Give Back

Steve Waszak is a Manufacturing and Technology executive based in Escondido, California, and a proud member of Aviara Golf Club. He serves on the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation's Scholarship Committee and is a committed volunteer whose favorite part of his involvement is simple: seeing the kids, parents, and coaches show up and build something together. A community with a brighter future, as he puts it.

At home, Steve is surrounded by the people and things that matter most. His better half Carmen, two kids, five grandkids, and their dogs Charlie and Barkley keep life full and loud in the best possible way. His greatest pride, above all professional accomplishments, is his family and everything they have achieved.

Away from work and the course, Steve is a man of eclectic taste and genuine curiosity. His favorite musician is Carlos Santana, with Yes, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin in a perpetual three-way tie for favorite band. He first got behind the wheel of a 1970 Chevy Malibu, though he will tell you his Jeep Wrangler was the real fun. His favorite book is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, his guilty pleasure is anything chewy, and when he is not on the course he is most likely out in nature on a hiking trail. If he could have any other career, he would be an inventor and explorer.

The quote he lives by: "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

On the course, Steve keeps it practical with his rangefinder as his favorite gadget, follows Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Tiger Woods, and has one reform he would love to see more of: walking-only days.

When it comes to getting more juniors into the game, Steve's message is open and welcoming. Golf is a sport anyone can play. With a little coaching and practice, you are in it. Where you take it from that first swing is entirely up to you. And beyond the sport itself, golf is a way to meet great people, make lifelong friends, get outside, get moving, and spend a few hours in good company.

Patrick Muñoz is an attorney based in Newport Beach and a member of Santa Ana Country Club. He has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for approximately ten years, making him one of the organization's longest-serving supporters.

For Patrick, supporting junior golfers is about helping the next generation fall in love with a game that gives back far more than it asks. Golf, in his view, is a vehicle for life lessons, and getting young people into it early is one of the most meaningful things you can do for them.

Patrick has been playing since he was about ten years old, introduced to the game by his parents. His favorite club is his 56-degree wedge, and he will tell you exactly why: it is what he can do with it. If he had a free round anywhere in the world, he would choose Augusta, no deliberation needed. His dream foursome would put him alongside Tiger Woods and John Daly, two of the most compelling figures the game has ever produced. The golf would be great. The stories would be legendary.

His pitch to junior golfers is one of the most practical and honest you will hear: "You will meet people on this course who will become your best friends and your closest business associates. Golf is a sport for life. When you are grown and sitting across from a client, you are not going to say let's go play soccer. You are going to say let's grab lunch and sneak out to the course afterward."

Off the course, Patrick is an accomplished home chef, something he says most people do not know about him. If he were not practicing law, he would be running a small inn in a ski town. His favorite song is Cat's in the Cradle, a record that shaped the kind of father he wanted to be.

The best advice he has ever received is the kind that sounds simple until you really sit with it. "Treat everyone you meet the way you would want to be treated, because you will see people on the way down the ladder of life that you saw on the way up."

Hae Yung Kim is a Principal Consultant specializing in Health Care and Education, based in Santa Monica. She is a member of the Industry Hills Women's Golf Association and has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for three years.

For Hae Yung, the work with the Foundation is personal. It is her way of paying forward the support and encouragement she has received throughout her own life, and she brings that sense of gratitude and purpose to everything she does with the organization. If she were not consulting, she would be building something of her own: a company driven by positive impact in the world.

Hae Yung has been playing golf for more than 30 years, introduced to the game by a close friend. Her favorite club is her gap wedge, and the reason is straightforward: she trusts it almost completely, every single time. When it comes to a dream round, she would choose Cypress Point, one of the most beautiful and storied courses in the world, from a list she admits has many worthy contenders.

Her dream foursome is a deeply meaningful one. She would bring her brother, her long-time mentor John Kobara, whose influence on her life both professionally and personally has been profound, and leave one spot open for a wildcard.

Her message to junior golfers is simple and true: golf puts you in the room with great people doing interesting things. That alone is worth picking up a club.

The best advice Hae has ever received? Be you.

Stephanie Lue is a Software Engineering Director at Google, based in Santa Monica. At home it is just Stephanie and her dog Pepper, though her brother David, sister-in-law Melissa, and young nephew Jackson live right in the neighborhood. The family is working hard to get Jackson interested in golf.

Stephanie has been playing for a quarter century, picking up the game in high school. On the course, she is a fan of Nelly Korda, and if she could change one thing she would make faster play the standard: four hours or less, every course, no exceptions. She would also love to see 12 and 15 hole round options, and a rule that finally does something about hitting out of divots.

