By Leonard Finkel
The fastest growing junior golf program in the industry is bucking the mainstream trend of how to grow participation. By vesting local stakeholders to grow golf through a unique youth sports franchise model, TGA is growing faster than industry programs such as PGA Junior League (33,000), Youth on Course (18,000), and Drive, Chip, Putt, and at the same time becoming a significant feeder program into each of them.
As schools across the country welcome the return of students, TGA Premier Golf (670,000 participants to date) will be front and center with over 55,000 youngsters ages 5-12 registering this fall for its school based golf enrichment programs. Among those registering, 65-70 percent or their millennial parents have never played golf before.
“TGA (Teach Grow Achieve) Premier Golf fills a void in the industry by delivering introductory programs and bringing the sport directly onto school campuses while solving junior golf’s primary barriers to entry: accessibility, cost, time, transportation and fun,” CEO Joshua Jacobs said.
When TGA in was started 2003, their model was contrary to the industry beliefs of how to grow the sport. The industry relied on philanthropic, volunteer or charitable endeavors where the norm was to provide free golf programs for primarily lower socio-economic demographics.
Meanwhile core sports like soccer, lacrosse and others, which charged participation fees for their introductory programs, flourished and grew fast. TGA recognized, especially in individual sports such as golf and tennis, that retention was often tied to how much time and money a family invests in that sport.
By making golf available and bringing introductory programs to the masses in a cost-competitive way, it gives TGA a higher probability of bridging the gap from school programs to professional instruction and recreational programs at golf courses and driving ranges as well as retaining them for the long term.
The self-sustaining, no funding needed business model is putting golf on a level playing field with other mainstream sports and is creating a healthier and safer environment at schools for students to be introduced to and learn golf. The program can also be utilized anywhere on school campuses regardless of weather, including gymnasiums, hallways, cafeterias, fields and blacktops.
What differentiates TGA from other industry programs and initiatives is the for-profit turnkey franchise business that vests passionate entrepreneurs whose livelihoods are based on growing golf participation throughout their local community. In addition, the TGA program, with its classroom like curriculum, incorporates education subjects and STEM/STEAM Labs using golf as the conduit, as well as physical fitness and health components.
TGA also provides all the equipment at no cost for its classes. This includes its own line of TGA youth golf equipment providing age and height customized equipment with a low-cost access point into the game.
The majority of the 1.5 million families TGA reaches across all facilities they serve are from middle to upper income areas allowing the model to be fully sustainable through parent funding. The lower income areas in the communities they serve are backed by TGA’s 501c3 non-profit arm that provides grants and subsidies to ensure no child is left behind who wants to learn golf.
After activating participants and their families in these introductory programs, TGA partners with local golf courses and driving ranges (around 200 across the U.S.) that bridge participants from non-traditional golf programs to recreational golf programs such as camps, parent/child events and local leagues. It is a true player pathway.
An exciting byproduct of working with this age group is gaining a platform to communicate with their millennial parents, a coveted and elusive golf group the industry is only beginning to tap. TGA has learned that if you engage juniors, the probability of engaging the parents increases as golf becomes a fun family activity. TGA franchises are now providing parent clinics to get them started in the game.
Leonard Finkel is the author of The Secrets to the Game of Golf & Life and former editor in chief of Golf Journeys Magazine. His work has been featured in almost 200 publications including Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Golf Illustrated, Golf Tips and Player Magazine. He has written more than a dozen cover stories for Golf Today Magazine. He has written extensively about golf and travel and has added poker to his writing repertoire. Finkel also works as a marketing and public relations consultant. His specialty niche is writing advertorial copy. Prior to his career in golf, Finkel owned a chain of retail stores and a consulting and import company based in Asia. He attended the University of Utah.