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History of the Program
The LPGA Urban Youth Golf Program was founded in 1989 by the Ladies Professional Golf Association when the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles awarded a grant to the LPGA to start a junior golf program for inner-city young people in Southern California. In the first year, over 200 boys and girls were enrolled in the program. Currently, the Los Angeles program serves over 600 junior participants.
After the initial success in Los Angeles, the LPGA expanded the Urban Youth Golf Program to Portland, Oregon (1992), Detroit, Michigan (1993), Wilmington, Delaware (1995), and a fifth site was added in Atlantic City, New Jersey (1997). Since 1989, more than 15,000 juniors have participated in the LPGA Urban Youth Golf Program.
How the Program Works
The LPGA Urban Youth Golf Program of Wilmington is a year-round, time-tested developmental golf program for children who do not have the financial or cultural resources to play the game of golf. The Program provides free equipment, personalized professional instruction and course access for its participants in a safe environment. The Program differs from other junior golf programs in that its primary goal is to teach life skills rather than golf skills. The Program instructors are educators and professionals. The developmental program emphasizes learning and playing the game in a "safe, fast, and courteous" manner through simple, successful and fun progressions and activities. The instructors are all carefully screened and must complete specialized training focusing on learning styles and creating programs that emphasize developing positive self-esteem. Parents and other volunteers are involved with the instructional programs to promote the development of good relationships between the junior participants and adult role models.
Junior participants (ages 7 to 17) are recruited from local social service and governmental agencies. (See the complete list of participating agencies) The Program offers our junior participants weekly, sixty-minute lessons from mid-April through mid-October. In addition, a winter program is offered to our more advanced juniors who have shown their dedication to the Program through their hard work.
A great strength of the program is the on-going evaluation process that encourages youngsters to reach their greatest potential. Progress is measured through our five step Player Certification Program assessing skills, rules and etiquette knowledge at regular intervals, As the juniors progress through the various levels of the Player Certification Programs they receive a golf bag, additional golf clubs, increased course access at local golf courses and become eligible to participate in the winter program.
