Agostini on Golf: Youth served on links

For those who think golf is too cost-prohibitive for today's youth, we beg to differ.

And so does Youth On Course, a Northern California Golf Association-sponsored program that bridges affordability with the teaching of life skills.

Boys and girls under 18 are eligible for a program that offers golf for as inexpensive as $5 and range balls for as low as $1 per bucket. What's not to like?

"You can come out here for $5 and hit balls all day," said Ken Miller, the owner of McHenry Golf Center, one of several Modesto facilities which have signed on with Youth On Course. "The kids are where it is."

The kids are viewed as a long-term answer to a game showing some signs of decline as the Tiger Woods boom wears off.

The National Golf Foundation reported that rounds played in September dropped 7.5 percent from September of 2007. Participation among avid golfers dropped from 6.9 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2005.

The reasons cover predictable ground: Bad economy, plunging consumer confidence, increasing green fees, gender issues (men opting for family time over golf), etc.

Youth On Course, run through the NCGA Foundation, is one vehicle to fight this trend.

"This is an effort to pick it back up again -- through our youth," NCGA spokesman Chad Daymont said. "Our mission is to provide deserving youth to develop life skills and values through golf."

If it sounds like an offshoot of The First Tee, it's no coincidence. The NCGA has used The First Tee as a partial template to energize Youth On Course, which was begun in 2005.

Today, nearly 80 Northern California golf courses or practice centers (ranges came on board last year) have joined Youth On Course. About 12,000 children have signed up, and the program was adopted by the Southern California Golf Association last June.

Closer to home, Creekside, Dryden Park, Modesto Municipal, McHenry, St. Stanislaus Golf and River Oaks in Ceres all have become Youth On Course affiliates.

Boys and girls can register in two ways:

1. By certification through The First Tee, which can be gained through the local First Tee chapter, or,

2. Passing a series of online tests on ncga.org regarding golf rules, etiquette and life skills. Students then must verify their passing through a coach or golf official.

Registrants are charged only $2 if they go through The First Tee, and there is no charge for the online program.

Entries then become NCGA members -- complete with a Youth On Course sticker on the membership card -- and are eligible for significantly reduced prices for golf and range balls through Youth On Course. Miller said buckets at McHenry will cost only $1 all year long for card-carriers.

On a related note, the NCGA in tandem with the California Interscholastic Foundation are lending further support for high school golf. Free NCGA memberships are provided to all members of high school golf teams and one coach. The NCGA also kicked off its Junior Tour this year, with one of the seven events staged at Stevinson Ranch last March.

The overall message: Youth is being served in golf.

HOLES-IN-ONE -- Darin Jones, Modesto, 188-yard second at Del Rio CC (Oak), 4-iron. ... Robert Rickli, Modesto, 135-yard 12th at Spring Creek CC, Ripon, 8-iron. ... Sheryl Cassle, Modesto, 12th at Spring Creek, 7-iron. ... Paul Kaminski, Riverbank, 172-yard seventh at Spring Creek, 4-iron. ... Karen Cardoza, 123-yard seventh at Spring Creek, 3-wood. ... Alan Wilbur, Ripon, 188-yard fifth at Spring Creek, 3-iron. ... Pat Guardino, Stockton, 12th at Spring Creek, 5-hybrid. ... Mickey Zavack, Angels Camp, 105-yard third at Greenhorn Creek, Angels Camp, 9-iron.

Bee sports columnist Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.