Save Golf? Part 3

     Let's face it, golf needs to grow.  How does it do this?  The answer may seem ridiculous, but it is true. Golf needs more new players. It is kind of a stupid thing to say and I don't want to be "Mr. Obvious", but think about it for a moment and how true that really is. Golf is trying in a number of ways.
     Junior golf is thriving.  What better way to get more players on to the golf course than to start them young.  I know this as I have been involved in junior golf. It was my pleasure to start a competitive league at the junior high level in Fresno. This sport was never played at this level on an inter-school basis. The response to this was overwhelming. I still see many of my players on the golf course playing at different levels almost twenty years later.  They are still enjoying the game of golf.
     My daughter became involved in junior golf.  She was a member of  the Junior Golf Association of Northern California and played in tournaments throughout Norther California. She also played on her high school girl's golf team which went to the California State Tournament in her freshman year, and the San Joaquin Valley Tournament in her senior year.
     After she graduated from high school she went on to play golf at the local Junior College.  There, the her golf team went on to play in the California State Junior College Tournament and place third.  She now is going back to school and works at a local driving range.  She is considering enrolling in the Hospitality Management Program at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas and specialize in Golf Management. The program offers a Class A Golf Professional Certificate at the successful completion of the program.  I'm very proud of her and it all started at the junior high level.
     I am very proud of the game for sponsoring The First Tee Program.  Golf is a great game, as those of us who play it know.  The game builds character and teaches us many lessons.  These lessons in sportsmanship and especially patience translate very well into our everyday lives. The mental toughness that it takes to play the game, the only game where there is no down time, teaches us that life is a process and does not resolve itself in an instant. Golf, as in life, changes from shot to shot, and you must play by the rules. The battle is mostly within ourselves and the course, not against someone else or another team.
     One last brief thought, and it kind of ties in with what I have said about my daughter and golf. We men have a tendency to keep this an all gentlemen sport. Those times are over. Women's golf must be encouraged, we need to get more women playing the game.  You can just take a good look at my daughter.  My wife loves the game almost more than I do and I enjoy playing golf with her. Many times I do want to play without her, but we have great fun playing golf together. I don't enjoy playing with my daughter because she hits the ball twenty yards by me.  Come to think of it, so does my wife. I've lost a lot of money in bets to both of them, and not cutting them any slack either.
     That's it for now.  Don't forget to visit my website at http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com. I am still working on it, but I have made some great progress.  It looks pretty good, if I say so myself. Until next
time, hit 'em long and straight.

Wow, what a swing!  Yes I know it is from the reds, but it went seventy yards past me instead of the normal twenty.