"Groundbreaking" clinics have taken place in England and New Jersey thus far in 2024
LPGA*USGA Girls Golf and the Muslim Golf Association welcomed more than 100 Muslim girls to the Cognizant Founders Cup for a One Million MORE Girls clinic.
This is just the latest effort by these organizations to grow the game for generations to come. In fact, since partnering earlier this year, they have already played host to clinics in England and now the United States. The first clinic was hosted by LPGA legend and trailblazer Renee Powell at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, while the most recent clinic was held during the second round of play at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, NJ.
“The vision for the Muslim Golf Association is pretty simple… we want to introduce golf to every Muslim man, woman, child, abled and disabled,” explained Amir Malik, Founder of the Muslim Golf Association. “I think if we can just impact and change one girl’s life, one person’s life, then it makes everything worth it.”
Changing the lives of girls has been the mission of Girls Golf since it was founded in 1989. And as of 2023, one million girls in total have been uplifted by the program. In honor of hitting that mark, Girls Golf launched the One Million MORE Girls campaign, with the goal of reaching the next million by 2030. In addition to getting more girls into the program, the LPGA Foundation has set out to Change The Face Of Golf by making it available to girls of all backgrounds through clinics like these, as well as grants and scholarships.
Typically, clinic participants have prior experience with golf, but that was not the case for the One Million MORE Girls clinic at the Cognizant Founders Cup. This time, the Girls Golf team got to fully introduce the game to more than 100 girls who have never set foot on a course or even touched a club.
“This was truly a groundbreaking day as the Muslim Golf Association hosted its first-ever event in the United States,” explained Stephanie Peareth, Director of Operations for the LPGA Foundation. “We’re here to make every little girl’s big dream come true and to be able to provide this opportunity to introduce Muslim girls to the game, is truly special.”
Since all the girls were starting from scratch, the clinic focused on the 5E’s of Girls Golf (Empower, Engage, Enrich, Energize and Exercise) and how they tied back to the 13 Founders of the LPGA. Each core value was represented by its own station and tied to a founder. For example, the empower station was dedicated to Babe Zaharias due to her being recognized as “the greatest athlete, male or female, who ever lived” and it featured girls hitting balls toward inflatable targets on the range.
Once the clinic was over, the girls and their families were treated to a fireside chat led by the LPGA’s Senior Director of Community and Inclusion, Laura Diaz, and Noor Ahmed, Coordinator of Competitions Administration.
"As a young Muslim golfer, I never experienced any programming focused on brining and growing Muslim participation in the sport and seeing what the MGA is trying to do in the UK and now bringing it to the US is incredible,” said Ahmed. “I hope the participants, regardless of whether or not they go on to play golf or not, realized that they can aspire to work and be in spaces that they wouldn't have normally seen themselves in. They are my inspiration."
Changing lives takes all of us, so please consider donating to the One Million MORE Girls campaign to help provide this life-changing foundation for girls of all backgrounds.
For more information about donating to the #OneMillionMOREGirls campaign, please click here.
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