Cool sticks

Just in case you thought the "kids" in the Golf Course Builders Association of America's Sticks for Kids program were playing with donated used/cut-down clubs, I snapped this pic of the set the group brought to GIS to display in the booth. Soooooo much better than mine (at 5-foot-zip, could I qualify as a "kid"? Probably not). Earlier, I attended a news conference, where the GCBAA's Foundation president, Bill Kubly, and Paul Foley announced that 170 programs will be added to Sticks for Kids in 2008, with the commitment of 100 more programs to be added in 2009. Kubly told the reporters, "The GCBAA Foundation started the Sticks for Kids program as a way to ensure the future of the game by exposing young people to golf and life values it represents. It's a way to give back something to the game that we all love and depend on." The addition of the new programs this year will bring the total number of programs to 280. Sticks for Kids is now conducted in 48 states and eight military bases. Last year, more than 20,000 children nationwide were trained through Sticks for Kids seminars. But getting back to those cute clubs....through the program, 10 sets of the clubs with bags are donated to each hosting program. Kubly noted that in 2007, it's estimated that the clubs were used more than 15,000 times by junior golfers in programmed and pre-planned golf events,