Her greatest pride is people. Stephanie is passionate about mentoring and coaching, inside and outside of work, and considers being part of someone's life and career journey one of her deepest honors. That same spirit of giving back runs through everything she does. She and her mother volunteered together at local food banks and assistance ministries when she was a girl, and paying it forward has been part of her life ever since.

Off the course, Stephanie is an avid baker who loves making cookies, pies, cakes, and cupcakes. If she were not in software engineering she would be running a bakery. Her favorite book is Hidden Figures, she has had Elton John on repeat lately, and her most-visited non-work website is YouTube, where she watches cooking videos, dog training tutorials, and fix-it guides for around the house. Her first car was a Chevy Tahoe, her guilty pleasure is a plain glazed donut hole from Randy's Donuts, and the gadget she cannot live without is her phone. Without it, she says, she would have no idea where she was supposed to be or what she was supposed to be doing.

Her message to junior golfers is simple and true: golf is more than a sport. It is a lifelong activity where you build lasting friendships with people who share a love for the game.

Kevin Anderson is a Software Executive based in Manhattan Beach and a proud member of The Los Angeles Country Club. He has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for two years, but his connection to the game runs much deeper than that.

Golf has given Kevin everything. His favorite memories with his father live on a golf course. His most competitive moments in life were played in golf tournaments, many of them supported by the SCGA. His closest friendships were made through the game. Golf has been his outlet to get outside, think more clearly, and know himself better. Supporting junior golfers in Southern California, he says, means everything to him.

Kevin was introduced to the game by his father and three older brothers, and probably first held a club around the age of four. His dream foursome would put him alongside Fred Couples, Davis Love III, and Tiger Woods. Freddy was his idol growing up, and the admiration stuck: to this day, most people in his family call him Fred instead of Kevin.

His advice to junior golfers cuts right to it: think long term. Look around and ask yourself how many 70-year-olds you see playing basketball, football, or baseball. Golf is the greatest lifelong sport there is. And nothing beats the feeling of bombing a drive or sinking a long putt.

The best advice Kevin has ever received: the harder you work, the more luck you create for yourself.

Bob Baker is a Commercial Real Estate Consultant based in Torrance and a member of Lakewood Men's Golf Club. He has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for six years and has been playing golf for fifty.

Bob started as a caddy at twelve years old, and the game has never left him. His favorite club is his putter, for the most practical of reasons: it is the scoring club. If he had one free round anywhere in the world, he would choose Augusta National without hesitation.

Bob has spent more than forty years in the same field, building a career defined not just by professional accomplishment but by the relationships and mentorships along the way. That is something he wishes more people knew about him: the depth of the connections he has built and the people he has helped grow in the industry.

His advice to junior golfers reflects everything the game has taught him. Golf will show you how to deal with people. You can play it competitively or recreationally for your entire life. You play it outside, among the grass and the trees. What could be better than that?

The book that has shaped him most is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, a story that invites you to look back and see how even a brief encounter with another person can leave a lasting mark on your life. And the best advice he has ever received: if you are torn between your mind and your heart, follow your heart. Just be smart about it.

Kevin Beggs is a Television Executive based in San Marino and a member of both Annandale Golf Club and San Gabriel Country Club. He has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for three years. If he were not in television, he would be an educator.

Kevin came to golf at eleven years old when his family moved next door to a golf development community. In that neighborhood, a sport the outside world considered uncool was anything but, and local kids would sneak onto the course at dusk after it closed to play a few holes. Once he started, he was hooked.

For Kevin, supporting junior golf is about access. Golf is an extraordinary sport with value that stretches far beyond competition, touching professional development, social connection, travel, and character. But it remains largely inaccessible. Supporting junior golf in Southern California, a rare year-round golf environment in one of the most diverse cities in the world, is a way to change that.

On the course, Kevin's favorite club is his Callaway Apex 19-degree Utility Wedge, a club that has produced some of his most ambitious and rewarding approach shots. His dream round would be at Riviera. His dream foursome: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. Legends, full stop.

His advice to juniors is characteristically straight: learn this sport now and you can play your whole life. And the great thing is the ball does not move. You have a very good chance of hitting it.

Away from the course, Kevin is on day 675 of Duolingo Spanish. His favorite book is The Great Gatsby, a novel he returns to as a reminder that the American Dream is often built on deception, ambition, and illusion. And the best advice he has ever received: you may be the smartest person in the room, but there is never any need to make that claim.

Jeff DeLarme is a Wealth Manager and part-time instructor at UCLA, based in Palos Verdes Estates and a member of Palos Verdes Golf Club. He has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for five years. If he were not in wealth management or the classroom, he would be a pilot, a tour caddie, or serving in the Coast Guard.

Jeff came to golf through a childhood friend and his father, who took him to the Rancho Park driving range for the first time. He has never forgotten the moment the golf bug bit. He has been playing for 27 years, and in that time the game has become central to who he is as an individual, a business owner, and a community member.

