GOLF
What IS a 'Googie & Friends' Golf Tournament?

Leonard Kirtley Jr. is the man they call "Googie." I am not privy to the origin of the nickname but, I can assure you, he is the savior for lots of youngsters who are growing up in the city of Oakland. For several decades, at one time or another, this man has served as president of most of the major golf clubs in the Oakland area and maybe even more than once. First it was Chabot Golf Club, then Galbreath Golf Club, and now the Metropolitan Golf Club. He is, in short, Mr. Golf of Oakland. His love of the game and his desire to give back to the community he loves so much spurred his decision to combine the game and his commitment, in order to give opportunities to the youngsters of Alameda County.

This past August, with help from other golfers and associates and, in particular, his friend the Honorable Laurence E. Reid, an Oakland City Council member, he hosted once again his now infamous Googie & Friends Golf Tournament fundraiser. This time the proceeds benefited not one, but five local organizations that specialize in offering youngsters choices for learning the game of golf, enjoying friendships with others who learn, and one group that actually teaches the art of turf grass management. All of these possibilities suggest a range of learning skills that can lead to permanent friendships, permanent career paths and a lifelong learning pattern that can and does promote both teamwork and productive individual life choices.

The five Oakland-based youth programs include Lake Chabot Junior Golf Academy, Metropolitan Junior Golf Program, Ace Kids Golf, The First Tee of Oakland, and my personal favorite, the Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative. The Lake Chabot and Metropolitan junior golf programs are maintained at each of the two individual golf courses and provide opportunities for youth in different parts of the city to find a program that works for them. In most cases, the only requirement for participation is parental approval.

The Ace Kids Golf program was started some years ago by a local businessman who wanted to make opportunities available for youth in disadvantaged areas to be exposed to the game of golf and have recreation choices not readily available to them. Ace currently serves youth from the city of Oakland's 12 community recreation centers, as well as local schools, YMCA, and Boys and Girls Clubs. Golf lessons are offered throughout the year at Lake Chabot, Montclair, Metropolitan Driving Range and the Ace Kids Golf Center.

The First Tee of Oakland Program was featured in the last issue of this magazine but deserves continued recognition for its core values. These values include sportsmanship, perseverance, honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, courtesy, confidence and judgment. These core values will carry each and every one of us through life if we really learn and use them.

My personal favorite of the programs that benefited financially from the tournament this year is the Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative (OTEI). The turf and landscape industry is a field that relates to agriculture and the environment with many different career paths. For instance, OTEI's own mission statements talks about careers in the green industry and the golf industry as well, jobs that were not necessarily available to youth when I was in school. Their purpose is to "promote academic skills, leadership, self-esteem, and integrity for Oakland's youth through education and work-based learning experiences" in both industries. I counted more than 21 careers that can be taken from this experience, from accounting to irrigation to professional turf and landscape management. Educational opportunities are available through a collaboration with Merritt College. What an exciting organization!

Included with this article is a photo of some of the youth who gave back to the tournament this year by helping with bags, registration and other areas necessary to put on a tournament of this size. I know Googie was grateful to them for coming out and giving back to the community that helped with their individual programs.

And how could I not promote the Metropolitan Golf Course, now fully developed and rebuilt to new standards. The weather and the greens make it a most inviting place to enjoy the game of golf.

celebrities joined Googie this year, including former Oakland Raider Raymond Chester and some former and current elected and appointed officials for Oakland and the surrounding areas. Congratulations on a fabulous day of golf and giving back.

So thanks to Googie and Friends and council member Larry Reid and others, students in Oakland can have so much more to choose from with these programs in place; so you see, it is not all about playing golf — although that opportunity should not be dismissed.

No one really knows just how much Googie has given in his years of devotion to the game, but it is pretty clear that even at a minimum, his tourneys have garnered hundreds of thousands of dollars in the decades of his sponsorship. Googie turned 86 years young this year and says he has lots more to give. We salute him now for the incredible life lessons he continues to teach to those who try to keep up with him. You can find him most days at the Metropolitan Golf Course in Oakland on Doolittle Drive, near the Oakland Airport. Drop by, shake his hand and thank him for watching out for our kids. He is truly one of a kind!

"There is more to life than golf. I've always had to finish my homework before playing."
—Tiger Woods

Shelia Young served two terms as mayor of the city of San Leandro.