The inaugural Nextgen City Tour season is well underway, with 13 cities across the nation participating in fun, 18-34 year old team-based best ball events. Through our first two months of launching the City Tour, we have learned a great deal about what millennials want, a low commitment tournament offering where they can still keep some of the old competitive juices flowing while meeting other young professionals in their city and balancing their busy schedules.
The feedback has been great. Players competing in our events have loved the experience, and we are using their feedback constantly to improve the City Tour. Whether these Nextgen members are competing in some of our largest cities such as Boston, New York, or Cincinnati or playing in one of our emerging cities like St. Louis or Atlanta, players have expressed their appreciation to our team for setting up these Sunday events throughout the summer.
What I have found most interesting is the vast diversity of players competing. Whether it be college students familiar with our NCCGA tournaments, prospective lawyers busy studying for the Bar Exam looking for a reason to get out and play, or busy young professionals grinding out 12 hour days in their jobs, everyone is yearning to get out to the course on Sundays.
Whether their goal is to meet new people or find a reason to get out to the course with their friends, the City Tour many of them have explained is perfect for them. Brett Brenner, team captain of “Bush is Back” in New York, puts it very well.
"I still have that competitive fire that I had as a kid playing sports. At this age, it's tough to find activities that still allow me to compete and have fun. Thankfully for me, I came across Nextgengolf while playing club golf at Penn State," Brenner said. "I knew that I’d try to play in the City Tour, and luckily I have some buddies that wanted to compete with me. The best part... I get to be involved with the City Tour for another ten years. I think I'll still have that competitive fire for awhile."
It’s people like Brett that remind us at Nextgengolf why the City Tour is something special, something to help grow the game of golf and keep 18-34 year olds involved regardless of where they are in their lives. For more information on the City Tour, feel free to email me at matt@nextgengolf.org.
**Matt Weinberger is the Nextgengolf City Tour Director, and can be reached on Twitter @bergsUD.
