Expanding Boundaries with the Florida Golf License Plate

Gator Junior Golf has been supported from grants over the years thanks to the Florida Golf License Plate since 2018. The fee that Floridians pay for each Florida Golf License Plate goes directly to support junior golf programs in Florida, including Gator Junior Golf. In 2016, we started with just one golf course. Today in 2022, we have six golf courses located in three counties. We’ve been able to exponentially grow thanks to supporters like the License Plate Grant. Last year in 2021, we delivered over 110 hours of on-course golf instruction to 428 kids. We couldn’t reach that many kids without support from big names like the Florida Golf License Plate.

New for 2022, in collaboration with Frank Anderson, we are taking over the Gainesville Junior Golf Tour. Our vision for the tour is to establish a PLAY program initiative with a focus on fostering more participation in the game of golf via on-course playing opportunities for kids of all skill levels- particularly beginners. Our PLAY program will have shorter golf holes and modified rules to make on-course play less intimidating for our beginners.

A challenge for introducing golf to new comers to the sport is that golf is hard! Oftentimes, playing by all of the rules of golf makes things even more frustrating, which is evident in today’s junior golf tournaments. Our goal is to use modified rules to overcome those barriers to competition for beginners such as treating out of bounds markers as lateral water hazards and double par maximum score per hole. Our advanced divisions use the full rules of golf for those that are more serious about competition.

Also new for 2022, have been our program expansions at Country Club at Lake City and adding more classes at Juliette Falls. Our Lake City program is led by Carl Ste-Marie, PGA and was started in Spring 2022. Our Juliette Falls classes are led by Lon Kinney, PGA, and new for Fall 2022 we are adding a second class there thanks to Lon’s continued commitment for the kids.

The Florida Golf License Plate grant has enabled us to get to the point where we are able to execute on the new PLAY program as well as expansion to new locations by being able to afford the additional staffing. Next time you renew your license plate, we ask you to consider our program and choose the Florida Golf License Plate. Learn more about the impact of the Florida Golf License Plate at www.fjgc.org