Palmer Course Design views this partnership as an opportunity to help tribes reach their economic goals while at the same time helping to grow the game of golf in Indian Country through the NAJGA.

NAJGA, based in Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas, is in its fourth year of operation and is currently working with seven tribes across the country. It hopes to have 15 – 20 Chapters on board by the end of next year. James “JB” Cisneros is the founder of the Native American Junior Golf Association and a member of the Kickapoo Tribe. He has been actively promoting the organization and its goal of providing tribes with access to the best equipment, instruction, and facilities. This effort is greatly supported by NAJGA’s president, Mr. Steve McDonald, a Native American and member of the Prairie Bank Potawatomi, and a 17 year member of the PGA of America.

The partnership was officially cemented during a blanket ceremony at the Bay Hill Invitational this past March in Orlando, Florida. JB Cisneros, NAJGA founder presented Arnold Palmer with a blanket blessed by tribal elders of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas. Palmer stated that he was excited at the positive benefits the NAJGA would have on Native American youth, as well as the potential growth of golf domestically that this organization could provide.