By Alan Bastable, GOLF Magazine, June 2010

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By Rick Tetzeli, TIME

One of the great things about the current drive for rebirth in Detroit is that hope and initiative emerge from the least likely places. Golf is not the kind of thing you expect to thrive in any metro center—and as for the Detroit area, well, you know, golf is reserved for those tony folks outside of town in their country clubs, right?

Not at Marygrove College.

There, a program called called Midnight Golf has proved extraordinarily successful over the last few years. Now, working with the SI Golf Group, nationally-renowned course architect Tom Doak is designing a state-of-the-art practice facility right in downtown Detroit. You can read all about the extraordinary project here.

This kind of stuff surprises me and doesn’t surprise me on an ongoing basis. The national stereotype of Detroit is so ingrained that even after you’ve been covering the place for a while, it still has some force. That’s why I find myself surprised.

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By Alan Bastable, GOLF Magazine

Asking celebrated golf course architect Tom Doak if he’d take time out of his globetrotting schedule to design a practice facility for a grassroots golf program would be a little like asking Frank Gehry to build a tree house for a troop of boy scouts.

We asked anyway.

Three months ago the SI Golf Group approached Doak to tell him about Midnight Golf, a wildly successful youth golf initiative based in a wildly depressed city: Detroit. The program, which operates two nights a week at a local college, employs a lively mix of life-skills workshops, classroom discussions and golf lessons to keep its participants—mostly high school seniors from city schools—out of trouble and on the path to college.

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London, England — Golf has always had the ability to inspire players and fans alike, but now the sport’s motivational qualities are being used to attract and help those on the fringes of the game.

The mean streets of Detroit may not be the first place you would imagine to find budding students of the sport, but from this Michigan base, single mum Renee Fulker hopes to transform the fortunes of deprived, inner-city children across America with the power of golf.

In 2001, with the help of volunteer professionals from the PGA and the world of business, Fulkner launched “Midnight Golf” — a project that provides free “night classes” at two courses in Detroit for children between the ages of 13 to 18.

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South Florida is now the second U.S. location to adopt the Midnight Golf Program, a venture designed to empower underserved youth through the game of golf that began in Detroit in 2001.

More than two dozen midnight golf participants and volunteers will celebrate the formal kick off to the Midnight Golf Program Monday, Nov. 16 at Palmetto Golf Course in Palmetto, Fla. The event begins at 6:30 p.m.

Since the program was formed, it has helped hundreds of participants develop the skills necessary to gain admission to colleges and universities and become gainfully employed. In all, 351 past participants now attend 60 different colleges and universities across the United States.

“This program will have an enormous impact on the young people of South Florida,” said Executive Director of Midnight Golf South Florida, Marqus Fisher. “Our mentors, guests speakers and golf professionals will give our teens the tools they need to be more successful in college and in the world of business.”

The goal of Midnight Golf is to provide mentoring and life skills to those who join the program. It helps young people who may not have the necessary support systems to attain educational and life goals.

Life skills are developed by covering a range of topics including: financial literacy, college preparation, college applications, interview techniques, resume writing, public speaking, career exploration, etiquette, networking, investing, spiritual health and giving back to the community.

Golf is used as the vehicle to achieve this social change because it’s a sport that is not accessible to many young people for a variety of reasons, even if they have an interest in doing so. The Midnight Golf Program endeavors to allow interested parties to discover the enjoyment playing golf can create, experience the rewards of hard work and learn the importance of following rules, dressing appropriately and showing courtesy and respect to others.

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MIAMI — South Florida is the new home for the Midnight Golf Program, an acclaimed initiative that gained national attention for its unique blend of serving young adults’ personal development, educational preparedness and appreciation for the game of golf. The South Florida Chapter is led by Executive Director Marqus Fisher, with the support of local volunteers, South Florida PGA Section and the Detroit Midnight Golf Executive Committee.

The PGA of America, a sponsor since the inception of Midnight Golf, made a donation of $10,000 to support the program’s instructional curriculum. The donation was announced as part of the formal launch of the South Florida Chapter, Nov. 16, at Palmetto (Fla.) Golf Course, and was attended by participants, PGA officials and volunteers.

Founded in 2001 by Renee Fluker in Detroit, the Midnight Golf Program (MGP) has a goal to provide inner-city youth an alternative to a life on the streets. Through the MGP, participants quickly discover that playing golf is fun, rewards hard work and teaches the importance of following rules, sportsmanship and respect for self and others.

Since its founding, 615 students have participated in the Midnight Golf curriculum, with 425 completing training and 351 students currently attending 60 different colleges and universities around the country.

“The PGA of America has been instrumental in helping to initiate and develop The Midnight Golf Program. The PGA instructors not only teach golf but let the young people know that they are worth the very best,” said Fluker. “We are grateful for the partnership that is helping transform the lives of our young people.”

The South Florida Chapter is the first program under the Midnight Golf Program to open outside of Detroit, and currently has 31 participants. Over the next 20 weeks, the program will teach the students a variety of valuable skills including financial literacy, college preparation and community activism, as well as how to play golf.

Experts from the community in everything from etiquette to banking will also donate their time as guest speakers each week to share their valuable life skills with the students while PGA Professionals provide expert instruction in the game of golf.

“The PGA of America is very pleased that South Florida will mark the next chapter in the success story of the Midnight Golf Program,” said PGA Chief Executive Officer Joe Steranka. “Golf’s inherent life values complement how one treats another off the course and form a major part of the Midnight Golf experience. We anticipate that South Florida PGA Professionals will carry on the great tradition of serving young people in this program.”

… Single mom started Midnight Golf program in Detroit in 2001 to give kids an alternative to street life. Patterned after the city’s successful Midnight Basketball, the golf counterpart starts its program at 5:30 pm with a three-course, sit-down dinner.

Kids learn good manners, golf skills and personal development. A highlight of the schedule is the annual college tour. The trip includes visits to a variety of schools and allows Midnight golfers to experience campus life.

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