The initiative of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation to take this sport to the fairways to try to gain more followers to this game, which is at the same time both a puñetero and pleasurable game, is very commendable.
The campaign is part of the policy of popularization and dissemination of golf undertaken by the RFEG in collaboration with the regional federations and clubs in order to publicize the benefits and attractions of this sport to the Spanish society.
The activities of “Golf goes to the streets”, as the initiative is called, have already taken place in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Alicante, and are scheduled to travel to other parts of the country.
A spectacular presentation was made in the Spanish capital thanks to Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, who threw several balls over the stands of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium from the Paseo de la Castellana, recalling what Seve did in 1983.
This action is part of the campaign ‘Baptism of Golf’, which allows all those who want to start in this sport to do it for free in a session of one hour.
Through www.bautismodegolf.com, anyone who has never tried golf, or has minimal knowledge of it, can sign up at any of the clubs participating in the program, spread throughout the country, which appear on the website.
Baptism of Golf’ is the largest and most important campaign to promote this sport in our country, promoted by the RFGA in collaboration with the regional federations and clubs. Aimed at all audiences, its purpose is to bring this sport closer to society, highlighting, in addition, the health benefits of practicing it.
And it is a good thing that initiatives of this type are articulated to promote the sport and its benefits among citizens, among other things so that Spanish golf can try to counteract the drop it has experienced so far this year in terms of the number of members. In the first half of 2011, the number of federation licenses has decreased by 3.6 percent, which means 12,000 less. The year began with 333,103 members and June ended with a total of 320,838.
Fortunately, during the first month of summer there has been an increase of almost 2,500 licenses, which represents an increase of 0.7% over the previous month, a growth that partly mitigates the decline in members since January, which the RFGA blames on the economic crisis plaguing the country.
It is noteworthy that all the autonomous communities -except the Basque Country, with a very slight decrease- have experienced increases in the number of members during the month of June, a scale that reflects the activity generated by golf in Spain as a whole.
In absolute terms, there are 12,175 fewer members than on January 1, 2011, when the number of licenses amounted to 333,013, an amount which, given the current economic situation, is within the forecasts, which also establish a slow recovery for the remainder of the year.
By autonomous communities, Madrid, with almost 94,000 licenses, heads the ranking, followed by Andalusia – on the verge of 49,000 -, Catalonia – just over 40,000 – and Valencia, with almost 22,000.
Special mention should also be made of the Basque Country -more than 20,000-, Castile and Leon -over 18,500 members-, Galicia and Asturias, with more than 12,000 and 10,000 licenses, the Autonomous Communities with a five-digit number of members.
These records, more modest than in previous years, are a response to the current economic crisis, but at the same time they consolidate the great growth experienced by golf in Spain over the last couple of decades.
In 1990 there were barely 45,000 players in Spain, the 100,000 mark was surpassed in 1996, 200,000 were registered in the first months of 2002, 250,000 in mid-2004 and by the end of 2006 the mythical barrier of 300,000 federated players had been surpassed.
Paradigmatic case
Returning to initiatives to increase the number of golfers, a paradigmatic case is that of The First Tee, a North American foundation created in 1997 to attract to this sport children and young people who otherwise -due to the scarcity of family economic resources- would not have access to this game and, more importantly, to the positive values implicit in golf.
The First Tee’s goal is to impact the lives of these boys and girls through programs to instill values and attitudes that will help them improve personally and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. To this end, the foundation is supported by leading golf organizations, including the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the Masters, the PGA of America, the PGA TOUR and the United States Golf Association.
As a curious fact, former U.S. President George W. Bush is honorary president of the Foundation, succeeding his father, also a former U.S. president, who served as honorary president of The First Tee since the organization’s inception.
Along with the original goal of providing golfing facilities to enable young people from all walks of life to participate in the sport, The First Tee realized that there was an opportunity to teach them skills to try to improve their lives.
Sport in general has been a traditional vehicle for instilling positive life values. The First Tee Life Skills Experience was formulated with the help of academics, sports psychologists and golf experts to teach children and youth skills and knowledge for the development of the whole person as part of the core instructional program.
The numbers around this organization are spectacular, and now The First Tee has just announced the launch of a campaign to reach 10 million children and youth by 2017. The goal is to raise $100 million.
The First Tee currently serves youth ages 5-18 at 750 locations with golf-focused programs, and is present at more than 4,100 elementary schools and 120 U.S. military installations. The First Tee reaches youth year-round in schools, after school and in the summer months.
The life-skills programs that form the foundation of The First Tee are based on nine core values: honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, responsibility, courtesy, sportsmanship, confidence, judgment, and perseverance. First Tee also focuses on health through its Nine Healthy Habits program, which offers an approach aimed at the physical, emotional and social well-being of young people.
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