Creating opportunities for everyone to experience the health and wellness benefits of the game through adaptive, therapeutic and youth Sunshine Programs.
Sunshine 2.0: The 80th year of the CDGA Foundation and the 25th year of Sunshine Through Golf Camps represent a new era of CDGA philanthropy. Initiatives that began with assisting World War II veterans in 1944 and expanded to the intellectually disabled in 1999 have evolved to include the physically disabled and youth.
Adaptive
Presented via a new partnership with the U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance, clinics and school programs allow individuals with physical disabilities to enjoy the game through modified rules and equipment. Golf outings hosted in collaboration with the Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center help empower veterans with visual impairments to live as independently as possible.
The CDGA also conducts the Chicago Adaptive Open, an event featuring the world's best golfers with physical and intellectual disabilities vying for a purse of $15,000. In 2024, the event's inaugural playing, individuals competed across 15 Sports Classifications on Cog Hill Golf & Country Club's Course No. 3 for prize money and valuable WR4GD and USAGA ranking points.
Over the past 25 years, the Sunshine Through Golf Camp Program has brought joy into the lives of thousands of individuals with intellectual disabilities. The camp program is a partnership between PGA Professionals, CDGA member clubs, Special Recreation Associations, Private Agencies or Park Districts, and the CDGA Foundation. The Foundation sponsors all expenses associated with the camp within reason.
Since 1944, the CDGA has also used golf clinics as restorative tools to support the health and healing of our nation's veterans, while bringing playing opportunities to active-duty military and their families. With RevelationGolf, the CDGA puts on clinics at the Great Lakes Naval Base, Cog Hill, the Bob Berry Sunshine Course at Midwest Golf House and the region’s various VA hospitals.
The CDGA and CDGA Foundation partnered with Youth on Course in 2016.
Founded by the Northern California Golf Association and headquartered in Pebble Beach, Youth on Course has expanded its reach to all 50 U.S. states and Canada. The organization subsidizes rounds for its age 6-18 members, ensuring that they can play for $5 or less. In its seventh season in the Chicago District in 2023, more than 6,000 youth golfers played nearly 19,000 affordable-access rounds at 60 local courses.
The CDGA also offers several scholarship opportunities for youth in the Chicago District, including the CDGA Foundation Scholarship and Folds of Honor scholarships.
The year 2024 marks three significant milestones for the CDGA and the CDGA Foundation. The CDGA's 110th anniversary, CDGA Foundation's 80th anniversary and Sunshine Through Golf Camp's 25th anniversary were highlighted in this April's issue of Chicago District Golfer.
