DETROIT — The Michigan Golf Course Owners Association has honored Dave Robinson, owner of three TGA Premier Junior Golf franchises in metro Detroit, for his efforts in growing the game of golf through TGA’s successful school-based golf programs and summer camps.
Robinson received the 2012 Dul Family Player Development Leadership Award from the MGCOA during its recent annual conference in Frankenmuth. The award, which comes with a $1,500 grant, recognizes “the best on-going program that overcomes the non-golfer’s perceived barriers to playing golf such as: time, cost and intimidation … and “demonstrates creativity and success in growing the game.” Robinson will use the grant to provide scholarships for youth who otherwise could not afford the summer golf camps.
TGA of Macomb and Grosse Pointes has partnered with Sycamore Hills for the past four years, and owner, Tom Schwark, nominated TGA for the award. TGA runs 10 sessions of weeklong camps every summer at Sycamore Hills, plus parent-child events every May and September.
“I am humbled and honored by this recognition from the Michigan Golf Course Owners Association,” said Robinson. “We have developed a terrific working relationship with Sycamore Hills Golf Club, running summer camps and parent-child events. I am very grateful to owner Tom Schwark for his nomination, and to the entire staff at Sycamore Hills for being such wonderful hosts for the TGA kids.”
Robinson, a former sports editor and deputy managing editor at the Detroit Free Press, currently owns three TGA franchises in the metro-Detroit area — Macomb and Grosse Pointes, East Oakland County, and West Wayne County. His fast-growing programs are impacting over 70 schools and nearly 2,300 students annually through TGA’s unique after-school programs and summer camps.
Through an innovative youth sports franchise model that implements a progressive five-level after-school enrichment curriculum, TGA Premier Junior Golf has become the first and largest national after-school golf program. Through school-based and community center programs, TGA has developed the infrastructure at the grass roots level to introduce the game of golf to the masses including youth ages 5-13 and their families capturing adults 25-45. Students and their families become vested in golf, giving TGA the ability to dictate the next steps in their golf career and transition them to golf courses.
For more information about TGA Premier Junior Golf, visit www.playtga.com.
