Southern State of Golf
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Southern State of Golf
Youth on Course with Adam Heieck
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In this episode, we explore the impactful work of Youth on Course, a program dedicated to making golf accessible and affordable for youth across the country. Guest Adam Heieck shares insights on the organization's history, partnerships, and how golf can be a lifelong sport for young people.
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Welcome to the Southern State of Golf podcast. Hi, I'm your host, John, and today I'm super excited to be joined by the CEO of Youth on Course, Adam Height. Adam, how are you doing today? I'm great, John. How are you? Thanks for having me. Well, Adam, thank you so much for joining us here today on the Southern State of Golf podcast to talk golf and talk about the great things that are going on with Youth On Course. I was very fortunate, had an opportunity to learn about your organization this past summer when an opportunity came about for me to participate in a 100-hole hike out at um Old Barnwell in Aiken, South Carolina. And I did a whole episode on it and got I set a new record for me with steps. I had 40,000 steps that particular day. It was a phenomenal day. It probably, thank goodness, I hope there's no video of me walking the last few holes there. It was not pretty at all. But you know, tell us about Youth on Course. You're you're in your 20th year this year.
SPEAKER_00Uh we are at the 20th year of the organization. I was the first employee hired, so I've been here a little bit longer than that. But uh, we are 20 years old, yes.
SPEAKER_01Well, tell us about what what is the purpose of Youth on Course?
SPEAKER_00So we started Youth on Course to uh really address a hole that existed in in the youth golf space, right? So first he had started, you know, maybe a decade earlier and was really just getting off the ground nationally, uh doing a great job getting a club in kids' hands, right? You had PGA professionals all over public golf courses, uh, you know, kind of providing that initial intake, but costs wasn't being addressed. And so we we did a study. Uh, this was born out of the Northern California Golf Association, which is based in Pebble Beach, and found that on average families just couldn't afford to get their kids into golf, uh, especially in the Bay Area, right? Cost of living's high, everything else. And so there was a very simple model created where for $5 around, kids could go play public golf facilities and we would use privately raised money, uh, as of you know, 501c3, to subsidize the golf courses back a negotiated green fee, right? So if if junior rates were in were in play at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and they were $20, we would negotiate that rate down to what's called 15, and then we would use $10 of privately raised money to pay the golf course, the kid would pay five, and you'd you'd be able to go play. And so started doing this in the Bay Area in 2006, uh, went outside of California about eight to ten years later, and gradually moved it east, and then COVID hit. And it was one of those interesting points of like, where is golf going to go? I think we all know where golf went from there. Uh, and youth, on course, went with it, and we're now the the largest youth golf membership program in the country, 400,000 uh dues paying members who can play golf for five bucks around at almost 2,300 golf facilities around the country.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think it's uh it's an amazing program and organization that y'all have there. Why do you believe, and I know it's important, and I do understand it's I think it's awesome. Why is this important? Why should people support Youth on Course?
SPEAKER_00So the people that do support Youth on Course have this common thread that I think golf has impacted their lives in in some way, right? Uh I grew up playing golf for around five dollars or out of the local public golf courses, and and I was a baseball player. The friendships I made through golf are still with me today. Um, I think many of us can say the same thing. And I think it's the only organization truly vested in access to the sport, right? It's incredibly expensive to play, and that's what we hear from the the thousands of donors that we have who support the organization is that you're the organization that actually gives kids a chance to fall in love with the sport because they actually get to play it. And that's how we fall in love with sports generally, right? And so uh while getting them on a driving range is great, we we want to get them out on a golf course, right? That's where the magic happens.
SPEAKER_01Oh, 100%. I mean, kids they certainly love to play more than they do practice. That's for sure. This is an organization I wish that I would have uh would was around when I was in the in the you know in the early 90s and 80s, some gosh, I'm feeling old saying all that now, long, long time ago, because that would have been fantastic. Because I will say I I do believe that was one of the things that kept me from playing more was the cost. Yeah. And I and I see that I'm a high school athletic director now, and I do see that as a that's gonna be something that keeps people from playing is the cost of it. And so now when you have opportunities to play, you know, to join, you know, I know there's even a number of states that either had half price memberships or not as much membership uh for youth on course to be able to play $5 rounds, I I think it is phenomenal. And and that really good golf course, solid golf courses as well. One of my favorite in South Carolina that's part of the Youth on Course Network is the Charleston Municipal Golf Course. And that I think that is a phenomenal golf course for kids to get an opportunity ages six to eighteen to play it for five dollars. I I think that's outstanding. And it looks like in 2025 you added a looks like over a hundred new municipal golf courses. Is that one of your challenges now, trying to add more courses to the portfolio?
