All of us who love golf fondly remember the person who first introduced us to the game. We owe a debt of gratitude to that person who had the patience and understanding to ease our anxiety, make learning fun and provide encouragement every step of the way. Why did they do this? Because, more likely than not, somewhere down the line, someone had done the same for them.
That sense of obligation we feel to pay that kindness forward to others, to impart all the wonderful things about golf to the next generation is exactly why the Texas Golf Association established the TGA Foundation in 1999.
For the past 20 years, the TGA Foundation, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, has been dedicated to making certain that golf in Texas continues to grow and prosper. It achieves this mission through the financial and administrative support of existing grass-roots junior golf development programs, and in creating new avenues for deserving and underserved youth to learn some of life’s most important lessons through their exposure to the game of golf.
Thanks to our donors, volunteers and participants, this past year was one of the Foundation’s most rewarding ever, and a great illustration of the joys of paying it forward. Below are a few of the Foundation’s major highlights from 2019.
The year started on a high note with Abigail Dobbs of Quitman being named the winner of the TGA Foundation’s 2019 Doris Kallina/’Nez Muhleman Scholarship, valued at $25,000 over a four-year period. Dobbs was presented with a $3,000 check on April 11 at The Links at Land’s End in Yantis, with the remainder of the scholarship to be paid out over the next three years.
“I would really just like to thank everyone that was involved in the selection process,” said Abigail Dobbs. “It really means so much to me that you all picked me for this scholarship, so thank you so much! This TGA Foundation scholarship has really changed my life.”
A June graduate of Quitman High School in Quitman, located about 30 miles north of Tyler, Dobbs was valedictorian with a 4.18 GPA and earned a full year’s worth of college credits through the school’s Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Dobbs is using the scholarship money to attend Texas A&M University where she is majoring in Animal Sciences, the first step in fulfilling her dream of becoming a veterinarian.
The scholarship is named for Doris Kallina and ‘Nez Muhleman, two women who have given their time, energy and resources to promote women’s golf in Texas for many years. Both have long and distinguished legacies with the TGA and USGA as volunteers, committee members and officials.
The TGA Foundation does more than distribute money to worthy individuals and organizations. TGA Works is an internship program that provides high school-aged students with an introduction to the wide-array of job opportunities within the Texas golf industry.
Working in cooperation with its Member Clubs, the TGA connects determined young people with public and private facilities in need of extra summer help. TGA Works participants receive 10-week paid summer internships that introduce them to a broad spectrum of future career possibilities. The program, which typically runs from the first week of June to the first week of August, also includes professional golf instruction and playing opportunities.
This year’s TGA Works interns were Christian Cargile, 19, of Missouri City (now attending Texas Christian University); Anola Chanthalangsy, 17, of South Grand Prairie High School; and Cade Cook, 14, of Denton Ryan High School. Cargile spent his internship at Quail Valley Golf Course & City Centre in Missouri City and Chanthalangsy worked at Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth. Cook got his hands-on golf industry experience while providing invaluable assistance at Indian Creek Golf Club in Carrollton.
The TGA Foundation in late June recognized The First Tee of The Piney Woods with both the Bill Penn and Winners’ Program Grants. The East Texas youth organization is using the funds to launch development programs in two new cities, host cost-free clinics for kids and renovating the flood-damaged sixth green at The First Tee Wee Links in Longview.
“These grants allowed us to do some things we would have never been able to do,” The First Tee of The Piney Woods Executive Director Jay Blint said.
“The First Tee of The Piney Woods is a great example of the kinds of programs the TGA Foundation is looking to support,” TGA Foundation Managing Director Kelly Kilgo said. “They reach hundreds of kids and many of them stick with the program and continue to pursue the game of the golf.”
The Winners’ Program, now in its 11th year, is a golf-and-grades initiative of the TGA Foundation in partnership with the LPGA/USGA Girls Golf of Texas Chapters. Established in 2003, the Bill Penn Grant is named after the TGA’s first full-time Executive Director and is awarded annually to eligible programs that provide local-level instruction, develop golf skills for juniors and introduce disadvantaged kids to the game.
Technically, the not-to-be-missed event won’t be held until next summer, but after months of planning the final paperwork was signed in late September, so it’s fair to count it as a highlight for 2019.
Next June, the TGA Foundation will host a “Stars Fore Stars” fundraiser at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The festivities start in the afternoon with a VIP Guided Tour of the $1.15 billion dollar football and entertainment mecca with special stops at a private suite, media press box, postgame interview room and both the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders locker rooms. Immediately following the VIP Tour, the action moves to the playing field where several golf- and football-related games will be set up so guests can test their skills and win prizes.
After the fun and games, food and drinks will be served in a special room the Foundation has reserved for the evening. To illustrate the positive impacts the game of golf can have on young people, a number of recent Foundation ‘Success Stories’ will tell first-hand how their involvement with the TGA Foundation has led to incredible life-changing experiences.
More details about the Stars Fore Stars fundraiser will be made available in the next few months, so be sure to keep an eye out for updated information in future issues of Lone Star Golf and on txga.org.
The Foundation’s biggest fundraising event of the past year was the Bandon Dunes Raffle, with a grand prize of a trip to Oregon’s rugged Pacific Coast for an unforgettable FREE Stay & Play package at one of the most acclaimed golf resorts in the world.
The response from the Texas golf community was fantastic. Over $12,000 was raised that will go towards enhancing and expanding Foundation programs.
The raffle ended on Nov. 12 and the winner was chosen the following morning. In a live recording, Victoria Uresti, Manager of TGA Foundation Programs, drew the lucky ticket belonging to Joanna Staton of McKinney.
Staton, a commercial airline pilot, was at the airport getting ready to fly to Chicago when she got a phone call from Kelly Kilgo letting her know that she was the Grand Prize winner.
“I am super excited that my name was drawn for the trip to Bandon Dunes,” Staton said. “So I’m now in a quandary about who to invite. The word is out already, so I may have to do another drawing to see who goes with me!”
Staton and her guest, whomever the lucky person ends up being, gets three nights at the resort's "Chrome Loft Suites" and six rounds of golf on any of the award-winning courses at Bandon Dunes. If they’re still hungry for more golf after all that, they also have full access to the 50-acre practice center, the 13-hole par-3 course Bandon Preserve and The Punchbowl, a 100,000-square-foot putting course.
In mid-July, the TGA Foundation’s Board of Directors approved a one-year pilot program with Youth on Course. The goal of the partnership, which launches Jan. 1, 2020 in San Antonio, is to provide affordable junior golf access at participating courses.
For the pilot program, junior golfers in San Antonio who sign up for a Youth on Course membership will have the opportunity to play any of the Alamo City Golf Trail courses during designated times for $5 or less, with the TGA subsidizing the remainder. The Youth on Course membership fee will be $20, which gives members access to participating facilities in San Antonio and across the country. The fee also includes a TGA membership, a GHIN Handicap and many more TGA member benefits.
After the trial period ends in San Antonio, the Foundation’s Board of Directors will evaluate the results. If the program is deemed a success, and if the necessary financial resources are available, the Foundation will look to expand the Youth on Course partnership to other cities in Texas.
What is in store for 2020? More of the same, but only bigger and better. With the continued support of our contributors, volunteers and Member Clubs, the TGA Foundation hopes to reach out to even more young people so that they too can benefit, as we did, from the many important life lessons golf teaches us – the ones that helped define us and enrich our lives.
For those who are interested in giving back to the game, there are many ways to get involved. For more information on how to help support the TGA Foundation’s mission of making certain that golf in Texas continues to grow and prosper, click here.
