Vol 64 Presents Colby Morris of the Payne Stewart Kids Golf Foundation

welcome to the junior golf podcast a podcast dedicated to helping parents and juniors navigate through the Journey of junior golf from Fitness to mental coaching we cover it all on this podcast here's your host Ro Thompson good evening everyone welcome to the junior golf podcast I am your host Ro Thompson and man as as always we got a special guest in the on the podcast uh man we have Kobe Morris representing the Payne Stewart Foundation and so hey Kobe how you doing man good Ro great to be with you this evening yeah thanks so much for for having us on hey thanks for being on man I know we've been planning this out for a while and we we finally got together and na down the date and so looking forward to hearing about the foundation absolutely yeah looking forward to being with you for a little while here and and sharing a little bit more you know we're we're always looking to create awareness so this is an opportunity to to do that one more time so just thankful for the opportunity to be with you great great but listen before we get into the foundation and what all the foundation is doing right now tell us a little bit about yourself yeah you know um I live in the upstate of South Carolina spart South Carolina area so not tooo far from you being in state as well um but but grew up in the upstate and and played you know multiple Sports as a kid um then kind of you know jumped into basketball and golf were kind of my two main sports and and then ultimately golf took me all the way to to college and I was telling you a little bit about that story and there's a whole lot of details I won't get into but right but really you know was able to achieve um originally going to to play some some small college golf at the nii level and and then took a break for a couple years and um went into the golf industry really through uh the the the more Uncommon way uh of just working at a at a public golf course and serving as a as an assistant golf professional and cutting my teeth teeth in the industry that way and um so you know just a little bit more about myself since that time I'm married my wife and I her name's Lauren we have three kids two two girls and a boy and so we are all into Youth Sports uh from you know from the get-go here um every season uh but uh you know my a little bit about my background and how I got into to being a part of the the team with pay Stewart kids golf Foundation is really after serving as an assistant Pro and really predominantly focusing in the area of junior golf instruction okay went to serve on staff at an organization called Upward Sports that actually started in spart andberg South Carolina okay and um we we served churches with uh resources to run basketball flag football and soccer leagues and so when I was on the team there um we actually began having some conversations there was a collective group of us some that were on staff at Upward some that were were not that were serving in the golf industry um about what would it look like to really do beginner golf with um with you know you Sports organizations um and so we we kind of began this conversation all the way back in 2012 really um and it didn't really come to fruition until 2020 but but that's that's a little bit about me and my background um so so yeah okay good deal good deal and so um so when it comes to the uh the foundation because you know you you touched on that a little bit um tell us how that tell us how that give give us the backstory on that okay yeah so like I said there was there's a collective group of us um there's a gentleman named Kelly mccamon that's worked in the golf industry class a professional um for he he's been in the industry now for 30 years and and Kelly um to make a longer story short we we started talking about this back in 2012 we were introduced to the Stewart family around 2014 2015 and and really that initiated what ultimately became you know a part of what we're doing today but um they really shared with us they had a desire to use Payne's Legacy uh to create opportunities for kids to be introduced to the game of golf okay and one of the components of that as you remember and for anybody that's watching and listening if you remember Payne Stewart one of the things that was really important to him was character and Faith and family and fun those are some some pillars that he really made a part of his life and so they loved the opportunity of of taking beginner Golf and bringing it to kids in spaces where they're learning all other you Sports and so um so fast forward to 2020 20 late 2019 2020 uh we we ultimately got together put a plan together presented that to the steuarts and they gave us the blessing of using his really his name image and likeness uh to launch ultimately what is pain Stewart kids golf foundation and what we do through Payne Stewart kids golf Foundation is we partner with organizations and help them run what we call pay Stewart golf experiences okay and so that that's a part of what we do there's there's some other things that we do but but ultimately at our core we serve um our our partner organizations with all the resources they need to to implement pain Stewart golf experiences yeah that's awesome you know pay Stewart was one of those those tour players is that seem like everybody like pain you know and of of course you know when you know when he passed away in that and the plane crash it was just like devastating to a lot of people so it's it's great that y'all are able to carry on this Legos Legacy through the the foundation yeah yeah you know I'll tell you a quick uh story real just to touch on that about pay one of the things that we hear repeatedly about pay Stewart is that it if you ever got the chance to meet him um everybody that was able to will always tell you man from the moment I met him he made me feel like he was my best friend wow you know he just he was just uniquely gifted in that way that was just a part of who he was part of his nature and his makeup and so he he did he made a difference on uh on many lives you know that he touched when he was alive and and continues to do today his story continues to to resonate with people today yeah I you know we see we see a lot of those pictures you know with the with the Statue of pain is kind of