UA Students to Tee Off, Thanks to Grant from Ryder Cup-PGA Play Golf America

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Students at The University of Alabama who may not have had an opportunity to learn the game of golf will soon be able to master the sport thanks to the PGA and the Ryder Cup Outreach Program.

UA has received a $30,000 grant through Play Golf America University, a PGA of America college and university program designed to teach and engage students in the game of golf.

As part of the Ryder Cup program, professional golfers who have played on a Ryder Cup Team may designate schools to receive the educational grants to teach golf to college students. UA was designated as a recipient of the grant by Ryder Cup Team player Boo Weekley.

This fall, UA students will enroll in golf classes taught at Ol’ Colony Golf Course in Tuscaloosa through the UA department of kinesiology in the College of Education.

Dr. Matt Curtner-Smith, head of the kinesiology department, is directing the grant. “Our main goals are to get more college students involved in the game of golf and to teach them how to play. This goal is also to help students personally and professionally,” he said.

The UA program will include four components:

-instructional classes in how to play golf. At UA, the golf skills course (KIN 106-Beginning Golf) will be open to all students through the department of kinesiology’s basic PE program. Based on the PGA’s “First Swing” curriculum, students will all play a round of golf during the class. Instruction will be provided by a PGA professional or PGA apprentice professional with a 1:10 teacher-student ratio. UA students will pay tuition for the class that will be some 16 hours in length, with one session per week during the semester.

-a local intramural, two-person scramble golf tournament at Ol’ Colony on Oct. 6, with the winners receiving a trip to play in the Collegiate Golf Alliance national tournament in Las Vegas.

-a one-day “Golf Expo” on the UA Quad on Sept.  9 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. featuring hands-on golf skills activities with a local pro.

-providing female students in the program with literature from the Executive Women’s Golf Association, including opportunities to become members of that organization.

Destined to be a popular class among UA students, the fall session of Beginning Golf is already full, Curtner-Smith said. However, plans are under way to continue to offer the class at the end of the grant, which is designed to serve as seed money for the campus program.

The PGA of America has distributed more than $6.1 million to 65 participating colleges and universities across the United States on behalf of members of the U.S. Ryder Cup Teams in support of this initiative. To date, PGA professionals have provided instruction to more than 24,000 college students in the program. For more information, go online to www.playgolfamerica.com/pgau.