Young students who started with the TGA Premier Junior Golf program are continuing the game’s journey as competitors and lifelong, avid participants
Haverstraw, NY – High school senior Ashley Sullivan can’t imagine not playing golf for the rest of her life. That’s welcome news for the golf industry in America, which has struggled through nearly two decades of stagnant or declining participation.
Better yet, Ashley isn’t alone in her passion for the game. She’s one of thousands of young players nationwide riding a wave created by TGA Premier Junior Golf starting juniors in the game as young as 3 years old.
“I’ve always believed that my success is built on the foundations of golf that I learned through TGA,” says Ashley, 18, who recently won the Rockland County girls individual golf championship for Suffern High School, and nearly won the event as a freshman. Next fall, she plans to attend Notre Dame where she will also play on the club golf team, her next stop on the game’s lifelong journey.
TGA, which stands for Teach, Grow, Achieve, first launched its innovative Player Pathway in 2003. TGA begins by delivering extended-day golf programs from pre-kindergarten through middle school putting golf on the same menu for kids as the mainstream core sports. Parents are given the option to enroll their children in a before or after-school golf program they otherwise may not have considered.
There are now 55 TGA Chapters across the country, and alumni of those chapters – like Ashley Sullivan – are beginning to impact golf’s participation numbers. “TGA really helped Ashley develop her love for the sport and advance her golf and life skills along the way,” says Alison Sullivan, who first enrolled her daughter in a TGA program when she was in fourth grade. “She wouldn’t be the person she is today without TGA.”
Alison Sullivan credits TGA for teaching Ashley the solid golf fundamentals that have enabled her to excel at the high school level, and hopefully beyond.
Ashley also has embraced the golf tradition of giving back, becoming a coach with TGA of Rockland County.
“Ashley’s story is what TGA is all about,” says Stewart Werner, Chapter Director of TGA of Rockland County. “Introducing her to golf, watching her develop into a successful competitive golfer, and giving her the opportunity to share her passion for the game with other youngsters has given us great satisfaction. She is a popular role model for our students, who get to share the excitement of her accomplishments and see first-hand where the TGA Player Pathway can lead.”
Austin Strohmeier, a student at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, Calif., is another example of TGA’s impact. He joined the TGA program in first grade and quickly became a golf enthusiast. Austin, now 10, completed all five levels of the TGA program in two years. He receives private instruction weekly and plays for St. Mary’s in a youth league developed by the PGA of America’s Southern California Section (SCPGA). Austin also competes on the SCPGA’s Junior Development Tour and has participated in the national Drive Chip and Putt contest, joining other TGA enrichment students who are progressing along the Player Pathway.
“Stories like Ashley’s and Austin’s are happening all over the country after years of laying the groundwork bringing introductory and recreational programs to communities,” says Joshua Jacobs, CEO of TGA Premier Junior Golf. “Our model and Player Pathway transitioning kids from schools to local golf courses has been the vision of TGA since the beginning, and we are excited to see the results at the competitive level.”
TGA’s franchise model has vested entrepreneurs, PGA Professionals, and PGA sections like the SCPGA with the opportunity to make growing the game a sustainable business by creating local grass roots golf ecosystems within communities.
TGA programs feature an achievement-based enrichment curriculum that incorporates physical fitness, life skills, character development and STEM lessons. TGA is the first youth golf program to introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) into its curriculums.
About TGA Premier Junior Golf
TGA Premier Junior Golf (TGA) is one of the leading industry model bringing new players into the game. The franchise business model, the only one of its kind and recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as a “Top 10 Franchise Value,” empowers entrepreneurs, PGA Professionals, PGA Sections and Golf Management Companies to activate youth (ages 3-13) and their parents (ages 25-45) through introductory programs at elementary and middle schools, childcare centers and community centers. TGA’s curriculum focuses on instilling a passion and skills development of golf while incorporating character development, STEM core academics, and physical activity. Introductory programs feed into recreational programs at golf courses that include camps and leagues. TGA has taught over 500,000 juniors while making the sport available to 1.5 million families nationwide.
For more information about TGA Premier Junior Golf, visit www.playtga.com or follow @TGAJuniorGolf on Twitter.
Contact:
TGA Premier Junior Golf
Joshua Jacobs – CEO
(310) 333-0622
joshua@playtga.com
Kevin Frisch – Public Relations
(989) 614-0241
kevin@playtga.com