kind of giving a p you know that's a now now where do they have where do they keep that where do they have that statue that is right behind the 18th green at pineh number two pineur number two is and they're doing the um PGA there this year right the US Open will be there right us this year and it's actually you can believe this or not this year is the 25th anniversary AR of his win in 1999 the year that he that he passed away so there you know I think they've got a lot of things planned to to commemorate that you know they want to celebrate his legacy in the game and and who he was as a person so I just can't wait to see what the USGA and and Pinehurst number two have planned um for for that event specifically and uh and and how they're gonna just celebrate Payne's win there in 99 right and you gonna get a chance to go yeah we'll be be there okay all right well good hopefully maybe maybe we'll get a chance to meet and you know whatnot when you know if I get a chance to come up there um now you talk a little bit about you talk a little bit about the gold of the found Foundation um and I know you said it Focus um focus on beginners um do y'all do anything with intermediate players or Advanced Juniors you know give us a little bit of information on that yeah great question you know um I'll share with you our vision and Mission our our vision is to create beginner golf experiences for all children okay and our mission is to develop Healthy Kids for Life Through the fun of golf and so we want to create as many beginner golf experiences for kids as we can and we do that by partnering with and serving organizations with what they need um the the thing that makes us unique I would say from a from a sport standpoint and and why we do what we do is we truly do want to make a difference beyond the game you know the sport itself golf is really there's so many things that we learn through playing the game of golf we learn character and sportsmanship and integrity and and a lot of those things because of the way the game is played you know we learn those things almost naturally you know we we learn that okay I gotta I gotta keep my own score um I've got to be honest with my playing Partners or my competitors uh about my score and we learn to be you know patient and show sport sportmanship and I mean we learn how to you know inevitably we learn we hopefully learn how to win well and we learn how to lose well uh in those moments but but but one of the things that's unique about what we do is um we provide I'll tell you a little bit of about pain Stewart golf experiences okay when we partner with an organization we provide them with what we call a turnkey package okay and so what that means is we provide them with curriculum training resources marketing assets and equipment so that they can run beginner golf programming at their facility okay and to to your question when we talk about beginners you know a lot of people like to say that we do junior golf right and I would say we're not in the junior golf space we're in the beginner golf space to operation first T PGA Junior League PGA Junior golf camps all these incred inedible junior golf programs that are happening for the most part I would say 90% of those are happening on golf courses on driving ranges or green grass facilities right we do not have any green grass facility Partners everything that we do happens in a gymnasium or on a soccer field type space okay and so we partner with YMCAs we partner with local churches we partner with schools we partner with um we have a US sports franchise group that that they'll rent facilities like at parks and Rex and um you know green grass soccer field space they'll rent and so everything we do truly is beginner golf our our our core age range that we target is really four to nine year olds and so one of our favorite phrases to use and it sounds funny saying this but it applies we're we're like t-ball for golf um we we use specialized learning equipment so that kids can have fun and that they can have success just like you do in t-ball and you know in basketball that when you start you start in a seven foot high Rim not on a 10 foot high Rim correct in soccer you start with a smaller goal smaller field smaller ball the the same we apply the same to to golf and pain golf I like it because you know it's it's so what it s you know what you're what you're doing essentially Kobe is you're just giving them a taste of what golf could be and then after they get a taste of the program that you all have now they can go to the courses they can go to the uh to the to the to the first te and they can go to the um there's a great program called uh is it 360 um what's the name of it operation 36 operation 36 yep operation 36 that's a great program and so it's a lot of a lot of great programs that the kids can get involved in to to even further the golf experience so really good yeah that's right yeah we would say you know a matter of fact I had one of these conversations earlier today you know we would say that we want to be a feeder into all those other things that are happening on courses with you know that that are most of the time led by PGA teaching Pros right and so you know we don't want to be seen as a competitor in that space we really want to I look at it as a funnel the biggest end of the funnel is at the top and your better players always filter down through that funnel so we want we want to keep filling the biggest end of that funnel and get as many four and five and six year olds as we can to be introduced to the game and where they go from there ultimately we can't control that but we want to say hey parents if you're in this community or that Community look for these programs if you're ready for that jump from beginner golf to Junior Golf if you're ready to go from stage one to stage two find a local Pro whether it's a teaching pro or it's a first te or if it's an operation 36 or a um PGA Junior Golf Camp there's a lot of options and and and so we want to we can only control what we can control and that's that's providing the best experiences that we can for kids to be introduced to the game right and then see them continue on you know in their development in their local communities at at through some of those other programs that's right because I um I started we started our son in the