The Power of $1: How #DriveForJuniors Keeps Talented Kids in Golf

The Math Behind a Single Dollar

A dollar does not feel like much. It will not buy a sleeve of golf balls, and on its own it changes nothing.

Now look at it from the other side. A national junior qualifier costs $95 to enter, a Junior All-Star event costs $285 and an Open or Invitational costs $295. In other words, 295 people giving $1 each can cover one junior's entry into a top national event, which means a single golf league, club or company outing can put a kid in the field.

Scale it up and the picture changes quickly. A golfer who gives $5 a month gives $60 a year, and fifty golfers doing the same raise $3,000, roughly what an average tournament trip costs a top junior. Even one foursome giving $5 a month apiece covers a $95 qualifier entry about every five months, without anyone noticing the money is gone.

That is the thinking behind #DriveForJuniors. Large gifts are wonderful, and they matter. But a sport with tens of millions of players does not need a handful of big donors to change things. It needs a lot of golfers to decide that a dollar is worth giving.

Junior Golf Is Growing Fast

The encouraging part is that kids want to play. Just under 4 million juniors played golf on a course in 2025, more than in any year since 2004, and junior participation has climbed 58% since 2019, the largest gain of any age group.

The game is also starting to look more like the country it serves. Girls now make up 35% of junior golfers, up from 15% in 2000, and 26% of juniors are people of color. A new generation is arriving on its own.

Golf can afford to support them. The National Golf Foundation puts the sport's broader economic impact across the U.S. at $226.5 billion, supporting 1.65 million jobs. The real question is not whether golf has the resources for its next generation. It is whether talented kids without money can reach them.

If every golfer gave $1, no talented junior would be priced out of the game.

Where the Pathway Breaks

Playing golf and competing in golf are two different things. Casual golf can be affordable, but competitive golf is not. Once a junior is good enough to enter real tournaments, the family starts paying for entry fees, lessons, fitted clubs and travel. Reporting on top junior programs puts lessons at $150 to $800 each and an aggressive national schedule near $20,000 a year.

Those costs hit hardest in middle school and high school, the years that decide whether a player builds tournament experience and gets noticed. Across youth sports as a whole, the average family spent $1,016 on a child's primary sport in 2024, up 46% since 2019, and children from low-income homes are six times as likely as those from high-income homes to quit because of cost.

The gap opens long before high school. Among kids ages 6 to 12, only 24% from homes earning $25,000 or less play sports regularly, compared with 40% from homes earning $100,000 or more. A talented low-income junior who reaches the competitive level has already beaten long odds, and losing that player to an entry fee is a waste the game should not accept.

Golf has gotten very good at welcoming kids to the game. It is far less good at keeping them in it once it gets expensive. #DriveForJuniors exists for that second part.

What Your Gift Pays For

Gifts to #DriveForJuniors go toward the specific costs that keep talented juniors from competing, and 100% of donations support junior golfers directly. The first of those is tournament entry fees, so talented juniors can compete, build a record and be seen. Gifts also help provide equipment, including properly fitted clubs, bags and gear in place of borrowed or outgrown sets, along with the coaching and training that turn raw talent into consistent scores.

Your support reaches beyond the course as well. It helps pay for travel to the events that matter for development and recruiting, and it opens the door to mentorship and other approved development opportunities, so a young athlete has someone in their corner.

One-Time, Monthly or Yearly: How to Give

You can give any amount from $1 to $10,000 on the donate page, once, monthly or yearly, and each choice has a real advantage.

A one-time gift is the simplest way to act right now, and it goes to work for junior golfers this season. A monthly gift gives FGA something almost as valuable as the money itself, which is predictability. Junior golf runs on a calendar of entry deadlines, and steady support helps FGA plan a full season instead of one event at a time. A few dollars a month also adds up to a meaningful gift without ever feeling like one. For donors who like to give once and know it is handled, a yearly gift is the natural fit.

Whichever you choose, you can check the box to cover the transaction fee so more of your gift reaches junior golfers. Future Golfers of America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 39-3445115), so your gift may be tax-deductible. Check with your tax advisor about your situation.

Starting in San Antonio, Built for the Country

#DriveForJuniors is a national fund with a focused start. Future Golfers of America was founded in San Antonio, and its immediate focus is its first group of athletes there, the Founding Athlete Class, with selections beginning in December 2026.

The goal is bigger than one city. As funding and partnerships grow, FGA aims to bring the same support to junior golfers in communities across the country. Starting focused is deliberate: support the first athletes well, show results, then expand. Every gift today helps build that foundation the right way.

If you live in the San Antonio area and know a competitive junior who is being priced out, you can nominate them through November 30, 2026.

More Ways to Drive for Juniors

A donation is only one way to help. Businesses, clubs and golf brands can make a larger impact through corporate and Founders Circle partnerships, and golfers with clubs sitting idle can pass them along. New or gently used clubs, bags, shoes and gear can be donated as equipment at two drop-off locations in San Antonio.

You can also simply show up. Bring your foursome to an FGA event and play for a reason.

Most of all, spread the $1 idea. Share #DriveForJuniors with your league, your club or your golf group chat, because the math only works if a lot of golfers hear it. It starts with one dollar, and you can give to #DriveForJuniors today.

Common Questions

Sources

• National Golf Foundation, Golf Industry Facts (2025 data)
• National Golf Foundation, Golf's Economic Impact Reports (2026)
• American Junior Golf Association, Tournament Fees and Benefits
• GOLF.com, "How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Top Junior Golfer?" (2022)
• Aspen Institute Project Play, family spending on youth sports survey (2025)
• Aspen Institute Project Play, low-income kids and the cost of sports (2020)
• Aspen Institute Project Play, Youth Sports Facts: Challenges
• Future Golfers of America, Nominate a Competitive Junior Golfer
• Future Golfers of America, #DriveForJuniors National Fund