Development Coordinator Christian Lingamen has dedicated his summer to organizing, selecting and even driving juniors to the Southland’s finest courses. This allows young golfers the golden opportunity to play standout courses many adults rarely get to experience.
If you’ve grown up playing golf in the greater LA area, you would know that the selection of public courses is limited. Either the course is too pricey to play for mediocre conditions or you have to travel some distance to access a course. However, amongst the scattering of public play there are a handful of private clubs out there that have stayed under the radar. The SCGA Junior Golf Foundation Play Day program was created to allow SCGA Junior participants to play a private club alongside members who volunteer to host our juniors and serve as mentors.
This year, 60 SCGA Junior Golf Foundation scholars and Player & Youth Development program participants enjoyed five play days at Annandale GC, Palos Verdes GC, Los Angeles CC, Hillcrest CC and Brentwood CC. For 22 of these juniors, this was their first play day, and for some, it was their very first-time stepping foot on a country club course. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play and walk the grounds of these historic LA courses. Prior to every play day, we emphasize to the juniors that score doesn’t matter, instead we ask them to embrace and enjoy the amazing opportunity. For our juniors, especially those in high school and college, play days are a chance to make connections and learn how their playing partner developed their career. It’s not every day that you get that one-on-one interaction, so we want our juniors to take advantage of that opportunity.
“Without SCGA Junior, I probably wouldn’t be able to have these opportunities.” said long-time SCGA Junior participant Dallas Vega. “There are people who in their lifetimes will probably never be able to play at Los Angeles CC. To be able to play these courses is super amazing, and I’m grateful. Today, I was able to meet two members from LACC, and I was able to connect and network regarding my plans.”
One of the play day highlights was the trip to Palos Verdes GC (PV), where Ray Landes, a PV member, shared his journey of becoming the Head of Global Production Management for Warner Bros/Discovery.
Mr. Landes shared his journey of perseverance with our juniors. He was one of nine kids and the first and only one in his family to attend college. By putting his head down and working hard despite the odds, he followed his passion and is now a leader at one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Mr. Landes’s story is an excellent example for our juniors to see that no matter where you come from, if you’re willing to work for it, you can get to where you want to be.
“Going to a play day for the first time was great. I want to thank the SCGA for this opportunity to have this experience and to be able to play a quality course that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own. To add to the benefits, and play with the members, they’re all nice and are willing to help us out with our future.” – Rex Castille, Palos Verdes GC Play Day Participant
Our heartfelt thanks go out to our generous hosts and supporters who provided these incredible opportunities for our juniors. Your support is invaluable and greatly appreciated.
If you are interested in hosting or participating in a 2025 Play Day, contact Christian Lingamen at clingamen@scga.org.