SPEAKER_00It really is, right? Because you and I want to go play at four o'clock on a on a Thursday, right? I mean, real remote work and and the impacts of COVID are are well documented, but the the tea time compression, if you will, is is certainly real, right? And the and the pricing of rounds of golf is certainly real. Uh that said, we've got great partners, Bank of America uh being one of the largest that that really provided you know funding and infrastructure and help for our organization to go out and sign up more than a hundred municipal facilities across the country last year. And uh with that has come you know more than a hundred thousand new rounds of golf for the for these kids who have gotten involved. And um we can't we don't feel like we can promote the the organization very well until we have a place for those kids to play. So it's the biggest focus for us, John, is is finding golf facilities, golf course operators, golf course owners who understand that at some point the next generation is going to be their really their core future customer. And it doesn't have to be, you know, Saturday at 11 o'clock. It can be Tuesday at 5:30 in the summertime, right? And let mom and dad come join on the Twilight Rate and kind of build that community involvement, if you will.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I I love how you talk about the with the community, different things. One thing I liked about uh old Barnwell when we had an opportunity to go down there, uh their head pro uh Pat Mikkelvick, he he helped them uh give a lesson to our Spring Valley High School golf team. And I know they got a kids course down there that's acceptable, uh accessible to a lot of different people and kids. And I love how people are trying to give back through the game of golf, but you're right, accessibility is such a big thing. Your partnership with Bank of America, I believe it's in year year two of a three-year partnership. How did that come about? And that had to be certainly a big thing. I saw where it was talked about a lot during the masters. That had to be a good bump for the organization.
SPEAKER_00It certainly was. I mean, there was great alignment with the bank early on. They are they have 97 core markets across the country and and really see themselves, I think, as a viable and integral part of those communities. And so I think we're looking for a partner within the golf space who could make sure that could they could activate and make sure that they could provide a large-scale community benefit. And so the bank has been a terrific partner. Uh, their champion partner with Augusta National during the Masters, and so their golf with us campaign helped drive tens and tens of thousands of youth on course memberships uh that the bank is then offering to pay for as well. And so it's been this enormous win, uh, I think on both sides, and and something that we've really put a lot of time and energy into making sure that the communities uh within those 97 markets have a place to play golf affordably. And I think it's one of the one of the great consequences of that has been, I think, changing the way golf is seen to some degree. It it doesn't have to be elitist, right? It doesn't have to be expensive, it doesn't have to be something that you reach for. It it can be something that you can play just like any other sport. And uh kind of democratizing golf, if you will, is is certainly something that that is very firmly on our radar.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've I've found I've recently got back into the game within the past couple of years, and I found the people in golf are some of the most generous people I've been around in just all of sports, wanting to help people and particularly the youth, wanting to give access because I think they realize we we need to I think we've you've talked about a couple times, growing the game. That's something kind of trite that people talk about, but that's the reality. We do want to continue to grow our game and and keep people involved. Another partnership that I think you you've got a hold of and love to hear more about it is with Golf Galaxy. You see where you got a program that allows members they have a sim session for $5 and get a free lesson. That sounds like that would be something outstanding for kids to get started on.
SPEAKER_00We are we are very excited about it. Um half the country, it's really hard to play golf during the wintertime in particular. And while this this new and and burgeoning partnership is is all over the country and it's it's year-round, the fact that you know it can be there can be you know millions of people coming out of a uh the depth of winter who can then go to a simulator at a Dick's house of sport or a golf galaxy and have an hour simulated session for five dollars. I mean, we saw tens of thousands of kids over a few months engage in something like that. So we're really, really pleased with the uptake on that. Golf Galaxy and Dix have been great partners through that. Uh, you know, you you mentioned the the accessibility and and places like Old Barnwell who have a dedicated kids course, right? They're they're on Youth on course, one of the very few private clubs in the country that open their doors. Uh Nick and Pat and Ed and the team there are terrific there in Aiken. Um and a lot of this is then powered by a great partnership we have with Golf Now, which rounds up every transaction and helps us then fund these subsidies at golf courses. Uh so if you if you log into to golf now and and book a public tea time, that transaction, the the the few cents right above every transaction then comes to us and we put that right back into the local community. So some really great corporate partners that are helping to really drive the growth of the Youth On course.
