Over the weekend, Youth on Course had the pleasure of having Matt Ginella of the Golf Channel in attendance for Quinn's Brigade at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Matt has been a great vocal supporter of Youth on Course over the years.
This morning, Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - Matt told viewers just why he loves the game of golf.
Watch the clip, or read the transcript below.
Ginella’s Valentine’s gift: Best couples trips Transcript:
Cara Robinson: World travel expert, Matt Ginella is back with me now - prolific user by the way, if you follow him on social media, two hashtags: "my life in the sky" and "why I love this game." Well, today we're asking of you the same question, not about their lives in the sky but why you guys love this game. So, Matty G, tell us why you love this game.
Matt Ginella: How much time do we have? Well, I could go on and on and on... I started in the game and loved it for the competitive aspect, you know being a kid, and kind of thinking more about how to break 80 than I was of the camaraderie and as you get older you realize there's so much more to the game than just the competition. Now, the camaraderie and the buddies trips and the connective tissue that you have through the game. You know still staying close to friends
that you might not see all the time and in coordinating these buddies trips that I go on on an annual basis and getting around and realizing that with the game of golf we do get to be able to have that camaraderie together, the reflections on life and all that you know that the layers start building into the game and then there's the collaborations - you're talking about. Every week or almost every day on this show we talk about an athlete or an actor or the military utilizing the game of golf to bring people together to raise money. I'm coming off of a weekend where I spent at Pebble Beach where the Northern California Golf Association, Pat Quinn, the President of the NCGA, used a spot in the Pro-Am to raise money for a grow the game initiative that I think is the most effective grow the game initiative that we have right now and that's Youth on Course. Through the game of golf they raised $255,000 this last weekend to raise money for subsidized green fees for kids. Kids will not pay more than $5 that are members of Youth on Course. You see all the numbers - Look at the numbers - this is something that started out of the NCGA and now is in 14 different associations in America. It's spreading across the country. There's no doubt in my mind that this is going to be something that's going to be a nationwide initiative.
This is the 10th tee - Pat Quinn's first hole at Pebble Beach, surrounded by 300 of his closest friends and supporters of this program and it was just a great moment to be a part of, Cara. Quinn's Briga
de and you know he took the game of golf and a concept and a grow the game initiative and he mashed it all together. Meagan McEnery is one of the beneficiaries of Youth on Course - she showed up after the round of golf and gave a very inspirational speech. She's now a freshman at [Sonoma State]. She started in the golf program, she caddied, she's now a finalist for an Evans Scholarship - and I have no doubt she'll get it.
I feel bad for people who don't have the game of golf in their life, really, I think to myself if you took out everything that's part of the game of golf out of my life and I just wouldn't have much.
Cara: Well it's a relationship builder and it's funny you say that because in case you didn't know, the game introduced Matt to his now wife, Katie - who I'm sure is watching at home, Happy Valentine's Day, Katie.
Special thanks to Matt Ginella of The Golf Channel for his continued support of Youth on Course.