Game for Life
Golf is a game that embodies the life lessons of responsibility, integrity and perseverance. It is a lifetime sport the Columbia Golf Foundation is passionate about, and the members strive to share the game with those in the area who might not otherwise have the opportunity to play.
John Weston, president and founder, formed the Columbia Golf Foundation in May 2009. He had seen similar programs in Joplin and Springfield, Mo., and saw a need in Columbia to increase youth participation in the game. “Youth participation in golf has really dropped off,” Weston says. “Our No. 1 goal is to get more kids to play golf. It is a sport for life and is based on honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and etiquette.”
Columbia had several leagues for other sports, but despite having numerous golf courses, the city did not have golf teams for young people. Melissa Melahn Coil, board member of CGF and Rock Bridge High School’s girls golf coach, says: “John saw something we all should have seen: a serious lack of exposure to Columbia’s youth to the game of golf. Columbia is full of youth leagues in almost every other sport.”
The mission of the CGF is to provide access to the game of golf and its values for Columbia’s youth of all backgrounds and skill levels,” Weston says. He adds that for kids to go out and play, they need people to play with. Summer camps offer a networking opportunity for kids to get to know others who also play golf.
The CGF offers a four-week golf program for area youth each Monday in June that provides hands-on instruction by local professionals, top amateurs, local high school golf team members and coaches. Members of the high school golf teams serve as youth mentors at the camps. In exchange for helping at the camps, each mentor receives a free summer golf pass to L.A. Nickell or Lake of the Woods golf course courtesy of the CGF. “It is an amazing thing for me to watch my high school girls work with the youth in the community,” Melahn Coil says. “It not only encourages the high school girls and gives them a great experience, but it connects the youth with other mentors in their lives.”
In addition to the June summer camp, the CGF also sponsors a LPGA girls golf camp during July. This 10-day camp focuses on the different aspects of the game and is taught by local pros, high school team members and coaches. Melahn Coil is in charge of the camp. “The goal is to support not only the youth that hadn’t played before but also the high school kids that play every day,” she says. “I can’t think of a better way to spend my summer.”
The CGF also hosts Caddy Days at courses in the area to support the local golf teams at Hickman, Rock Bridge and Father Tolton Catholic high schools. Participants who are registered to play will pay their green fee for the day as a donation and will receive a caddy, who is a member of the high school golf team. Weston says that it is his goal “to financially support those 18 and under and follow them all the way through high school.”
Promoting interest
Although the CGF focuses on exposing youth to the game of golf, Weston says other tournaments they sponsor, such as the Boyce/Digges Cup, promote interest in the game. “It’s also important to get the name of the Columbia Golf Foundation out there and raise an awareness level,” Weston says. This is also why the CGF has created a Hall of Fame and hosts an awards banquet each November. It’s a way to honor area residents for their achievements in golf competitions as well as their contributions to the game.
With each year, the CGF is able to provide more to the game of golf in the area due to the support of volunteers, the active board of directors and through the support of the community and local golf courses. “Everybody has been really supportive and participated very nicely,” Weston says.
This year, the CGF will sponsor the Charity Cup in coordination with the women of the Country Club of Missouri, Columbia Country Club and Old Hawthorne golf courses. The tournament will be a two-day event played at the Country Club of Missouri on Sept. 25 and at Old Hawthorne on Sept. 26. Numerous organizations will benefit from the charity tournament. “Our proceeds will go toward supporting girls golf in Columbia,” Weston says.
Not pictured Scott Bess, Dennis Goettel, David McDonald, Connie Pugh, Bob Roper, Linda Sowers, Jeff Whitfield, Roger Wilson and Dave Baugher.