Why should I consider starting a Golf Booster Club at my school? Well, there are many reasons, especially when you consider that there are many sports and activities that students have an interest in! Golf, like many of these clubs and sports, however, most likely does not have the widespread support of something like marching band, football, or even to a lesser extent basketball, baseball, and softball. These typically popular sports and activities certainly benefit from the support of their booster club, why shouldn’t other activities and sports – such as golf – benefit from the support of a booster club as well? Creating a golf booster club has a number of benefits, not just for the sport, but the school, the students, and your local community at large.
What is a Golf Booster Club?
Like any other booster club that supports a student sport or activity, a booster club specifically for your golf team is a small all-volunteer run organization dedicated to supporting your school’s Golf Team. Your Golf booster club assists in program funding, communication between players, parents, and fans, activity promotion, and event planning and support.
Although some may think that a booster club only exists for financial support, that is simply not the case. Even though financial attributes are a primary focus for any booster club, your golf booster club also assists in communication and moral support. Essentially, your golf booster club is the ‘engine’ that runs nearly every aspect of the business side of school golf team. These clubs work in tandem with the school, district, community, students, parents, and coaches, creating a unique, symbiotic relationship with a range of local stakeholders. Together, these stakeholders ensure that things like specialized equipment, training, and uniforms and more are available for the golf team. When you look at it from that perspective, it is easy to see how the lack of a booster club supporting a team or activity can effectively hinder a team or activity’s ability to compete.
How does a booster club make an impact on a golf team?
In both middle and high school programs, golf teams feel the pressure of both competition and passionate support from classmates, parents, and faculty members. Naturally, this passion weighs on the hearts and minds of players, their parents, and the coaches of the team. While the team is regularly competing in golf tournaments without this cheerleading and support, golf team members can feel under appreciated. The golf booster club works to make sure the team members and organization are appreciated by also making sure they are recognized throughout the school and community. Furthermore, the booster club helps coaches keep players focused, optimally trained and passionate about what matters in addition to heading up the all-important task of fundraising. In addition to providing moral support, your booster club also has two important attributes to assist a golf team: physical and mental improvement and team building.
Golf booster clubs and physical/mental improvement
Like other booster clubs that head up athletics at a middle or high school, a golf booster club will help support the athletic side, but also will ensure that the student athletes are maintaining their academic achievements. In today’s fast-paced world, it may be easy for a student to focus too much on one area of middle/high school involvement (such as the golf team) while falling behind on school work and other important obligations. Often, and working in tandem with coaches and teachers, booster clubs will co-sponsor a scholastic requirement (or list of requirements) that need to be met in order for a student to continually join in activities.
In addition to mental fortuity, which is important in a strategy-based sport like golf, booster clubs help with physical wellbeing as well; your booster club will lead the charge in fundraising for new equipment, coordinating more practice or tournaments, special coaching or instruction or designing off-season programs to make sure students stay in tip-top shape. It is no secret that golf is a very competitive and at times cutthroat sport even at a young age; although this may be the reality in some circumstances, your golf booster club can help put teammates at ease – training for the next tournament instead of trying to go head-to-head with each other.
How does it increase interest in the sport?
As mentioned before, there are many sports and clubs at middle/high schools that do not garner substantial attention. When a sport such as golf does not seem as popular at a given school, this may translate into less overall interest and less funding down the road. What exactly can be done about this?
In short, starting a golf booster club can be the first and most important step in helping a team grow. Especially in the case of golf, which is both very equipment-heavy and requires access to special facilities to practice and compete at. When you realize that these two issues also deter kids from getting involved in golf at an early age – you can see how there would be limited interest at a high school level.
Without extra funding sources, these two issues can be an incredibly high barrier for a student and a school golf team to overcome. This is where your booster club steps in. A Golf booster club can focus on not only raising the funds to cover these costs, but can build the relationships with golf courses, driving ranges and equipment manufacturers / retailers to ensure the team is properly outfitted and trained!
Maintaining student interest is always a difficult battle to face as a parent, administrator, or coach; but again, starting a booster club can take these worries off of your shoulders. With a dedicated booster club supporting the program, they will help increase interest during fundraising events, selling merchandise or concessions at tournaments and partnering with local businesses and media.
One of the bigger hurdles that Golf in general has always struggled with is interest by kids of varying backgrounds at a young age. Again, this is where a booster club can help at a local level with a longer term strategy. By engaging the High School booster club players in kids clinics, partnering with local equipment retailers and manufacturers and coordinating events and locations to support these efforts – the booster club is actually helping to widen access to the sport. With more kids learning the sport at a younger age, there naturally ends up being more and better players trying out for a future middle or high school golf team! The net result? A well run booster club can help any golf team become a popular, top-tier sport at a middle school or high school.
Although golf is a relatively new school sport in the United States, booster club support for your golf team helps in so many ways, including fundraising efforts, moral sustenance, and academic support. Whether a golf team needs equipment or community awareness, creating a booster club helps bolster the status of your team. Learn how to start a booster club for your golf team today!
