National Recreation & Park Association Partners with SNAG


The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has partnered with SNAGŪ (Starting New at Golf) to bring their G-Ball program to municipal parks and recreation facilities. G-Ball can be described as golf's version of T-Ball, focusing on children 5 to 8 years old. It will be conducted by parent-coaches on soccer fields and selected open spaces on municipal properties.

G-Ball has been several years in the making to ensure age-appropriate programming to develop a child's golf motor skills as well as the culture of the game. Dr. Robert Pangrazi, author of more than 50 physical-education textbooks, and Dr. Vanessa Anton developed the curriculum and activities so that parent-coaches can deliver the content effectively. The program is intended to be activity based with progressive instruction to occur as the child develops. Play will be the focus of the program in a non-competitive format.

In 2011, the program will be piloted by 15 park and recreation agencies. An agency could potentially include eight to 300-plus parks and recreation facilities. The program will then be expanded for 2012 and beyond. Player Development Products, LLC, the parent company of SNAGŪ, will offer several $7,000 grants to provide equipment and cover operational costs. NRPA will direct the grant process by selecting the appropriate agencies to pilot the program. The selected agencies will begin the program at a date to be determined this summer.

NRPA CEO Barbara Tulipane remarked, "NRPA believes this partnership with SNAGŪis a fantastic opportunity to help enrich and expand park and recreation agency programs, while emphasizing our commitment to support health and wellness across the U.S."

"We are proud to become partners with NRPA and hope to reach the shared goals of impacting over a million families with G-Ball," said Terry Anton, the co-creator of SNAGŪ. "We appreciate the encouragement and support we have received from the World Golf Foundation in bringing golf to our municipal parks and recreation facilities. We believe that many of these new golfers will want to play the game for a lifetime."

Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation, added: "The G-Ball program promises to bring golf into parity with other organized sports by having entry-level programming at the grass-roots level. We hope that the low cost of participation will bring families to the game that would not otherwise have an opportunity to participate."

SNAGŪ is an easy and fun way to learn and play golf at nontraditional venues. It contains all the elements of golf but in a modified form. Falling somewhere between miniature golf and regulation golf, SNAGŪ allows for full shots, pitching, chipping and putting. It is a proven learning and training program for the entry-level golfer.

Currently, SNAGŪ is the skills-acquisition program used in national schools golf program headed by the World Golf Foundation's First Tee Program. There are more than 5,000 schools now introducing children to golf in the U.S. and over 8,000 worldwide. For more information, visit www.snagpros.com.

The National Recreation and Park Association is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing park, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance quality of life for all people. Through its network of 20,000 recreation and park professionals and citizens, NRPA encourages the promotion of healthy lifestyles, recreation initiatives, and conservation of natural and cultural resources. For more information, visit www.NRPA.org. For digital access to NRPA's flagship publication, "Parks & Recreation," visit www.parksandrec-magazine.org.