Lustrous Patch of Green

Youth Golf Sees a Surge Like Never Before

ABY BOB SHERWIN • CG STAFF WRITER

All around the country last year, and the Northwest was no exception, kids were restricted and restrained because of the COVID-19 pandemic, like no other time we can remember.

Sports seasons and events were sweepingly cancelled. Gyms, courts and playing fields were left vacant for months on end. Indoor play was denied, and outdoor play was deemed too risky.

Someone took the ball, and everyone stayed home. Athletes inaction.

In this bleak confinement, however, there was a lustrous patch of green.

“Last summer and fall there was just one option,’’ said Evan Johnsen, director of programs and development for First Tee of Greater Seattle, ‘’and it was golf. There was no soccer, no football, no baseball. You couldn’t play outdoors in groups. A lot of people picked up golf. So, that’s pretty cool.’’

It was cool because it got kids involved, they got out of the house and exercised safely. They could compete. They could interact with their friends or meet new ones. They could be sort of normal, within limits.

“Golf is natural for social distancing,’’ said Tyler Johnsen, executive director of the Washington Junior Golf Association. “It certainly brought a lot of new people to the game.’’

Youth on Course has been one of the biggest hits with young golfers. Troy Andrew (right), CEO of Washington Golf, says his organization paind out more than $100,000 in course subsidies to propel the program.

Girls golf has seen the largest rise in the history of the sport at the youth, high school and association levels.

Like everything else, however, golf was curtailed. Junior golfer tournaments, programs, and events were canceled. High schools eliminated the golf seasons. But there were no padlocks on golf courses. Football players, basketball players, baseball/softball players, soccer players gravitated to where the grass is always greener. It was the only field of play remaining for them, continuing an activity in which the virus exposure rate was extremely low.

One of the ways in which boys and girls played frequently as well as cheaply was the Youth On Course program, sponsored by the United States Golf Association and Washington Golf. Any youngster, age 6 to 18, paid a $20 annual membership and, for $5 around, they could play one of 58 designated courses around the state.

Youth On Course was started by the USGA in 2016 and adopted by Washington Golf. When a junior pays $5, Washington Golf reimburses that course the $5. Troy Andrew, CEO/Executive director of Washington Golf, said his organization paid out more than $100,000 last year. He figures there were more than 6,000 juniors who benefitted from the program.

“In the past three years, we’ve tripled in size,’’ said Andrew, whose organization represents more than 70,000 golfers in Washington and Northern Idaho. “With the pandemic, it really picked up. It has spread by word of mouth. The feedback we’ve gotten was that it’s an activity that kids can play when they couldn’t play other sports. We heard that constantly.’’

Among the courses involved in the program are such high-profile properties as Gold Mountain, Indian Canyon, Suncadia, Sun Country, and Chambers Bay, site of the 2015 U.S. Open. “Chambers Bay jumped right on it,’’ Andrew said. ”It’s one of our biggest selling points.’’ The courses set the times, mostly non-peak hours, but what they have found is that the junior players often are accompanied by a full-price adult (or two). “The parents are out playing more,’’ Andrew said. “They can afford to play and spend time with their son or daughter. When we made the decision to do this, we did not want to come in and compete (with other junior programs) and do something they were doing,’’ he added. “We wanted to complement the other junior programs, plugging in perfectly to what they are doing.’’

Local First Tee leader Evan Johnson is at the forefront of the youth golf boom. The First Tee emphasizes life skills as youngsters matriculate through the program.

First tee’s Evan Johnsen said Youth On Course “is an incredible program that we needed for a long time. In the long run, we need the next generation to play.’’ In the short run, they are, as Johnsen said, “our waiting lists have never been longer.’’

First Tee is a creation of the World Golf Foundation in 1997. It emphasizes life skills as youngsters matriculate through the program. There are four other First Tee organizations in the state, Central Washington, Inland Valley in the Spokane area, South Puget Sound, from Pierce County to the Oregon border, and North Puget Sound, from Snohomish to the Canadian border.

First Tee of Greater Seattle, which started operations in 2002, had been servicing more than 100,000 students in King County schools and another 2,000 at various participating golf courses. Last year with students going through online learning at home and limitations on group gatherings, Johnsen said his organization had greatly reduced numbers.

This year, returning members were given the first shot at re-registering. A week later, it was opened to the public. All the classes/programs were maxed out before the public could even be invited. To accommodate the higher demand, the organization cut the spring program in half to allow a second session and double the participation.

“We have lots of new players in the program,’’ Johnsen said. “I think things are going in a good direction here. There has been a huge spike in golf. It will be interesting to see what it looks like a year from now. It might taper off, but I think a lot will stay with it.’’ Johnsen added that among his organization’s tenets is tending to the physical and mental health of the youngsters. He said the pandemic may have caused some to experience claustrophobia and depression. “They’re feeling normal again with a renewed appreciation for the game for both adults and kids,’’ he said.

