Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2018 - 4

INSIDE
THE MG A
What is MGA
Membership?
Carrying On
* BY TOM RYAN *
A new initiative aims to attract more
youth to the game through caddying.
F
or generations now,
caddying has provided
an
entryway
to
the game -at least that's
how it happened for me, and
I'll bet for thousands of baby
boomers like me. I caddied
at the Town & Country Club
in the late 1960s, when there
were just six golf carts in the
cart barn. Each spring about
400 kids showed up for training
in the art of lugging a
staff-size golf bag around the
hilliest course in town for $3
a loop. Those were the days!
I was also fortunate enough
to be awarded the Evans
Scholarship,
which spared
my family the fi nancial burden
of college. That was a life
changer for me and for all my
fellow " Evies. "
But the most important
life-changing experience I
had from caddying was that it
introduced me to the game of
golf. I have said many times
that I learned to love the
game before I even played the
game. I didn't actually hit a
ball until late in my fi rst summer,
but I was hooked before
that as I watched my golfers
get around the golf course. I
knew it was the game for me.
These days when the talk
turns to golfer participation,
many forget that caddying
was the classic introduction
to the game -a major pipe4
MINNESOTAGOLFER
Spring 2018
line that introduced tens of
thousands of young people
to golf every year. Today's
caddie programs are a mere
shadow of what they were a
generation ago, thanks to the
invention of the golf cart.
Over time, even the Western
Golf Association's (WGA)
Evans Scholar program
has focused on promoting
caddying primarily as a
means to an end, the Evans
Scholarship, as opposed to a
way to learn and appreciate
the game.
It will seek to identify young
people who otherwise might
not be exposed to the benefi
ts of caddying, let alone the
game of golf.
As with most industry
initiatives, its success will
depend on a grassroots effort.
It will depend on facilities
embracing the idea and committing
to a program. And it
will depend on you and me
promoting caddying to our
family,
friends and neighbors.
Caddying is a great way
to earn some money, work
I learned to love the game
before I even played
the game.
Recognizing that change is
needed, the WGA and other
leading industry organizations
are preparing to launch
Carry the Game, an advocacy
program designed to introduce
young people to the
game by creating additional
opportunities for them to
caddie and encouraging them
to become lifelong players.
This important initiative
will offer resources and
support to encourage both
public and private facilities
to create caddie programs
if they don't have one and
enhance programs if they do.
outdoors and learn the game.
And for some, there will even
be a full college scholarship
waiting at the end of their
caddie career.
You can help: Look for
more information as we
roll out details this season.
In the meantime, be sure to
visit mngolf.org to fi nd clubs
in your area that currently
offer caddying opportunities.
That's the surest way to get
someone who may not have
golf on their radar started
in a lifelong love affair with
the game.
See you on the course.
It's your
invitation to
play some of
the fi nest golf
courses around,
through participation
in MGA Associate
Members' Days or
the MGA Senior
Tour. * It's your USGA
Handicap Index, now
updated twice every
month, year-round. *
It's your subscription
to Minnesota Golfer
magazine, delivered to
your home. * It's your
support of programs
and services that
make the game better.
CADDIE STATS
21
Private golf and
country clubs in
Minnesota with caddie
programs, according
to the Western Golf
Association.
681
Number of college
graduates matriculated
through the Evans
Scholars chapter house
at the University of
Minnesota
since 1954.
?
TRIVIA QUESTION
Who was the fi rst
Evans Scholar at
the University of
Minnesota? Hint: he
was a popular radio
and television host in
the 1960s and 70s.
See page 45 for the answer
mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2018

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