Central Oregon Junior Golf Association finding new niche in golf instruction

(Update: adding video, comments from COJGA tournament director)

'There's a huge void in getting kids exposed to golf.'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Nate Kitt loves teaching golf.

"It lets me be a kid again," he told NewsChannel 21 on Monday. "That's probably the bottom line."

Kitt is the tournament director for the Central Oregon Junior Golf Association (COJGA), which is gearing up for the it's summer season.

But the Bend resident said COJGA has had a bit of an identity crisis over the past few years. 

"We've been known as more a tournament organization, appealing to more competitive and established golfers in the past," he said.

In the hierarchy of junior golf tournaments, the top talent plays in American Junior Golf Association events. Those are golfers trying to get on the radars of college coaches.

Then you have state-level events, such as the ones run by the Oregon Golf Association.

COJGA sees itself as a "feeder tour," exposing kids to their first taste of tournament golf and preparing them to compete, instead of having them already compete.

"We're trying to get more clubs in more kids' hands and focus a little bit less on only the competitive, established golfers," Kitt said.

They'll still run tournaments for kids as young as 5 to high school ages, but there will also be more of the exposure clinics, like the one held Monday at Bend Golf Club.

"There's a huge void in getting kids exposed to golf," Kitt said, "so we're trying to take this approach that is more inclusive, more affordable and less intimidating for all kids."

That can mean both having scholarships to help families cover the barriers, or setting up dino-themed courses, like the one Kitt had at Bend's practice hole.

Registration for the upcoming tournament season starts on March 15. You can find more information on COJGA's website.