth. A national junior program conducted in partnership with the PGA of Canada and Canada’s 10 provincial golf associations, Future Links is focused on three primary pillars of engagement – an in-school program, facility programs and outreach programming, all of which have contributed to the success of Future links, which has eclipsed the mark of 1.7 million youth engaged in golf.
Operating in every U.S. region, Youth on Course has more than 50,000 active members. Since 2006, juniors have played more than 10 million holes and 765,000 rounds while the organization has helped generate more than $5.2 million in tee-time revenue reimbursed back to individual golf courses. In addition to subsidized rounds, Youth on Course also facilitates paid internships, a caddie program and nationwide scholarships. They have awarded 223 students with college scholarships totaling more than $1.4 million in financial support. The current Youth on Course scholarship retention rate is ninety-four percent, with 80 students already graduated.