When I decided to try to expand this blog upon being relieved of my duties in the newspaper business five years ago, I wanted it to be as local as possible and to promote the game at its Kentucky blue grass roots.
Maybe there are some people who check in on my blog and wonder why I religiously report on the results from the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, which offers opportunities to youngsters 18 and under to play in a tournament setting at a wide variety of golf courses from the Jersey Shore to central Pennsylvania.
For one thing, the Philadelphia Section does a great job of getting the results out in a timely fashion, which enables me to expand and expound a little on each event. My goal and the goal of the Philadelphia Section PGA is really simple. We’re trying to attract youngsters to a game that can provide fun, exercise and social interaction for, quite literally, a lifetime.
I have a bit of a personal agenda, left over from 38 years of celebrating the accomplishments of high school athletes in the pages of The Mercury in Pottstown and the Delaware County Daily Times, among other publications. I enjoy watching youngsters go from halting beginners to really talented players. Sometimes it happens seemingly overnight, other times it is a slow, steady arc of progress.
I’m not telling you you’re going to make it to the PGA Tour or the LPGA Tour. I’m not telling you you’re going to be a scholarship player at a Division I college.
But I’ve certainly seen countless Junior Tour standouts playing high school golf in this area. You could play college golf at a smaller school that might work a little harder to find some money to help defray the cost of your higher education because it is trying to fill out its golf roster. You could meet lifelong friends that you’re still playing golf with decades from now. You could be good enough to play in a USGA championship. You could be a valuable member of a club’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Team Match entry. And being able to play, even a little bit, could make the company outing sometime in your distant future a lot more fun.
You might even find a career in the golf industry as any PGA professional can attest.
But golf’s a country club sport, right? There’s no way for kid from the city who can’t afford clubs, let alone greens fees, to play in something like the Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour, right?
Well, maybe there is a way. The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour’s Diversity Scholarship for 2021 is now open. The program is offered under the auspices of PGA REACH Philadelphia, the local arm of the PGA of America’s charity initiative.
“With opportunities to learn, grow and compete, many tour members graduate to play at the college level and beyond,” the Philadelphia Section PGA said in announcing its scholarship program. “The Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour is proud to help in developing social skills and self-esteem and inspire youth in our community by providing scholarships to individuals from diverse backgrounds.”
The Philadelphia Section is focused on helping marginalized populations, individuals and communities that experience discrimination and exclusion based on social, political and economic means or background/status. The initiative is aimed at girls in particular, but guys or gals of any race or ethnicity in need of financial assistance that meet the need-based requirements will be considered.
The scholarships cover the annual Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour membership dues. Probably most importantly, the scholarship includes a mentor program that will pair youngsters with a PGA professional who can assist him or her by being a role model and coach to scholarship recipients.
The scholarship will cover an individual’s tournament fees to up to seven tournaments each year until the applicant turns 18 and is no longer eligible.
Are there other challenges for a youngster of limited means who think he or she might want to give the game a shot? Sure. Golf clubs aren’t cheap, but there are plenty of sticks floating around out there. If you want to play, there’s a way to get some golf clubs in your hands.
Getting to and from a golf tournament can be a problem. At least once a year in my blog, I like to give a shout-out to the moms and dads who I know spend a lot of time getting their kids and, I’m guessing, in more than a few cases, some other people’s kids to golf courses on weekends in the spring and fall and on weekdays during the summer to golf courses all over the region. Yes, transportation can be an issue, but again it is a hurdle that can be overcome.
The hardest step is always the first step. Pursuing a Philly
Junior Tour Diversity Scholarship might be that first step. The deadline to enter is March 10.
Visit phillyjuniortour.com and the first item you’ll see sends you to an application for a 2021 Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour Scholarship. It might just be the ticket to a lifetime of enjoyment on the golf course.
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