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Help Grow the Game of Golf, Support Sharpstown High

I’ve always felt golf was a special game because it teaches you so many valuable lessons about life.

Hard work, learning to control your emotions, honesty…the list can go on forever.

This is why golf can be such an important tool to help shape the minds of youth, and teach them some of the most important skills necessary to succeed professionally and personally when they are adults.

There’s been a lot of recent debate about how to grow the game, and much of it is focused on what everyone can do to get more young people involved with golf to secure its future.

Most of it is just talk though, and there’s not enough action in my opinion. I have thought about what I can personally do to help golf grow, and I hope running my site can be a small part of that. But to be honest, it’s not really enough.

Well someone is doing something.

His name is Paul Nagi, and I’d like to tell you about something special that is going on at Sharpstown High School in Houston.

I hope hearing his story will inspire you.

An Unusual Path 

Paul is the inventor of a training aid called The Pill. I use it myself, and I think it’s one of the best ways people can practice their putting and chipping no matter where they are.

Like most entrepreneurs, Paul set out to make a successful company around his invention. His long-term plan was to use his influence in the golf industry to give something back, and do his part to grow the game.

After just a few short years, he completely changed his outlook. Instead of working hard and growing his business, he asked himself one simple question…

“What am I waiting for?”

So he got in touch with Sharpstown High School, an inner-city school in Houston that was once the subject of a PBS Documentary called Dropout Nation. Something felt right about the school, and Paul felt he could make a difference there.

So he put his Masters degrees to work, became a full-time teacher, and set out to build a golf program that he could use as a tool to mentor the kids who needed some help.

Paul’s goal is simple. He wants to use golf to help build a community and get his students on the right path to college and beyond. The game had been such a positive influence on his life, and he wanted to share that with anyone he could.

Slow and Steady Progress 

Paul and his students have made their golf program front and center. When you arrive at Sharpstown High, you will see a bunker they built and their make shift driving range right next to the school’s entrance.

Plenty of people in the community have donated their time, and it’s a testament to Paul’s passion and determination to make the project successful.

They need help though. Like any public school, funds are tight and there isn’t excess money to help grow the facility.

That’s where he and I are humbly asking for help.

I’ve spoken to Paul a number of times on the phone, and he is not someone who is looking for free handouts. He doesn’t want to waste a dime of any money that is donated to the project. His goal is to set up a scholarship fund for each student, and continue to build out their practice facility.

He also wants to hold his students to a high standard, and make sure that they not only succeed, but also pass everything they learned on to others.

This is a unique way to help spread golf, but more importantly use it as a positive influence to impact these kids’ lives. Having a constructive outlet to focus on when you’re a teenager is extremely important , and golf is an excellent way to fill that void.

More importantly, teenagers need more mentors like Paul who are willing to donate their time, show them that someone does care, and that their future can be bright if they work hard.

Sharpstown High could be just the beginning.

If this program is successful, Paul hopes that similar ones can spread to inner-city schools around the country.

People have started to take note of what’s going on too. Paul was recently interviewed by The Golf Channel (you can watch it here), and he has already gotten support from many of his contacts in the golf industry.

I hope anyone who reads this article will do their best to help spread the word. Golf can be more than just a game. Here’s a chance to make that a reality.

Paul has set up a Go Fund Me campaign on behalf of the program. Any money donated will be used to help purchase equipment, and more importantly help fund these students’ dreams of going to college.

Anything you can donate would be appreciated, and please spread the word about what is going on here.

He can’t do all of this by himself.

Let’s grow the game of golf and help Sharpstown High.

You can make your donation to the project here, and please do what you can to help spread the word!