Industry Needs To Be There At The Start

We are fortunate here at the Core Golf Academy in Orlando to work with such a wide variety of students, from our elite juniors attending our academy to the PGA/LPGA Tour professionals taught and trained by our coaches Sean Foley and Dr Craig Davies.

You get to see the full range of talent and opportunity, as well as the challenges faced at every level.

In Canada, we have national and developmental team programs run by the Royal Canadian Golf Association, as well as our provincial programs that offer a variety of opportunities for amateurs.

There is, however, a distinct void for the person who turns professional and seeks to reach the respective tours. This is where we need to step in and help.

It is very interesting to watch the differences in attitude and support given to not only golfers, but athletes in general in the United States.

In a nutshell, the biggest difference between the U.S. and Canada is when it comes to developing players and putting in place opportunities for them.

In the U.S., they `bet on the horse before it’s left the gate,’ but in Canada, we like to `bet on the horse after it crosses the finish line.’

If it hasn’t finished first, we don’t bet!

I think we have all talked about the want and the need for more Canadians on the various professional tours and enough has been said about who is responsible. The fact is we all are responsible if we think this is important.

I know people will say that golf isn’t life or death, but if we look at the economic impact it has in Canada, we begin to realize that golf is not just a game but a business, so why not treat it as one when it comes to our helping our players?

By providing an opportunity for a young professional to simply play and practice at your facility or sponsoring him or her through your club with fundraisers etc., it’s a very low cost for investing in the game and the individual.

It’s no secret that companies that cater to an audience with a golf demographic use the PGA/LPGA Tour stars to promote their products, so why not use our young players to promote the business of golf? There is no better way than providing an opportunity for a future PGA/LPGA player.

Golf is a game of numbers and, as such, if we have more young players trying to compete at a high level and we provide some resources for them, then the odds that more of them might make it through to the level of Mike Weir, Stephen Ames or Lorie Kane.

It also grows interest in the game and helps ensure its future.

Supporting youngsters is beneficial to everybody in the game.