Troon Supports 2023 Midnight Golf Program College Road Trip for Success
In late March, 216 high school seniors and 62 mentors left Detroit in six buses for a weeklong road trip. The trip would take the group to multiple states, eight college campuses, three museums and two golf courses. The 2023 Midnight Golf Program College Road Trip for Success was a life changing experience for the seniors, seeing the college campuses in person, receiving scholarship offers and being accepted into institutions of higher education that included Historically Black Colleges and Universities and top-tier research universities.
The Midnight Golf Program is a Bingham Farms, Michigan-based group dedicated to equipping determined young adults through life skills training, proactive coaching, long-term mentoring, and the discipline of golf in order to succeed in college, in their careers, and beyond. The program was founded in 2001 by Reneé Fluker, a social worker and single mother who noticed the impact golf had on her son’s life—a student golfer who encouraged her to find a way to provide other young people with the opportunity to experience the game he loved and the doors he believed it had opened for him. It started as an offshoot of the safe streets initiative called Midnight Basketball. Over time, it has come to have another meaning.
“Playing golf at night is impossible unless someone shines a light. The program uses the game of golf to give young people a brighter vision of their future,” says Fluker.
The Midnight Golf Program defies conventional wisdom that targeting high school students is “too little too late,” and is committed to preparing all students for college attendance and graduation. So far, they have made their commitment a reality as 100 percent of the students completing the program have gone on to attend college.
Troon was proud to support the 2023 Midnight Golf Program College Road Trip for Success through a $10,000 sponsorship. The weeklong adventure created countless memories and possibilities for the students’ futures.
“The Midnight Golf Program does amazing work and makes meaningful impacts in the lives of those who participate,” said Scott Van Newkirk, Chief Development Officer, Troon. “It was important to Troon that we help offset the costs associated with travel to see these colleges and universities.”