Connecticut Section PGA's Golf Foundation 'helping people improve their lives ... - MassLive.com

If it takes a village to raise a child . . .

It takes a golf foundation to promote, support and target the growth of the game for youth, special needs and physically-challenged golfers.

And the Connecticut Section PGA has it, in the form of its Golf Foundation. The tax-exempt nonprofit organization is operating as strong as ever as it turns 20 this year.

"It's about helping people improve their lives through golf . . . it's that simple,'' PGA Life Member Gary Reynolds said of the 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

The Foundation's primary objectives have been the support of youth golf programs and activities as well as helping fund community programs and initiatives that serve Special Olympians and physically-challenged golfers.

"We believe that golf makes a difference in the lives of so many people,'' Reynolds said. "We see it every day at our jobs. We don't save lives, but we try to help create happiness.''

The financial challenges of such an endeavor are softened by the PGA Golf Foundation Charity Classic, the main fund-raiser for the Section's Golf Foundation. The golf tournament and dinner takes place Monday at Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, Conn.

"It's huge for us, because this represents one-third of the fund-raising for the Foundation,''Connecticut Section PGA executive director Tom Hantke said. "Every year we start with $0 . . . we can't count on $150,000. It's not a given.''

The 2014 tournament raised $44,000 of the approximately $150,000 the Golf Foundation raised last year. Hantke said the addition of sponsor Club Car has given current fund-raising efforts a big boost.

"Club Car has jumped on board as our highest ranking sponsor and Mohegan Sun has been a big supporter since Day One,'' Hantke said. "And we have so many others that play a big part in this.''

The tournament is set for its sixth year, a fund-raising avenue that Hantke said was overdue.

"We have gotten traction every year, each year it's gotten stronger,'' Hantke said. "We have such a loyal following and it's great because we see newcomers every year too.''

The Section's web site www.ctpga.com states that "The Foundation was founded to provide information and services to youth golf and special needs golfers, and to promote the game to the public at large.''

Beneficiaries include the likes of: the Special Olympics, a golf program that has grown from 30 to 250; the third-year "Golfers in Motion'' program at Mt. Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital; The First Tee of Connecticut, which offers opportunity for less fortunate youth to develop life skills through golf programs; and the Section's 500-member Junior Golf Association, which offers a 20-event junior golf tour to its members.

The Foundation offers financial assistance through a grant application process and Hantke said there is still money available this year that could be awarded to worthy and qualified programs.

"I can't speak for out grants committee, but I think it would like to award some form of assistance to everyone who applies,'' Hantke said. "In most cases, applicants are accepted . . . they just may not get all they ask for. It's a rare instance that someone gets turned down.''

The Section's membership of 364 PGA professionals at 175 recognized facilities in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts still comprise the core of the Foundation's annual fund-raising.

"It's the individual pros, who conduct programs and fund-raising at their courses . . . as a group, they're raising $70-, $75-, $80,000 every year,'' Hantke said.

"The name PGA is one of the strongest brands in golf, but the Golf Foundation of the Connecticut Section PGA name does not connotate what it does and how it benefits its programs,'' Hantke said. "What does it do? What does it support? Where does the money go? How is it raised? How does it help the game?''

The Charity Classic also serves to publicize the Foundation's mission and purpose.

"There have been so many people who have been impacted by these programs and we see them now as members at our clubs and those who are playing at public courses,'' Hantke said.

Reynolds, Hantke and long-time Section president Frank Selva were co-founders of the Foundation in 1995.

"These guys were golf growth centric,'' Hantke said. "They wanted the image of a PGA pro to be that of one who gives and supports the game. Not just the person who works in the profession, who just does his job at his club.''

One of the first half dozen of its kind in the country, Reynolds said its establishment did not follow a particular model.

"We created a mission, at every level in the community, with an emphasis on junior golf. It was also on men, women, seniors and those with disabilities,'' he said.

Hantke said early growth was modest and that the Foundation "didn't really have its legs under itself financially until 2004 or '05.''

Programs such as "Drive for the Game,'' a national fund-raising program that serves as the Section's primary fund-raising initiative, and the establishment of the Charity Classic were instrumental in the push.

"There was nothing in place before this,'' Hantke said of the Charity Classic. "We're so grateful to the participants, the sponsors, Hartford Golf Club. The club has been a wonderful host. (Club general manager) Brian Higgins champions the event.

"It's a core piece of our fund-raising campaign. And it not only helps to raise money, it help us position how we benefit and who we benefit.''

Hantke said a dramatic organizational and financial shift came in 2013, when the Foundation began underwriting the Section's junior association and junior tour.

"They had been operated by the Section, which is not tax exempt,'' Hantke said. "We can regulate how much we underwrite. We're trying to keep pricing down, to try to make it affordable for parents. We haven't changed our junior golf fees in seven years. We can be half of what private junior tours cost.''

Hantke, the section's executive director since 1994, said the efforts are rewarding to all sides.

"You feel a sense of pride to be able to keep the organizational structure in place that allows for these great programs to benefit from what we do,'' Hantke said. "It's a collaborative effort and it's all worthwhile and rewarding to be in a position to help.''