The Texas Golf Association has started an initiative that aims to support municipal golf course facilities and their shared mission of providing accessible, affordable, enjoyable golf.
Established in 2023, the Project Muni Grant Program is a multi-year financial commitment to investing in municipal facilities across Texas. The program’s purpose is to grant funds to assist municipal facilities with new agronomy projects and practices designed to improve course conditions, enhance the playing experience, or make the game more accessible for all backgrounds and abilities. To be eligible for the grant program, municipal facilities must be a current member club of the TGA. The Project Muni Grant Program is funded by the TGA and administered by the TGA Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the TGA.
“Project Muni was created to invest in municipal golf courses and support their efforts to make improvements in on-course conditions,” said Kelly Kilgo, Managing Director of TGA Foundation/Outreach. “Municipal courses have so much to offer to so many people and ensuring that everyone has an enjoyable experience is critical to the community’s well-being and to growing the game at the grassroot level.”
There are currently 180 municipal courses throughout Texas, and the great thing is they can be found nearly everywhere you look. You’ll see municipal courses in all the places you’d expect – big cities, bustling suburbs, vacation destinations – but also in delightfully unexpected places like Brady, Cuero, Lamesa, Pampa, and dozens more outlying small towns.
All these municipal courses provide a very important service to their community and to the overall health of the game. Their location, accessibility, and affordable green fees attract a large and diverse group of avid golfers. Municipal courses are also vital public assets, regularly hosting local and city tournaments, high school golf teams, church and charity fundraisers, and player development programs for area juniors and beginners.
While every municipal course is as unique as the golfers and communities they serve, many are facing challenges trying to maintain an ideal level of service, amenities, and conditioning with less resources amid budget constraints at the city and county level.
The Project Muni Grant Program is dedicated to investing in municipal courses so they can overcome budgetary challenges and move forward with proposed agronomy improvement plans and practices. The two-part grant funding program provides: 1) fund grants for every municipal facility to cover the cost of a USGA Course Consulting Service (CSS) once every 5 years and 2) matching fund grants (up to $10,000) to a facility wanting to implement CSS recommendations or to make other improvements that will support sustainability, enhance player experience, or make the game more accessible.
In its inaugural year of funding, the TGA Foundation awarded $75,000 in grants to 16 member club municipal facilities across Texas to assist with various agronomy projects and practices, which are highlighted on the following page.
For year two, the amount of grant funding available has been increased to $100,000. Already in the first quarter of 2024, there has been significant activity with 8 member club municipal facilities receiving funding for on-site USGA agronomy consultations.
“We are looking forward to Project Muni having a positive impact on as many member club municipal facilities as possible for the remainder of the year and for many more years to come,” Kilgo said. “Municipal courses have a long and distinguished history in golf and the overall growth of the game is dependent on their success. By helping to support these facilities we hope to ensure that municipal courses remain part of the fabric of the community they serve and continue to be an accessible and affordable place to play or learn the game for future generations.”