uh Little Legends program that was a a program that was uh introduced by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association so we started him in that program when he was probably four three four years old and I think it was a little early but they allow they went ahead and they allowed him to get into it uh because I think it was supposed to be five but he was three we was like you know we really want to get him into the game you know so they said okay he looked like a fivey old right yeah exactly exactly so man what's what's been some of the um the challenges uh that y'all have you know that that y'all have faced with the foundation yeah great question um you know a little bit about us a little bit of detail yeah is that when when Payne was alive um they started the Payne Stewart Family Foundation and that and that is really you know the the family still works with the PJ tour um for the the pain Stewart award that's given annually there's a player select every year by the PJ tour and um and to be awarded the pain Stewart award based on character and sportsmanship and integrity yeah I think I've seen um Stuart sinkman that award I think that's right yeah there's been um they started in two I don't want to get it wrong but I think they started in 2002 okay away the pain Stewart award and so there's been you know 20s something pain Stewart Award winners okay and um anyways our organization the pain St kids golf Foundation we're we're a separate organization we're the the steuarts are part of who we are and what we do for sure um but as a result a lot of times people think that you know we've been around for a long time and and the truth is we really haven't we started doing what we do in this in March of 2020 so four years ago that's right so we you know as a result we lost all of 2020 because while golf was booming on course and at driving ranges what we do no kids were going to YMCAs or churches or gymnasiums shut down and so the the golf Bild really didn't help us um and that's okay you know that's one of those things that's out of our control you know that was just happening but as a result I would say that's that's one of the challenges that we faced um is really creating awareness about who we are and what we do and we're starting to see that Trend continue to rise and rise and rise and and there being awareness created I mean this is a this is evidence of that you know you and I getting connected but but we're just trying to continually create awareness about what a pain Stewart golf experience is and and how easy it really is to do it because the the other thing that I would say uh from a challenge standpoint that we faced is really this Paradigm Shift where a lot of people think that to run a pain Stewart golf experience you need a set of clubs you need a driving range you need a golf course you need a teachings right you need golf yeah all the above and reality is is that none of that is true oh wow because when we partner with the YMCA or whoever our partner is they they pay an annual fee and we provide them the equipment to be able to reach as many kids as they can through beginner Golf and so all the tools and all the resources are there they already have the facilities and so the Paradigm Shift really comes with that awareness and that education about okay this is introductory this is beginner um we don't need a golf course we don't need a teaching pro the the the M the leaders that we have running programs are uh youth sport leaders they're volunteers okay they're parent they're um you know some of them are School teachers so I mean we've really made it so simple uh to run an incredible beginner golf experience but it's just a matter of creating that awareness and Contin to do yeah so that's that's a that's probably our biggest challenge I would say okay and how many um how many connections have y'all had over the last three to four years yeah so we have um since 2020 um I would say that uh right now approximately we're having we're going to see somewhere between uh 50 to 20,000 kids go through pain Stewart golf experiences this year that's incredible and and that's through that's through all of our partnership channels um so some of those are pay forplay experiences and some of those are experiences that are being run by organizations that want to sponsor kids and communities that couldn't afford to be um introduced to the game of golf any other way so right you know we're kind of touching like I say all ends of the spectrum there we want to reach as many kids as we can for sure okay and are y'all only in South Carolina or have y'all expanded to other states national yeah National yep that's right yeah we're all across the country we're not in every state um currently but but we're in um 20 plus States okay um and we do have we do have some some awesome Partnerships with the Air Force and so we actually have we actually have three locations overseas um through the air force yeah okay that's great that's interal that's one of our uh that's one of our that's one of our partnership channels that we're just really excited and passionate about really thankful for to be able to serve military families that's good that's great and what's what would you say what would you say have has been your your biggest accomplishment to date oh great question um I think uh above all else um our our biggest accomplishment has has just been to with with any challenge that we faced you know no matter what we we've been able to overcome that um you know starting something from from scratch to to get to where we are today but I think our I would say the thing that we're most proud of is just being able to say that you know we're reaching more kids each year you know we're we're seeing more kids play each year um we're seeing more Partnerships you know when I say Partnerships we have what we call channels so like YMC churches you know all those so we're just continuing to to try and create as many Partnerships through those channels as we can okay that's great and what's in store what's in store for the foundation I mean what do y'all see in the future happening with this you know pain Stewart you know golf Foundation yeah so we um in 2023 last December we did have the first or the inaugural pain Stewart Invitational which was a major fundraising event for our