In 1980, the members of the PGA Tour Bible Study invited a number of college golfers to spend the week with them during the Western Open-- A PGA Tour Event in Chicago, Illinois. These professional golfers had a vision to build into the lives of young men and encourage them in their life and faith. 

College Golf Fellowship was birthed out from this first gathering, as one of the college golfers returned home to Fresno, California, and approached two businessmen with an idea to reach other college golfers with the hope of Jesus Christ. This idea became a reality as these businessmen hosted a banquet at the NCAA Championship in Fresno the following year. They invited all the participating teams to come and hear PGA Tour golfer, Larry Nelson, share about his life, golf career, and how his faith in Jesus Christ impacted his life. With the positive response from this first event, CGF began hosting other dinners at various college golf tournaments across the country and saw numerous young men find hope, peace, and purpose in a relationship with Christ.  
 
Over the next few years, the presence of CGF became increasingly prevalent at college golf tournaments. In 1985, CGF incorporated and formed a Board of Directors to help raise funds and give direction to the growing ministry. In 1988, Rik Massengale, a multiple winner on the PGA Tour, came on board as the Executive Director and led the ministry until 2001. 

Starting with that first outreach event held over 25 years ago, CGF has since grown and expanded into a national ministry with four full-time staff members ministering in four different regions across the country. CGF still hosts large outreach banquets exposing hundreds of college golfers and coaches to the Good News of Jesus Christ each year. However, our follow-up ministry has never been more effective as Steve Burdick (West Region), Brad Payne (Central Region), Stephen Bunn (Southeast Region), and Korky Kemp (East Region) seek to build into the lives of those who place their trust in Christ and/or express an interest in growing in their relationship with Him.


TOP^

For more information about why this ministry exists and its importance, please see:
Mission | Strategy | Purpose | Beliefs | Support