The Iowa Golf Association has partnered with a national organization that will benefit junior golfers as well as IGA member clubs.  It is called Youth on Course and it was started in 2006 by the Northern California Golf Association.  At its most basic level, it is a program that subsidizes rounds of golf for juniors at participating courses.

The concept is this: A junior age 6 to 18 can join Youth on Course for a $15 yearly fee. That gets them access to any participating Youth on Course facility (there are over 700 nationally) to play a round of golf for $5 or less.  Then the participating course receives a subsidy for that round (usually another $5). Participating courses can put restrictions on days and times when the YOC rates are available, making it an opportunity for to help grow future golfers plus drive additional business during non-peak hours.

We see the program as a “link” between the Iowa PGA Swings with Kids (Golf in Schools) program and the competitive Iowa Junior Tour.  It essentially eliminates the financial barrier for a junior player to play an actual round of golf.  We are certain there will be kids who get introduced to the game through Golf in Schools, then utilize Youth on Course to start playing real rounds.

Kids can sign up now for the yearly membership. Simply click here to start that process.

One requirement for the juniors is that they complete an online life/course curriculum.  It takes about 20 minutes to complete and it covers some basic FAQ’s, golf course etiquette and rules tips.

We are currently working to “on-board” participating courses.  Some of you have already agreed to participate, and we are very grateful for that.  If you have not yet heard about this but think it would be of interest to your facility, please give us a call and we can fill you in on more of the details. We would love to have a majority of Iowa courses offer this program.

Finally, this is a program that will be administered under the IGA Foundation, the 501(c)(3) arm of the IGA.  For the first two golf seasons (2018 & 2019) the subsides to the golf courses will be paid by Youth on Course national.  Beginning in 2020, the IGA Foundation will be paying those subsidies.  Therefore, we are taking donations for this program.  Usually, the subsidy to a course is $5 per round, so if you donate $100, you are paying for 20 rounds of golf for juniors.  Click here to donate.

You can find complete information here or you can look for Youth on Course under the IGA Foundation menu item.

We have no doubt that the Youth on Course program will be a home run. We have a responsibility to do everything we can to support and grow the game.  This program develops new golfers and that benefits everyone involved in the game of golf.  It was a “no-brainer” for us.