foundation wow it was run by it was run by Mike flasky entertainment so if you're familiar with the Lake Tahoe uh event that's televised every year or the invited celebrity classic yeah Steph Curry won it last year that's right yeah so the the gentleman Mike flasky and his team that that put on that event they're helping us run our event they do an incredible job so okay um we're incredibly thankful for uh MF entertainment that's what they go by so just an awesome partnership there to see what they've been able to do and help us create the the pain Stewart Invitational um but you know what's coming down the road is is really more partnership so that means more pain Stewart golf experiences are G are excuse me more pain Stewart golf experiences are going to be happening in more locations and more communities around the country which we we just couldn't be more excited about that that's great now where do y'all host the Payne Stewart Invitational uh last year I was at the Floridian and uh okay down Beach yeah so we'll we'll be back there again this year and hopefully the following year for sure so we're looking at a three-year plan there and then we'll see if we stay there if we we go anywhere else yeah all right and that's in Florida it is yeah we had some awesome celebrities that helped us be be a part of that event um you know some key names you know we had Vince Carter he was one of the celebrities that played in it so we had some some awesome awesome uh you know celebrities athletes that that participate in that event to to help us raise money for the foundation to be able to support um you know experiences happening in in communities where it would it would never happen otherwise so yeah when you say pain Stewart man you know every everybody's gonna you know want to help I mean you know that's just it's just one of those good names in golf man you know that's great that's great we hope we hope so Kobe anybody that you would love to give a shout out to In terms who's you know who's been a big part of the foundation as well as yourself you know you have anybody that's you know right hand that you want to give a shout out to yeah know just our whole team um you know like I said there's there's a collective group of us Kelly mcam was was the gentleman that that brought us all together and and initially launched what we're doing okay um Dan Anderson who who does you know marketing for us and um we've got two other gentlemen Stephen mcgory and and C CLE and that that are helping us so it it takes a team it's not any one person that's right it takes an army of people to be able to do what we do uh each and every day and so you know we we also we do have a another uh young lady that that works with us I'll just give a shout out to her as well her name is Kennedy mner okay and cool story here Kennedy um was a a college player at Southern Methodist University down in Dallas Texas okay where F Stewart actually that's his Alma Moder that's where he played as well as uh his son Aaron Aaron Stewart played it at SMU as well okay and and so Kennedy was a a college golfer in at SMU and reached out about interning with us and is now on our team as a as a team member and so we just we couldn't be more excited about how that story came to be right you know um so everything kind of lined up there but yeah it it takes it takes a team it it's not any one person it's all of us together trying to to move the mission forward for sure that's great that's great and if and if some if somebody if someone wanted to give to the foundation Kobe how can they uh give to uh the pain Stewart Foundation yeah thank you for asking that so you can go to pain stewart. org pain.org pretty simple um if you need to reach out about um you know contacting us on how to give or if you can't find the link to give on there it's pretty simple find that but you can always email us you can find that email address on the website you can go to con you can email contact pw.org that's contact at pain stewart. org to get information about how you can bring this to your community maybe you're a member of a YMCA and you want to bring it to your why so okay send us an email let's know how we can serve you yeah but but that's uh that's where you can find everything right and uh your your social media handles or what because I that's how I found y'all on on social media okay yeah yeah um Instagram is pain Stewart golf okay and um Facebook is the same as well it's pain Stewart golf so excuse me at pain Stewart golf experiences yeah okay great so yeah but check us out on Facebook and we'll we'll look forward to to posting some stuff that's great man well listen this has been a great podcast we we appreciate you sharing uh a ton of information about the foundation is there anything else you want to share with us you know as we get ready to bring this uh podcast to a close no the only other thing I would say um just about thanking anybody is the Stewarts um their family because you know my name's Colby Morris and and not pay Stewart right and this you know this is really we want to honor the Stewarts we want to honor um Tracy and and Chelsea and Aaron right and their family and and just continue to honor pay's name and make sure that we you know uh carry on his Legacy as best we can because of the blessing they've given us to to use his name to to do that so I just no we're we're excited about the future and there's a lot lot lot more coming awesome awesome well listen from the junior golf podcast family man we want to thank you we want to thank the uh pain stward uh kids you know children's golf Foundation we want to thank you all for coming on and sharing your story and letting us know about the foundation and and please stay in touch okay absolutely yeah yeah thank you so much appreciate all you're doing keep keep telling stories for sure thank you for listening to the junior golf podcast you can follow us on Facebook YouTube Instagram and Tik Tok we hope you enjoyed this new episode and if you did please leave us a review on Apple podcast and Spotify please share this episode with others who may be interested in this topic also feel free to let us know what topics you'd like to see covered in future episodes get in touch in the comments or on any of our social media networks see you next week for a new episode [Applause]