Key Takeaways
- A 25-store summer pilot grew into a national program spanning more than 175 Golf Galaxy and 35 DICK’S House of Sport locations.
- Members book $5 hourly simulator time and a complimentary PGA Teaching Professional lesson through DICK’S ScoreCard and Game Time Booking.
- The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation committed $300,000 over three years to fund 72 new public courses in the Youth on Course network around Houston.
- The expanded footprint adds 25 DICK’S stores across 16 states, including New York, Texas, Illinois and Georgia.
Youth on Course, the Monterey-based nonprofit focused on removing economic barriers to golf, has named Golf Galaxy, DICK’S Sporting Goods and DICK’S House of Sport as its Official Golf Retail Partners. The youth golf retail partnership formalizes and expands a 2025 collaboration that, according to the announcement, has generated more than 64,000 simulator rental hours for members across more than 175 Golf Galaxy and 35 DICK’S House of Sport locations.
From First Off-Grass Partnership to National Retail Program
The original 2025 deal was Youth on Course’s first-ever off-grass partnership, launched as a 25-store summer pilot. Per the release, that pilot scaled quickly enough to justify a permanent, year-round structure. The expanded program now adds 25 DICK’S stores in markets across 16 states, including New York, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Arizona and Washington.
The logic is straightforward: green-grass access has always been the core of the Youth on Course model, but weather, geography and tee-time scarcity limit how often young golfers can actually play. Retail simulators keep members swinging in the months and markets where courses can’t.
What Youth on Course Members Get at DICK’S Stores
Members receive simulator rentals for $5 per hour, one free lesson from a PGA Teaching Professional at select locations, and access to exclusive in-store events. Redemption runs through DICK’S existing retail infrastructure: members create or log into a DICK’S ScoreCard account, book through the Game Time Booking platform on the Golf Galaxy, DICK’S or House of Sport websites or apps, and present a valid Youth on Course membership card at check-in.
The partnership also includes a curated network of brand ambassadors and influencers, including golf media personality Hally Leadbetter, to reach what the organizations describe as a broader, more diverse audience of next-generation golfers.
“Expanding this initiative as our Official Golf Retail Partner allows us to seamlessly bridge the gap between off-course development and green-grass access,” said Adam Heieck, CEO of Youth on Course, in the announcement.
A $300,000 Foundation Grant Extends the Deal Beyond Retail
The partnership reaches past store walls through The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, which recently committed a three-year, $300,000 Sports Matter Grant to Youth on Course in Houston. The funding, structured as $100,000 annually, will support the addition of 72 public golf courses to the Youth on Course network over the next three years.
That course-network expansion is the piece operators should watch. Simulator hours build skills and habits, but the Houston grant converts retail engagement into actual rounds on public courses, the metric that ultimately defines whether a young golfer stays in the sport.
Simulator Hours Now, 72 Houston Courses by 2029
The structure here gives both sides a clean division of labor. DICK’S brands own the indoor, year-round touchpoint through more than 200 combined retail locations, while Youth on Course converts that engagement into on-course play through its network. Ryan Bogosta, Vice President at Golf Galaxy, said the goal is to combine immersive in-store experiences with Youth on Course’s community network to welcome new young golfers into the sport.
The confirmed milestones are specific: 25 additional DICK’S stores now live in 16 states, and 72 Houston-area public courses joining the network by the end of the three-year grant term. The open question is whether the 64,000 pilot simulator hours translate into a measurable jump in member rounds played, a number neither organization has yet published.
Source: Youth on Course, press release, http://www.youthoncourse.org/
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Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
