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Michael McDermott and Cole Berman, both past Philadelphia Amateur champions, had been individually pondering the idea of bridging the older and younger generations in golf.
The pair, who played an epic match in the round of 16 at the 2016 Philly Am, fondly remember being fortified for life with advice when they were on the course with older players. A post-COVID conversation on the practice range at Merion Golf Club ushered the idea into reality.
In 2021, propelled by what McDermott calls “the doer” in Berman, the duo founded the GolfBridge Society, a nonprofit mentoring program for junior players in the Philadelphia area.
“How could we create an organization for today’s generation of junior golfers that took the luck and circumstance out of it?” said Berman, 29, a two-time All-Big East player at Georgetown who won the Philly Amateur in 2015.
The program, free of charge to any junior golfer who completes an application, is held at Philadelphia-area courses on a summer/fall afternoon for golf, food and a bit of wisdom from the mentors. Three juniors play with one mentor at each event. After golf, while the kids eat and listen, the mentors talk.
“That 30-minute mentor session of ‘if I knew then what I know now’ is very powerful,” said McDermott, the principal/CEO at Kathmere Capital Management. He emphasized the impact of the messages on not just the kids but the parents and mentors as well.
McDermott’s business success has led to a small treasure of golf club memberships, including Augusta National Golf Club, Merion, Aronimink and Pine Valley. Through his network, GolfBridge Society members have been treated to videos on leadership and life from the likes of Hall of Famers Peyton Manning, Gary Player and Andy Roddick, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and decorated amateur Stewart Hagestad.
The themes and topics also vary from time management to college recruiting.
Starting with 24 players in 2021, the GolfBridge Society now has 70 players and 75 mentors, who basically subsidize the program with their donations.
“The biggest driver is word of mouth,” said Berman, who is an investor at Susquehanna Growth Equity and who served as the boys’ golf coach at the Haverford School, his alma mater, from 2019-22. “The kids talk and so do the parents.”
Incidentally, almost all of the players have at least one GolfBridge Society-logoed headcover on proud display.
The program seeks to enhance the interactions junior golfers have on the course with older folks, but not for short-game tips.
“Golf is almost like a superpower for a young kid,” said McDermott, 50, a five-time Golf Association of Philadelphia Player of the Year with three Philly Amateur titles to his credit. “It puts a 16-year-old kid in front of so many different types of people.
“We are teaching all the soft skills that you don’t learn in school, and you may not want to hear from your parents,” McDermott added. “If it comes from an accomplished golfer who is in the business world, it might sound like a better idea.”
McDermott and Berman said that golf is just an excuse to get everyone together.
Because of the popularity of the program, they have established an online curriculum, called the GolfBridge Academy, that is a weekly 20-minute Google Classroom session, open to members and parents, that focuses on their seven principles for success and relies on teachable moments that they’ve culled from YouTube as well as messages from the co-founders and mentors.
“We started it this year because we had too many kids for too few golf spots and more messages than we could get across to them in one day,” said McDermott, who played collegiately at St. Joseph’s University.
Berman, a member at Philadelphia Cricket Club, said that their “team” consists of local golf advocates and assists with much of the necessary administrative work and details.
Heavily involved in the work of the GolfBridge Society are GAP’s tournament director Chris Roselle, who Berman said is “Philadelphia junior golf;” Jackie Rogowicz, an outstanding player in her career at Penn State who recruits young female players as well as female mentors from her work as an investment analyst; Trey Runkle, who operates a popular Instagram handle called Outside the Cut; and Rob Powelson, CEO of the National Association of Water Companies.
The program is maturing as its first members are reaching college graduation. McDermott, an inveterate thank-you card writer (“It’s like a magic trick,” he says) said the first class is sending letters to thank the society for well-learned lessons that have been applied for personal success.
An admittedly lean organization, the GolfBridge Society is running nicely in the black thanks to mentor contributions and hopes to give an undetermined scholarship this year.
And the golf world is taking notice, as the program has received inquiries from a handful of other regions.
“We are not in franchise mode, but it should happen,” McDermott said. “There is no reason that this doesn’t exist outside of the Philadelphia area.”
Berman and McDermott are determined to continue to repay golf through the GolfBridge Society.
“We have tried to make this as broad a reach as possible with First Tee, private and public-school kids and use it like a melting pot,” McDermott said. “All these kids from different circumstances can become friends through this program.”
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