Bally’s Links hosted a sold-out group for the annual City Parks Foundation Golf Classic, which raises funds for youth sports, arts and educational programming in 320 parks citywide.
The group of about 100 golfers on May 11 faced overcast skies, cool breeze and no rain for the all-day event, which featured lunch, cocktails and friendly competition in an 18-hole scramble tournament, with a future free round of golf for the winning team.
The event raised more than $200,000 and provided an opportunity to celebrate Bally’s Links’ ongoing partnership with the City Parks Foundation and its CityParks Play program. The nonprofit has helped more than 10,000 New York City youth learn a “sport for life” — track and field, soccer, tennis and golf — in their own neighborhood parks at no cost.
In the golf program, the highest-level youth players ages 10 to 17 get to play at Bally’s, designed by legendary golf pro Jack Nicklaus with stunning skyline views in every direction.
“We try to provide opportunity, simple as that,” Mike Silverman, director of special projects for CityParks Play, told the Bronx Times.
When kids get to play at a top-notch course at a young age, it makes a big impression, he added.
“This is their Pebble Beach,” he said, referencing the California public course widely considered to be the best in the country. “The experience [kids] have here, it can be life-changing.”
CityParks golf has about 1,500 youth members and a proven track record of success. Alumni of the program have gone on to win college scholarships and earn national rankings.
And kids ages 10 to 17 are also making names for themselves. The two teams affiliated with the PGA Junior League, based out of Bally’s Links and the Junior Golf Center in Brooklyn, have made the regional finals for the past four years and have their eyes set on the national championship, according to Chris Brady or “Coach Chris,” co-director of golf at the center in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
In teaching golf —especially to those who may be intimidated by the game or have little exposure to it— keeping it fun is key, Brady said.
CityParks golfers don’t spend hours a driving range with an instructor looming them. Instead, young golfers start at baseball fields in their neighborhood parks, using wiffle balls and putting onto a tic-tac-toe board on the ground to test their accuracy.
Under this model, young players form fast friendships, build essential golf skills and are motivated to stick with it, Brady said. “They don’t even realize that they’re learning.”
The ultimate hope is that young people not only learn how to drive and putt but build healthy habits and life skills such as confidence, mental toughness and teamwork that carry them through the rest of their lives, Silverman said.
Nothing is more important than “access and opportunity,” he added.
Brian Crowell, general manager of Bally’s Links who was named National PGA Professional of the Year, reiterated Bally’s commitment to bringing more young people into the game.
Golf “checks all the boxes” to prepare kids for life, he said during his lunch remarks.
Crowell introduced two up-and-coming stars of the game: Eduard Tervooren, 10, and Ava Chen, 11, both from Brooklyn, whom he said represent “Tiger Woods-type stories.”
Chen just won her age division at the 2026 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club on April 5 and already played at some of the world’s top courses.
“It’s amazing how poised and composed young Ava Chen is,” Crowell said.
Tervooren has won 9 of his last 12 tournaments and will play in the U.S. Golf Kids World Championship this summer.
Both young players have strong support from their families but got their start through free lessons in their area parks. “What CityParks has done for them is immeasurable,” Crowell said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
