The 18STRONG Podcast 166: Kris Hart | The Next Generation of Competitive Golf
Kris Hart, Co-founder of “Nextgenfolf”, joins us today to talk both about what his company stands for, and the importance of supporting young talent in the game of golf. Hart played varsity golf at Bryant University his first three years in college, but life got in the way senior year and he wasn’t able to compete on the team.
Three years after graduation, Nextgengolf was founded to help solve some of the fundamental problems with non-varsity collegiate golf. Nextgengolf originated as a Boston-based affordable golf membership program for recreational college students called CollegeGolfPass, which helped make golf more affordable for college students. The company expanded nationwide after merging with The National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) in 2013, and in 2014, the Nextgengolf City Tour was developed which provides team-based golfing opportunities for young adults in their 20’s and 30’s near major cities.
Kris Hart’ Background
- Kris Hart is the CEO and Co-Founder of NextGenGolf.
- Hart graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bryant University with a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration; Financial Services.
- Kris’s Approach: Our organization does not focus on the best golfers; rather we support “the rest” and care about the future sustainability of golf.
- Next
Highlights from this Episode
- Kris tells us about what sparked NextGenGolf into fruition, the patience of starting this program, the infrastructure of club golf, its similarities to varsity golf and its benefits to the students both as a competitive outlet while remaining an easy commitment for students to get the most out of their collegiate career.
- The process of starting a club team, finding a student leader, and getting recognized by the school. He also emphasizes the importance of having student voices that help dictate the direction of the National College Club Golf (NCCGA) so it is always benefiting the players.
- How the City Tours is a remedy to the question “what do I do after college golf?” and how it caters to all levels of play, from your serious competitors and recreational players.
- How they utilize connections with the PGA and professionals to both help their players and help the PGA understand what direction the game and its future stable of players are excited about and want to see from them. He also reflects on the “generation gap” and his views on how he is traversing and educating on this issue.
- How they have recently expanded into high school golf, it’s important to create an identity nationally and to get the information to young golfers and their families.
Caddy Shack or Happy Gilmore?
Happy Gilmore
What is your walk-out song?
0 to 100 by Drake
Who would you want to spend a day on the course with and what course would you play?
I would play Arnold Palmer at Cyprus Point.
What has you most excited about where you guys are and what’s coming in the future?
I think it’s really exciting that we got to launch highschoolgolf.org and reflecting on where we’ve grown with the city tour over the last 3 years. There is still so much opportunity to grow with the NCCGA and know there are many more schools we can reach out to and create that opportunity.
Get into contact with Kris and NextGenGolf at:
High School Golf
Instagram: @Nextgengolfclub
Twitter: @Nextgolfer
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