SPEAKER_01You also got a little bit of uh celebrity star power behind you, too, with Roy McElroy. I I know he just recently donated a nice donation to the program. You know, I I'm sure that had to help. Talk about that partnership and with Roy. Roy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Rory's been fantastic. I mean, and again, it came through the Golf Now Golf Pass partnership with Versant Media, uh, which was formerly MDC Sports and Golf Channel. And uh Rory for the last five years has been somebody that has has really played a big part in in driving credibility of the organization. And uh that particular contribution was half a million dollars, came through uh the relationship with Bank of America and the commercials uh during the Masters. But what I think really resonated with Rory, as it does many of our donors, was that for every $7 donated, you're gonna help us fund a round of golf for a kid. And so Rory was essentially responsible for funding 70,000 rounds of golf. Um, and and being able to do that in partnership with the bank, um, in this partnership with with golf now on a regular basis is I think just something that was an amazing story for us to be able to tell the the community really helped us on the donor side as well. Um, and it clearly is making a huge impact.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've got to ask, like, how often do you participate in the hundred hole hikes? Do you get involved in it yourself? Uh I I do.
SPEAKER_00I do at least one every year. Um the the feeling that that you opened, you know, with that your your feet hurt, right? Those last few holes are really just so tough. I it certainly resonates with me. Um we have we try to do these more on par three golf courses just to make it a little bit easier and attract like a wider audience. But doing them on full-length golf courses, I mean, we have people who have walked off golf courses. Um, but for the most part, there's just this huge sense of accomplishment, right? Having done it, and and people are then feel such this rewarding feeling knowing that, hey, this caused some physical pain, and I I'm maybe I'm not used to raising money. But when you go to your buddies or your family members and it's a buck a hole or it's five bucks a hole, and you realize that that actually helps fund a round of golf for a kid. Again, every seven dollars does that. Pretty cool experience to be able to participate in in what is essentially one of the longer days in golf. Um, and we we love doing 100 hole hikes around the country. Um, and thank you for doing it, John.
SPEAKER_01Oh, well, it it was a blast. I loved it. It was interesting. You talk about the part three part of the course. We did it at old Barnwell. You know, I had a I had this game plan of kids course, play the big course, kids course, big course. I realized I played the kids course first, which I think from my math is right, 15 holes, and then I played the big course, and you know, I was like whole 40, and I already had like I already had 25,000 steps. And the the big course there at old Barnwell was that was massive. It's my favorite, probably my favorite course in South Carolina. I just realized I don't know if I can, I don't know if I can do the the the big course uh again. So I I finished the rest of it on the on the uh the kids course, which was still phenomenal, great course, and I you're right. There was a sense of accomplishment doing it. And um, it was really cool that I had a number of different people help support the cause. You know, some people gave $200, some people gave $10, $25, all to help support, you know, uh kids getting access uh to golf. And that is one of the things that I just I so love about uh about the organization. So what other types of events do you or do y'all get involved in or other ways to try to raise money uh for youth on course?
SPEAKER_00You know, the hike is probably the the most well-known, it's the most national in scope. We have a couple of other golf tournaments that are that are California-based, if you will. But we work through a really nice community of allied golf associations around the country. So, you know, where you are, John, the the Carolinas Golf Association is a great partner, and there are local fundraisers that that you know, organizations that we're affiliated with run, you know, and really uh throughout the the summer and the fall. Uh and we try and kind of sprinkle those hikes in just after summer, right? When the weather's a little bit better and it may not quite be so hot, especially down where you guys are. Um but there's there's just so many different ways to support the organization. The donor base is growing. Uh you know, the the the increase in in the stock market over the last bunch of years has made you know donating stock uh a really attractive thing for a lot of of people in our community. Uh, and then certainly estate gifts as well, right? Placing youth on course in in your estate uh to to further the next generation of golfers is is something that has also resonated quite a bit over the last couple of years. So lots of different ways to support the organization, uh, but we try and run it as efficiently as we can and maximize every single dollar that we can going back to the kids.
SPEAKER_01One of the things I've I've heard you speak about before, which I really like, you you talk about you want to keep things simple. Um, you want to keep what y'all do simple. And I though I don't want to confuse simple with easy because those are two different things. Because I don't think what y'all do is easy, but I do think it is simple. Do you want to talk about that philosophy with your organization?
SPEAKER_00You're right. We we we really do, right? We want to be able to show you where the money goes, show you the impact on the kids, and and so we really focus on making it easy, right? Kids download an app, they pay a nominal fee to join the organization, they walk into a golf course, and in real time the the course operator takes down the number uh and a cloud-based system, and and we can track those rounds in real time across the country. Um we don't we don't teach, right? We don't get involved in competition. Uh we run a small internship program in partnership with a Pebble Beach company that's that's out here uh out in Monterey County in California every summer, and we have a small college scholarship program that's all need-based. But really it's it's about access, right? And so every time someone donates $7, whether that's you know online or for a fundraising event, we're gonna subsidize a round of golf for a kid. And this year we think we're gonna subsidize 2 million rounds. So uh it's the the scope is growing, uh, but again, we're trying to make it as simple to understand and as simple to operate as we possibly can.
