Where Are The Junior Golf Program Sign Up Banners?

     Its "Back To School" time again and with this wonderful time of year comes fall sports.  Outside the school yards you see banners which announce the beginning of sign-ups for this year's youth soccer leagues and football.  I see them posted on fences outside schools and they are huge.  The signs talk of the soccer and football leagues, stating dates, times and location where signups will be held. Little League Baseball will do the same thing in the late winter to start play in the spring. Each signup location will have a number of parents who are involved in those soccer, or football or softball or little league group manning the signup table.  Where are the huge, colorful banners, the signup tables and most importantly the volunteers for junior golf?
      As I take a good look at the process of getting children into junior golf programs, it kind of reminds me of recruiting for the CIA. Have you ever noticed the number of commercials on TV and in print recruiting for the military? "Be Army strong", "we are the Navy protecting the oceans of the Free World" and advertisements for the US Air Force are all over the airwaves. Have you seen a recruitment commercial for joining the CIA.  I would be willing to bet you that you haven't. When was the last time you saw a local announcement for US Kids Golf or The First Tee in your area? Have you EVER seen one other than during a golf broadcast? My guess would be that you haven't.
     Why isn't golf being as aggressive as baseball, softball, soccer and football in introducing our youth to the game of golf?  Our's is a wonderful game and is very much unlike the other games.  Ours is a game you can play for a lifetime, not just for a few seasons where your skill level can take you only so far and then you have to quit. In those sports, you can only go so far as your physical abilities and skill level will take you.  That's not true in golf, as the game is a sport for a lifetime.  I have played golf with others who are well into their eighties, and its not like there are only a few golfers that old.  How many football or soccer players do you know that are in their eighties and still playing football?
     Where are the advertisements for youth golf programs?  Where are the banners and signup tables? I think that the most important question is where are the parents that can run these programs?  Why is golf not taught in PE programs throughout K-12 education?  How about asking the question of where are the golf courses and their management?  A good junior program is going to directly impact their future bottom line play profits. Why aren't the courses more involved in promoting junior golf?  A lot of questions need to be asked. Why is golf not as aggressive as the other sports in promoting junior golf?
     Today I just want to ask the questions.  There are things that must be done and I hope to talk about what needs to be done and spotlight what is being done now to promote junior golf and getting more youngsters playing this lifelong sport. There are some great programs out there and I will talk about them in a future post.  For now, I just wanted to get you thinking about this.

Let's get them into the game and playing.