Grantee Spotlight | Ace Kids Golf
Ace Kids Golf is the premier junior golf program for East Bay youth, has been a pillar in the community for unlocking the potential of kids through the game of golf. Founded in 1998, the mission of Ace Kids Golf is to create positive and productive citizens in the community through youth development, life skills, and educational opportunities using the game of golf.
Preston Pinkney, Ace Kids Golf Program Director, and Oakland native, has been working with the organization for over 20 years and credits his own East Bay upbringing as a catalyst for his passion for introducing youth to all the golf world has to offer and changing the stigma around access to the sport of golf.
When Pinkney first began helping build out the program in the early 2000’s as a Recreational Specialist, Ace Kids Golf only had 100-125 students enrolled in the program. He reflected on the first time he shuttled a group of students to see Tiger Woods play, “I remember attending the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and thought ‘Hey, if this is what’s going on, and [kids in lower-income communities] are not being exposed to it, I have to make sure every kid I interact with has this opportunity, because we weren’t exposed to it and never got the opportunity to participate.”
When the Eat. Learn. Play. and Ace Kids Golf partnership kicked off in 2019, they were serving around 900 youth annually until the COVID-19 pandemic closed program operations for the first half of 2020. After reopening in June, Pinkney and his team provided safe and structured golf programs for 690 youth whose families could drive them to the golf course. Unfortunately, transportation was not available. Because Ace Kids Golf was one of the only city programs still in operation during 2020, Pinkney says it is a major reason kids, parents, and staff came back.
Through the numerous youth development programs offered by Ace Kids Golf, Pinkney believes the most critical and valuable skills students take away from the program are leadership, confidence, goal setting abilities, integrity, and respect. “We have so many programs and opportunities for youth to stay involved with us.” he said. Ace Kids Golf’s Sports Psychology program teaches students how to conduct their own personal assessments with the goal of developing perseverance. In 2019, Ace Kids Golf received the Hi Impact Award. This award is given to the top 4% of programs in the country that use positive youth development practices for social and emotional learning. In addition, Ace Kids Golf offers their CIT (Counselors-in-Training) program for job training, which helps students stay involved through high school.
The impact of the Eat. Learn. Play. partnership has created numerous opportunities for Ace Kids Golf, including visibility of the program and access to quality sports equipment, including shirts, golf shoes, golf clubs, and the resources to use a training facility.
Over the years, through his work with Ace Kids Golf, Preston Pinkney continues to tap into his passion for providing youth with new opportunities to thrive through golf. “Nobody gets turned down [at Ace Kids Golf], and we believe that with our village, we can continue to bring new opportunities to youth in our community.”
For more information on Ace Kids Golf, visit www.acekidsgolf.org. Photography courtesy of Desmond Charles Photography and Ace Kids Golf.