SPEAKER_01One of your other programs that you got part of Youth on Course that I don't think probably gets enough attention, which I think is outstanding, is Careers on Course that you do with the Pebble Beach Resorts. Can you talk a little bit about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's something that we we may end up scaling uh to the East Coast at some point, but Pebble Beach has been an amazing partner. Uh we we want to provide that next step for for the members, the 400,000 kids, they're they're an amazing group of individuals. But for that 16, 17, 18-year-old who's looking for a you know a part-time job or the first first job experience, maybe getting into golf, maybe getting into hospitality. We partnered with the resort. Um, we have eight kids that we select every year. They're housed within Pebble Beach, and they literally go to work at the golf courses at Pebble Beach, right? So it's By Glass Hill, it's Spanish Bay, it's Pebble Beach Golf Links, um, and a few others around pro shop operations and hospitality and merchandising and and maybe even a little golf course maintenance, right? Getting up at 4 a.m. and and seeing how a golf course is prepared. And so for a lot of those families, like this is this is an experience that probably wouldn't happen otherwise. Um, you know, some of the kids may not have been on a on an airplane before, many of the kids haven't worked before, and it's a highly selective process, but something we only run for about six or eight weeks every summer. Uh, but it's becoming very, very competitive and has been something that has really resonated with our donor community, and it's it's fully funded.
SPEAKER_01I think it's an outstanding program that I I'm sure is very beneficial to the to the young men and young ladies to get an opportunity to do that. Who wouldn't want to spend a little internship in Pebble Beach? I mean, yeah. It's really good. I I know I didn't do that when I was in say high school. That did not exist when I was growing up. No, no. Uh I was probably sneaking on golf courses. I probably shouldn't say that at that point in time. But what does success look like for you in your job at Youth On Course?
SPEAKER_00You know, uh it it really goes back to that simplistic message about places to play. We are at roughly 20%, a little under 20% of the public golf courses in the United States. We think in order to have the impact that we really can have within golf, within communities across the country, we probably need to be at double that, closer to 40%, almost 4,000 places for kids to play. And so I'm really focused on making sure that our team has the resources, you know, to expand that level of access, whether that's raising money, driving awareness of the organization, um, being able to keep pace with technology and scale the organization as efficiently as we can. Uh, we've got a tremendous board of directors that is that's national in scope, and working with them. working with our partners, making sure that that we can continue to do this long into the future, because it certainly has resonated with the more more communities, more states, more regions we've gotten into over the last 20 years. So I I wake up every day thinking, how do we do this better? How do we do this more? And yet how do we do it so we can scale and be sustainable?
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SPEAKER_01How can people get involved with Youth on Course? Well if someone's now listening to this podcast that maybe this is their first time, hopefully they listen to my other podcast and hear me talk about it. But how would how would you encourage people to get involved with your organization?
SPEAKER_00So the biggest thing honestly is if you if you're playing golf in a public golf course, check to see if it's a youth on course facility. You can easily do that on our website. But referrals from the general public tend to resonate a lot, right? People running golf courses listen to current customers. And we've gotten so many golf courses on board who have either called us or we've called them because somebody started with an email or a phone call into us about a course that we they think we should have, you know, within that that's probably the easiest way to to really truly impact the organization. Getting involved in the 100 hole hike, right? Playing 100 holes of golf in a day and raising a little bit of money doing it is certainly another way. We of course take financial contributions just like any other you know charitable organization does. But those three things are are probably the the easiest, most accessible uh ways to support the organization in mass.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I would encourage people go to your website youthoncourse.org. I think it's a great setup. I love how you can search the different courses you can search by state. So if your you know your young daughter or son joins and you you're going on vacation I mean there's some outstanding you know golf courses on on this list that I've just seen just around in our area. I know here in Columbia South Carolina we have Lenric golf course which I think Darius Rucker talks about. That was where he played him and his Hooting of Blowfish guys played when they were um growing up here as uh as game cocks. Now I know you're a you're a Clemson Tiger Adam so tell me a little bit about when your your days at Clemson when you were playing golf did you have any favorite courses in the area that you like to play?
