Use municipal golf courses to introduce game to kids

Re City golf courses bleeding green, Jam. 12 I would like to cast my vote to not only keep Toronto’s municipal golf courses open, but to make them a centrepiece of a youth and sport initiative.

If rounds are down, the city has a great opportunity to get inner-city kids involved in a sport and a game that players all over the world love and that will return their love over a lifetime. A game for old white guys? Nonsense. Look at the composition of world professional tours.

Inner-city youth don’t get the chance to play. They deserve a chance to at least see if they enjoy the combination of outdoor beauty, a game, a source of continuing personal challenge and the humility of facing a great equalizer.

The fact that municipal courses are not part of the Future Links and Golf in Schools programs run by golf associations is ridiculous. It is time to get serious and use these great facilities to help kids. Let’s tee it up for the kids. Brian Caldwell, Collingwood