Partners

Since 1986, FOG has been working closely with the CIF to provide high school boys and girls the resources to play competitive high school golf. Not all students can afford to play golf, yet many have the talent and the desire. FOG has provided funds, equipment and other resources to the three most prominent southern California CIF sections. Every year students and coaches throughout the region send letters thanking FOG for their support and recognizing that without FOG many teams and students simply would not be able to play.

In 2015, FOG entered into a partnership with the SCGA youth program to extend the range of involvement for those young people who might have the talent and the desire, but not the economic foundation to play the game. With SCGA Junior, FOG is now working closely with young people well before their high school years assuring them a place on their respective teams when they get there.

FOG works closely with the Golf Coaches Association of America in choosing the finalists and the ultimate winners of the The Ben Hogan Trophy. Throughout the years, many well-known PGA Tour golfers have been honored as finalists and/or winners of the prestigious annual award. Ricky Barnes, Hunter Mahan, Jordon Spieth and Ricky Fowler have all made it to that final select number of players who have gone onto successful careers in the PGA. The GCAA and a selection committee analyze the play of college golfers throughout their collegiate careers to determine the best and honors them accordingly at a very special award ceremony during the prestigious Colonial Open in Ft. Worth, Texas each May.

In 2010, the GCAA placed FOG in their most exclusive group of honorees by awarding the organization its Lifetime Achievement Award. FOG became the first organization to be recognized as having “a profound impact on the game, specifically college golf” and joined only four past recipients; Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Karsten Solheim.

The SCPGA Foundation has three programs directed at young golfers that will directly benefit from FOG support. The first is the SCPGA Junior Tour, which counts Tiger Woods, Rickey Fowler, Patrick Cantlay and many others as alumni. The second is Neighborhood Golf, a program that promotes the game of golf by bringing interactive displays and hitting bays to over 70 Southern California community and sporting events. The third program is Golf in Schools (GIS) where certified PGA Professionals bring hands-on instruction and introductory golf experiences to school age kids throughout Southern California.

The goals and programs of The First Tee, one of golf’s most recognized brands for youth golf, are synergistic to FOG’s mission. The Los Angeles chapter was originally founded by the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1989 as the Urban Youth Golf Program. Then, in 1999, the L.A. Junior Chamber of Commerce acquired the organization, which formally joined the First Tee Network in 2009. Today, The First Tee is an international force that positively shapes the lives of young people by teaching them the values inherent to the game of golf. Since 1997, The First Tee has welcomed over 10.5 million participants and over 19,000 volunteers in all 50 states and four international locations to benefit young people everywhere.

The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women. Founded in 1950, the association celebrates a diverse and storied membership with more than 2,300 members representing more than 30 different countries. Since Dinah Shore became the First Lady of FOG back in the early 1980’s, FOG has been supporting the LPGA’s efforts to recognize top female collegiate golfers annually with The Dinah Shore Trophy Award.

The Colonial Charitable Foundation (a 501c organization supported by Colonial Country Club) and Friends of Golf have partnered with the Golf Coaches Association since 2001 to present the Ben Hogan Award and the Ben Hogan Trophy to the outstanding collegiate golfer each year. Recent winners have included Jon Rahm, Maverick McNealy and Rickie Fowler.