SPEAKER_00You know it's a great question. So Clemson's got a uh fantastic golf course on campus, the Walker course and I think when I was at school I think we could walk nine holes for like 10 bucks. And it was it was something I tried to do Fridays you know after class as much as I could because it was just it's a phenomenal facility. But there you know South Carolina is a region where we need more access. I mean we are we're deficient in in a lot of the markets in South Carolina and so that that's a it's a big focus uh as we work through that with the with the Carolinas Golf Association and and other stakeholders there. But my time at Clemson was fantastic. Uh golf in the South and the fact that you can play golf year round and there's so many great tracks available is something I certainly miss living out here in California. It's just different.
SPEAKER_01All right last thing one of the last things I saw you you said your handicap was about an eight are you still in about an eight handicap or is it better or worse? Or where are you at now?
SPEAKER_00I I fluctuate John honestly like somewhere between seven and and nine usually and and it hasn't been below that in a long time. I just don't play as much as I I would like to uh when I when I do play it tends to be at some at some really great spots uh just associated with you know generous donors that that we have or fundraising events that we're running uh but the the best times for golf are you know either with my family right playing at our our local facility or or you know we'll go to a maybe a a board engagement or a a donor engagement and we're we're playing with members at a local youth on course facility in a given city uh and so that those happen a few times a year and and those are those are probably the most fun and and rewarding experiences that uh where I get to play but it's it just doesn't happen enough.
SPEAKER_01I completely get that tell us about what maybe a recent golf experience you had where you got it where you had got an opportunity to play that you were just you kind of like pinched yourself as like man I got to do this with because of the game of golf.
SPEAKER_00So uh this happened uh a little over a year ago we were actually doing a hundred hole hike and we were doing it at the hay here at Pebble Beach right pebbles newer you know short course it's on like seven acres really really short and we're we're on the probably the 85th hole in the head pro at Pebble Beach walks over and we've got a number of supporters out there hiking and it's kind of the end of the day and everybody's tired and he says hey we're gonna bring some guests out and I said well what do you mean we're we're almost done you know just just give us give us 30 45 more minutes and everybody'll be finished it'll be a great culmination to the end of the day and and then if you need to bring out guests he goes no no no I'm we're gonna kind of bring them out in the next five minutes and I you know it was this little bit of back and forth because it was it was something that we hadn't planned on and five minutes later out walks Tiger Woods. Oh wow and you know hadn't been seen a whole lot recently right had just had some surgeries and was in town for a fundraiser for his foundation and he walks in in a in a hoodie and shorts and says hello and we're finishing I'm actually playing and we're on the 99th hole he plays through we get to our 100th hole I'm playing with a literally a a couple of very close high school friends of mine who I had kind of corraled into this event and one of my buddies aces the 100th hole on the hay at Pebble in front of Tiger and the whole place goes nuts and everybody's running around and it's one of those things where you kind of look back and you're like how did I can't believe that happened uh you know we've got the the photos and it gets talked about regularly as you might imagine on Text Chains and everything else but it's one of those cool things that that things like that don't happen in basketball, right? They don't happen in baseball or football and and it's one of those unique things about golf that things like that can randomly happen without any sort of planning. It was fun.
SPEAKER_01I thought that's an awesome story and I think we'll kind of we'll kind of end right there. That's one thing I love about golf some of my favorite memories of me playing golf or being around it just happened when I didn't plan on it happening least expected and I haven't had the hole in one or anything like that. My 99th hole at old Barnwell was the was a hole 99 is where I lost my first ball of the 100 and that's what made me so mad. Like I first of all I've I bought like two dozen golf balls thinking I'm gonna le lose at least a dozen and there was no reason why I should have even lost that one ball because where I hit it I shouldn't have lost it. Not that I'm bitter or anything but because I I tend to lose balls but I was I was so pumped at myself and then on a 99th hole it was and it was a par three should have stayed in bounds there they're on the kids course. But anyway Adam I appreciate your time today we appreciate the service that you know you pour into I know youth on course for you I mean it it you know I'm it is a job but I also got to feel it's probably a labor of love for you.
SPEAKER_00It is you got any do you have any last thoughts you'd like to share about youth on course I have great a great appreciation for the for the role that I have and and then the support that I've received but I I think for those listening I mean get get your kids involved in golf as much as you can right it it is my kids are involved but they play you know five other sports. Someone said it here recently that golf can be the and sport. It doesn't have to be the only sport because it's really the only one that you can play you know for the rest of your life. So uh if you're thinking about getting your kids involved definitely do it.
SPEAKER_01Well that's awesome. Well Adam thank you so much for your time I certainly encourage people to go check out the website youthoncourse.org and just see all the wonderful opportunities to either have their young kids join the organization or you'd be a part join in on a hundred hole hike or support the youth on course in another way so Adam thank you so much for joining us today