Sistas On The Links

Richmond Youth on Course Golf Program

As part of the Northern California Golf Association’s Youth on Course golf program, 26 kids from the Richmond Youth on Course received certificates of completion of the 10 week Golf and Skills Clinic this week at their year-end awards reception.  The weekly clinics and awards reception were held at the Richmond Country Club. In addition to golf instructions, each participant received a weekly 20-minute session on the etiquette of golf and received Youth on Course membership cards to play golf for $5 or less at 140 golf courses throughout Northern California. Participants who are 14-18 years old are eligible to apply for two available Richmond Country Club internships and graduating seniors are eligible for Youth on Course college scholarships, which range from $4,000 to $10,000.

The participating partners are; the City Manager’s Office, The 0Richmond Recreation Department, The Richmond PAL, The Richmond YMCA, and U.C. Berkeley golf team. U.C. Berkeley’s golf coach, Steve Desimone has made a commitment to the Richmond Youth on Course golf program.  His commitment includes mandatory participation from his golf team as mentors and instructors at the program’s weekly golf clinics.

The Richmond Youth on Course golf program is a unique partnership with Northern California Golf Association Foundation, the Richmond Country Club and the participating partners listed above.  The Youth on Course golf program uses golf as a medium for teaching life skills to at-risk kids. In addition to learning the game of golf, the participants have to complete a class that teaches values like honesty, responsibility and perseverance. This is the fourth year of the Richmond program. Over the four year period, the average annual participants enrolled in the program are 25.