The NCGA Reach Grant Program was established to help support pilot programs and/or enhance existing programs at courses, facilities and organizations that can show sustainable participation in the game over time. In 2024, to help ensure that the future of golf is vibrant and inclusive, the NCGA awarded grants totaling $118,800 to golf facilities and programs in Northern California. We checked in with the 2024 grant recipients and they were excited to update us on their progress:
ELEVATE Golf Academy’s program is designed to enhance the accessibility of golf for individuals with disabilities through specialized clinics and coach training. Ensuring high-quality instruction for individuals with disabilities this training will include practical sessions, equipment familiarization and strategies to create inclusive golfing environments.
The First Tee of Monterey County plans to expand its programming into North Monterey County schools. It delivers an evidence-based curriculum that incorporates golf techniques with the five Key Commitments and a code of conduct.
“First Tee Monterey County began programming in North Monterey County in December 2024, as part of the North Monterey County Middle School after-school program impacting 90-plus students daily. Students in the program have been introduced to the fundamentals of golf, ranging from knowledge of golf clubs to golf course etiquette and especially First Tee’s Game Changing behaviors. The program is led by PGA Associates, William Lara and Youki Bae, with support from coach Zachary Jacobsen. As the program evolves, North Monterey County Middle School will launch its first-ever after-school interscholastic golf team. For the 2025-2026 school year, we hope to expand programming into remaining North Monterey County schools.”
Each lesson of the Life Skills Experience program features a life skills component, a golf skills component, and a health component. Students explore various skills every week at the program through golfing games, activities, and small group discussions.
“2024 was a significant growth year for our chapter. We delivered our Life Skills Curriculum to over 350 students at Metropolitan Golf Links and reached more than 2,800 students with our on-campus events. These numbers represent tremendous gains over 2023 when we served 200 students with our Life Skills Curriculum and 1,100 via outreach.”
The FTSV program will consist of five weeks of private lessons and practice in four cordoned off-range bays. All five weeks of the private lessons will fall within FTSV’s eight-week season.
“We just started the five-week series of affordable lessons…with nine new, low-income participants. We plan on expanding the number of kids to 15 per season this spring and allowing the kids who have already taken lessons to register again. We’re up to 42 kids total who have taken lessons. That should climb to 75 by the end of the year. The participants are indeed improving and demand for the lessons is growing.”
A Mentorship Program where high school varsity players will guide middle school players during spring and summer sessions, fostering camaraderie and inspiring continued interest in golf. The program will also provide a funded ride-sharing option to support low-income students facing transportation barriers getting to golf practice or events.
“These efforts reflect BGCC's commitment to meeting student needs and being a supportive community partner on the Coastside. BGCC is excited to kick things off after Winter break in January 2025. Additionally, we have a new team member joining our Golf program leadership team with a special emphasis on the mentoring and transportation that we highlighted. She is Sandra Sarabia -- a gifted local Latina leader. We look forward to hosting your committee once things are underway this spring.”
We are currently in nine Elementary schools doing P.E. and afterschool programs reaching between three hundred and six hundred kids a week. Schools have limited transportation available to do mentoring field trips, visits to the golf course, and to our events at Topgolf. In December, to bolster these programs we are adding nine golf simulators to the schools and purchasing two twelve-person vans that we can use to shuttle kids who have a passion for the game of golf to the course for more coaching and mentoring.
Modoc High School in Alturas is committed to providing diverse athletic and educational opportunities for its students. In their ongoing effort to expand the scope of their physical education program and extracurricular activities (including the Modoc High School golf team), they used grant funding for the purchase of a new golf simulator.
“So far there have been quite a few students who have tried out the simulator and a few staff members. It was quite enjoyable to see that we had quite a few students who had never picked up a golf club give it a try and enjoy having competitions amongst themselves. We even have a student who has a paralyzed arm, work on his one-handed swing and there's potential that he will go out for the golf team this Spring.”
The NCGA Reach Committee is excited to continue the NCGA Reach program in 2025. Be sure that your facility or organization doesn’t miss out on the chance to receive up to $25,000. To learn more please go to ncga.org/about/reach.
“There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.”
-Bernard Meltzer