Junior Golf Spotlight

CHRIS SMEAL

Future Champions Golf

When Chris Smeal founded the Future Champions Golf Academy and Tour in 2003, he did so with the goal of inspiring a generation of young golfers to play better and prepare themselves for college golf. Since then, hundreds of players from 30 different countries have participated in lessons and competitions up and down the West Coast and around the world.

“We’ve made a lot of changes over the years and feel that the formula we have is a pretty good one,” said Smeal, a PGA Professional. “We conducted 113 tournaments in 2018 and I expected that we’ll have at least that number this year.”

Future Champions Golf (FCG) offers something for junior golfers of all abilities. Many of the students use the program to prep for potential college careers, something Smeal said they’ve been successful at.

“We graduate a lot of Division 1 and 2 golfers. The kids work hard and we use our relationships with college coaches to get results in front of them.” Smeal added that those college relationships are spread out across the country, with nearly 200 coaches attending an FCG event in 2018.

Chris Smeal, PGA

What makes FCG so successful? Smeal said it’s all about finding out what the kids like about golf. “When I’m teaching, I try to connect with all of them so they have a good time. A lot of the time they want to be with other kids, so it’s about trying to link them up with one another so they can play and practice together.”

FCG tournaments are currently held in California, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, Utah, and Mexico. Looking ahead, Smeal said he hopes to find ways to bring FCG events to players in Washington and Oregon. In golf, though, growth can be an uphill battle.

“Kids get discouraged when they’re not good at something, and golf is really tough. They may not see results for a couple of years once they get started; that’s a big challenge for the golf industry moving forward.”

The full FCG schedule is available online at http://www. futurechampionsgolf.com.