LATHAM, NY– NY–Mix a detective career with being a certified golf professional with a love for youth sports and what do you get? You get the perfect candidate for starting the fast-growing Total Golf Adventures program for school-age children in the Capital Region. And that’s the fairy-tale odyssey that Dave Donlon is following by acquiring the rights to operate TGA programs in Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga.
Dave retired as a detective sergeant from the Watervliet police department after 20 years of service to move on to becoming a certified golf professional through the U.S. Golf Teachers Federation in 2006. In between, Dave coached youth baseball and football teams through North Colonie Youth Baseball and North Colonie Pop Warner. He is currently a teaching professional at the Fairways of Halfmoon Golf Course in Mechanicville.
So, when Dave heard about Total Golf Adventures, the only at-school, after-school program for K through 8 year old children, it was a natural fit for him as well as TGA.
TGA reaches out to school-age children with golf programs, using a unique teaching method that supports and reinforces educational concepts taught in school. TGA has created an opportunity for children to develop life enhancement skills, learn and improve their golf game while having fun.
Donlon, who resides in Latham with his wife and four children, joins 34 others, operating junior golf programs in 19 states including territories. Since launching in fall of 2004, TGA instructors have introduced golf to more than 25,000 children in more than 600 schools. This fits perfectly with Donlon’s first love: "bringing golf to children that would not normally be given a chance to learn this wonderful sport."
TGA of the Capital Region will operate at Dave’s home course of Fairways at Halfmoon Bay. He plans to set up a TGA summer camp program along with youth golf clinics there next year. He’s already on top of the school market as he has commitments of acceptance from a number of schools in his territory.
"TGA combines my personal love for golf and my enjoyment of working with and teaching children. It’s quite fulfilling to see the excitement of the kids when they accomplish something new."
"Every one of our licensees is unbelievably committed to TGA’s concept of bringing youngsters into golf," said Joshua Jacobs, president and founder of the El Segundo, Ca-based company. "Dave’s background is an extra-ordinary fit for us. As a detective, he had to have great people skills, working and dealing with all types of personalities. He has a strong golf teaching background and is committed to youth sports. I could not have designed a better set of qualifications for a TGA territory director."
TGA’s programs extend beyond learning the game of golf and honing the golf swing. A child’s passion for the game of golf grows with a program that expands and improves their motor skills and coordination, encourages their advancement, and builds their confidence and self-esteem.
The TGA curriculum was developed with input from PGA professionals and PhD’s in Child Development and Education. Their input has ensured that TGA reinforces educational concepts such as arithmetic and reading, while teaching golf. Students learn to: keep score, count strokes (addition/subtraction); judge distances to the golf hole; (visual perception); and, study golf rules and etiquette (reading rule books from the National Golf Foundation or in the case of younger children, identifying with pictures).
TGA uses junior golf clubs in four different sizes and the Almost Golf Ballâ?¢, a new practice ball designed to be safe for children and easy to hit. Students’ sense of achievement and accomplishment is fostered as they move through a five-level program designated by the TGA colors. In addition to instruction during the five levels, students are introduced to the rules, etiquette, and fundamentals of golf; then transitioned to learning how to play on a golf course. Finally, the advanced level students are prepped to play competitively through TGA and PGA Section teachings.
TGA is endorsed and named as the official junior golf initiative by the Golf Range Association of America (GRAA); a national supporting organization of the After School Alliance, is a corporate advocate and partner of the President’s Challenge on Physical Fitness.
Contact:
FOR GOLF ADVENTURES:
ALAN TAYLOR
alan@alantaylorconsulting.com
516 835 1151
LOCAL:
Dave Donlon
ddonlon1@nycap.rr.com
518 928-2554
