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 Steve Plummer wants youths in Orange County to experience golf. (Photo: Eddie Meeks) That experience taught Plummer the game’s valuable tenets and prompted him to pursue a career as a course superintendent, a path he enjoyed for 20 years. Now, as general manager at Tustin Ranch Golf Club and president of the Orange County Golf Coast consortium, he intends to provide juniors of all backgrounds similar access to the sport through the OC Golf Coast Foundation. “I have a passion to make sure that other kids have the same opportunity to experience the game, to at least have the chance to hit balls and take the next step if desired,” Plummer said. “At least they can say, ‘We had a chance to try it.’” The idea was hatched after the inaugural OC Junior Golf Championship, which was held last December. The event’s net proceeds, much of which were aided by a sponsorship from Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver, spearheaded the creation of a foundation aimed at introducing “all the youth of Orange County to the game of golf and the values it represents,” according to its mission statement. Plenty of facilities throughout Orange County offer junior golf programs, but a discount based on age doesn’t ensure access and affordability. The OC Golf Coast Foundation wants to raise funds to incorporate golf into elementary school physical education programs and set up an endowment for a perpetual junior golf program. Each of these aims can be achieved through the First Tee, which has set up five chapters in Southern California over the past eight years, but none are in Orange County. “I’ve been working diligently to get it to Orange County,” said Henry Sandles, director of regional affairs for the First Tee’s Mountain section. “I’ve had prospects in the area for at least 18 months, with numerous applications, but no one has stepped up and really wanted to be the chapter entity.” It’s difficult for a golf facility to commit to the First Tee’s guidelines, among which are a minimum of 250 hours of programming per year for at least 15 years. Plummer thinks the foundation can make a more immediate impact in elementary schools through the First Tee’s National School Program, which utilizes plastic clubs and fun targets suitable for indoor or outdoor use. “It definitely has some of the camaraderie and the values of what the game of golf is about,” said Plummer, whose goal for the OC Golf Coast Foundation is to set up a pilot program by next year that brings the curriculum to at least 10 schools. The foundation’s primary fund-raiser is the OC Junior Golf Championship (see accompanying article), but Plummer believes more avenues will be established once awareness is raised. “Golf promotes discipline, hard work, honesty and obeying the rules. If you do all those things, it doesn’t matter what you want to do, you’ll be good at it,” he said. “It’s sad that Orange County doesn’t have a program, but I believe in Orange County. The resources are there.” ALSO SEE: Orange County Junior Golf Championship set for early January 2009 |
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