The WJGA has been the state's competitive arm dating all the way back to 1977 when Fred Couples won the first championship at Yakima CC. Now, Tyler Johnsen is leading the WJGA and its many programs and outreach efforts.

Andrew Hershey, longtime boys golf coach at Shoreline’s Shorewood High School, understands the malaise that his golfers felt during the pandemic, exacerbated by the reduction or cancellation of prep golf seasons. He tried to help them by holding a Virtual Open throughout the state, conducted by the Washington State High School Golf Association.

There were 63 high schools participating. Boys and girls played their own courses and reported their best nine-hole scores. It worked out well, as more players played more rounds than anticipated. “They were playing so much,’’ Hershey said. “More in the off season than they ever have.’’

That might be one reason why WJGA’s Tyler Johnsen is seeing tee sheets filled for tournaments around the state. He said the districts west of the Cascades traditionally fill up quickly but this year even eastern Washington districts are maxing out. “Judging from the numbers I’ve seen,’’ he said, “we’re certainly seeing a lot more players.’’

The WJGA’s primary focus is running the district, regional, and state tournaments for boys and girls. There are six WJGA districts: 1. Everett north to the border. 2. Seattle area. 3. West Tacoma south to the border. 4. Yakima, Tri-Cities, NE Oregon. 5. Spokane area. 6. South King County and East Pierce County. There are four age groups, 8-11, 12-13, 14-15, and 1618. Each of the six districts holds one-day tournaments for their local juniors to qualify for the two-day, 36hole district tournaments. The top players then advance to the 44th WJGA State Championship at Glendale CC in August.

Joey Mutcheson as been head coach at Snohomish High School for 25 years. His love of golf has bled into his son Palmer - an SHS standout.

Jaxon Dubiel, son of CG's Sales Manager and Tournament Director Simon Dubiel, is a product of the youth golf boom. Jaxon started the pandemic like most beginners hovering around 100 for 18 holes. Now, with his pandemic energy focused on golf, he's breaking 80, playing for Mountlake Terrace High School and competing in the WJGA.

It is a tournament, the first since 2019, that has always drawn the premium players. Fred Couples, the greatest golfer to come out of the state, won the first WJGA championship in 1977, at Yakima CC. Others participants have gone on to professional careers, such as Ryan Moore, Kyle Stanley, Joel Dahmen, Michael and Andrew Putnam, Paige and Brock Mackenzie, Alex Prugh and Andres Gonzales.

Joe Mutcheson, who has been Snohomish High golf coach for 25 years and won a pair of state championships, said, “nowadays, you have to shoot under par to win a tournament.’’ “There’s a really strong level of golf now,’’ he added. “Lots of kids are playing at a high level.’’ The last time Mutcheson and the Panthers won the state was 2009 when Ryan Moore and Andres Gonzales dueled for the state title. With increased play and so many boys and girls switching from other sports to golf, will we see another wave of potential stars on a national level?

“The talent pool is deep in this area,’’ Mutcheson said. “They hit it so stinkin’ far now. That’s the way of golf, hit it as far as you can. Kids now are generally training earlier. And the technology is amazing for both the balls and the clubs.’’ There may be a bright Mutcheson future as his son Palmer, a freshman, already carries a low single digit handicap. There are other top junior players a short drive away at Shorewood, Ben Borgida, and brothers Issey and Tysey Tanimura.

Stanwood’s Conrad Chisman carries a plus handicap as a high school freshman. But he was beaten in the Eastern Open by 14-year-old Jeff Seong from Tacoma. The Seattle area keeps churning out high quality players. Mercer Island senior Ethan Evans, a former state champion who won the 2019 WJGA title, is a Duke recruit. He joins former Bellevue star Ian Siebers on the Blue Devils roster.

Northwestern University has awarded a scholarship to West Seattle High’s Lauryn Nguyen, a two-time WJGA champion. “Certainly, we have some highly recruited boys and girls,’’ WJGA’s Tyler Johnsen said. “We have more people shooting under par than in the past.’’ Redmond High’s Akshay Anand, who won the state title at age 15 two years ago, is one to watch. His sister, Adithi Anand, is a former WJGA state champion and a freshman on the University of Washington golf team.

There’s a multitude of outstanding prep girls, including Interlake’s Gigi Lund and Emma Long, Lakewood High sister’s Kiana and Malia Schroder, and Peninsula’s Kailey Bass and Makenna Mehlert.

Coming back from a world turned upside down, golf in this part of the world has survived and thrived, improving in quantity and quality.

“When you think of the golf boom, it’s an investment in the future that’s got to happen,’’ said Washington Golf’s Troy Andrew. “Our one goal is exactly that, to grow the game.’’