J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust Service to Golf

The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust’s new mission is to financially aid and empower qualified caddies and those working in golf operations in their pursuit of higher education. 

For more than 60 years, the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust has actively supported caddies in helping them achieve a college education. Now, in addition to continuing its longstanding support of caddies, the Trust will begin awarding college scholarships to those working in Service to Golf capacities at selected GAP (Golf Association of Philadelphia) Member Clubs. Service to Golf is defined as being employed in golf operations: bag room, driving range, cart management, and pro shop.

For a pilot program, the Trust selected more than two dozen GAP Member Clubs — many of which do not have caddie programs, and some of which are public facilities.  The hardworking young men and women that work in these Service to Golf roles enhance the golf experience. They hope to attend college and to pursue a brighter future, which the Trust wants to help make possible.

Applications are taken annually on the Trust’s website, www.plattscholar.org. Applicants are asked to submit financial documents, a school transcript, and proof of their employment record.  Applicants chosen as a finalist are asked to attend an interview with J. Wood Platt staff and the J. Wood Platt Board of Trustees. J. Wood Platt will award need-based Service to Golf scholarships of up to $5,000 annually. Recipients must continue to work when home from college, be enrolled in a college or university as a full-time undergraduate student, and maintain a minimum grade point average. Scholarship recipients are also highly encouraged to take advantage of the Trust’s EMPOWER Program, which provides mentoring and career preparation services.

The pilot program will run for two years, after which the Trust hopes to accept applications from anyone working in a Service to Golf capacity at all GAP Member Clubs.

The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust was created in 1958 by the Golf Association of Philadelphia through the efforts of then President Walter A. Schmidt; Leo Fraser, President of the local section of Professional Golfers Association of America; and Albert Keeping, Golf Professional at Gulph Mills Golf Club. It was named in honor of Philadelphia’s premier golfer of the era, J. Wood Platt. Not only was Mr. Platt an accomplished player, but he was also the Trust’s co-founder and first contributor. To date, more than 3,800 young men and women have received $24 million in aid from the Trust.

Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 288 Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.