Sitting on the bleachers at her son’s baseball game at 7:30 a.m. on a rainy Saturday morning, Allison George, General Manager of Toad Valley Golf Course near Des Moines Iowa, looked around at the hundreds of other people who looked wet and miserable just like her. Everyone sat there in the cold to watch their kids play. Many of the parents knew their kids weren’t ever going to play in high school, let alone the majors. But, there they sat grandparents and parents alike. After a while, she thought , “Why, aren’t we doing something like this for golf? Golf is one of the few sports you can actually play for the rest of your life. Let’s celebrate that fact!”
She began at the golf course she manages. Her idea was to copy what worked – baseball’s Little League. “Get the kids involved,” she thought, “and you’ll get the whole family.” Sure enough, pretty soon, moms were signing up for their Ladies Night Out. Dads were dusting off their clubs and honing in their skills, so they can coach the kids. Viola, the whole family was golfing.
Her program has been in operation now for six years and she figures she’s introduced golf to about 700 new golfers. “I started out small with advertisements in the school system. I charge about what soccer or baseball would cost and pretty soon the word got around.” Parents were used to hauling kids to practices like dance, soccer, and baseball every night of the week. Her goal: Get Golf on that list.”
Allison truly believes this is what is wrong with golf. “Golf has not adapted to the climate of how families raise their children today.” She tells about one set of parents who approached her at the End of Season Party and thanked her because their little “Jimmy” just couldn’t find a sport he liked until he discovered golf. It had never occurred to them because neither parent was a golfer. Guess what? Those parents are golfers now. They want to spend time with Jimmy and he wants to play golf. Allison remarked, “Talk about quality Family Times. I’d like to think I have a little part in that.”
Interested in helping start a youth golf league? Give us a call at (610) 725-9155. We like thinking outside the tee box.
Article based on interview with Allison George and used with her permission.