Growing up, his family did not play golf and did not have easy access to it. His father was a Xerox repairman and the family got by on very little. What opened the door for Jeff was the generosity of people in the golf community who supported him along the way. Supporting junior golf, for him, is the best way he knows to pay that forward.

On the course, Jeff trusts his lob wedge above all others. It has seen everything, saved more strokes than any other club in his bag, and earned its place as his most reliable partner. His dream round would be at Augusta, still on the bucket list, though Spyglass and Cypress Point rank among his all-time favorites. His dream foursome, however, is not a celebrity lineup. It is his standing Sunday group, competitive, close, and full of shared history. There is nothing better, he says, than wanting what you already have.

Away from the game, Jeff is self-described as sarcastic and dry in a way that sometimes gives the wrong impression of who he really is. His favorite band is Nada Surf, and the golf book that first hooked him on the game was Nick Faldo's A Swing for Life.

His advice to juniors is among the most thoughtful you will hear: do not underestimate the dividends this game will pay in life, even if you are never the best player or never pursue it professionally. Golf teaches fairness, relationships, business, community, and most of all, yourself. And the best advice he has ever received: try to get a little better every day. In golf, in work, in relationships, in life.

im Jandro is a Commercial Real Estate professional based in Palos Verdes Estates who has been involved with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for two years. His connection to junior golf is personal, built over years of traveling across Southern California with his two sons as they competed in SCGA Junior Golf tournaments. Along the way, he saw firsthand how much more access was needed for young players. He is thrilled to be part of the work to change that.

Jim has been playing his entire life, introduced to the game by his father. His favorite club is his 26-degree hybrid, a versatile tool he trusts for high-landing approach shots and chipping from just off the fringe. If he had a free round anywhere, he would choose Augusta National, a course he has admired on television and in person at the Masters and considers both magnificent and demanding.

His dream foursome is not about famous names. It would be a day on the course with his father, who is no longer with him, and his two sons. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jim is passionate about giving back and considers his involvement with the Foundation one of the most meaningful things he does. His advice to juniors is as much about life as it is about golf: the relationships you build on this course are unlike anything in any other sport. It is a game you can play everywhere in the world, for your whole life. The greatest athletes on earth are drawn to it for a reason. It is hard to master, and that is exactly the point.

The book that shaped him early is The Richest Man in Babylon, a simple read with a lasting impact on how he thinks about financial life. And the best advice he has ever received, delivered with full honesty: learn how to learn, be a good listener,and don't suck.

Jordan Wiggins is a Partner/Principal at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, and brings a wealth of leadership experience to the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation Board of Directors. He also serves on the Corporate Advisory Board of the USC Marshall School of Business and is affiliated with the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission (LASEC).

Jordan's passion for junior golf is both professional and deeply personal. A lifelong fan of the game, he has watched his son grow up playing golf since the age of five and has witnessed firsthand the transformative impact the sport has on young people. 

For Jordan, supporting junior golfers goes beyond the game itself. He believes golf and life share many of the same lessons, and he is passionate about helping young players develop the mindset, resilience and character that carry far beyond the course.

His favorite golf memory is a recent one: watching Rory McIlroy complete the Career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters, capping a dramatic playoff against Justin Rose with "a birdie putt for the ages". Though he admits that watching his son win the LACC Junior Club Championship might just edge it out.

When asked about his proudest accomplishment, Jordan points not to his professional achievements but to his children. Watching them grow into hardworking, determined and joyful sixteen-year-olds is what he is most proud of.

If Jordan could play a dream round, he would tee it up with Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Wyndham Clark and Jack Nicklaus — a foursome that would make for an unforgettable afternoon of conversation and competition.

His advice to every junior golfer in the Foundation's programs is simple: "Stay positive. Golf has its ups and downs, and the ability to keep a positive mindset while continuing to grow your game is one of the most important skills you can develop, on the course and off."

Patrick Wolfe is a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager in Private Credit asset management, where he invests in businesses through credit instruments. He is based in Newport Beach and has been a dedicated supporter of the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation for six years.

Patrick's connection to golf runs deep and begins at home. He has been playing his entire life, introduced to the game by his father, who has worked in the golf industry for more than 50 years. That legacy shaped not only his love of the sport but his understanding of what it can open up. For Patrick, supporting junior golfers is one of his greatest passions precisely because he has seen firsthand how golf creates opportunities in business and in life, and giving more young people access to those same doors matters deeply to him.

On the course, Patrick's favorite club is his sand wedge. His philosophy is straightforward: a strong short game is the fastest path to becoming a good golfer. And if he had one free round anywhere in the world, he would not hesitate. Augusta National.

His dream foursome would bring together his father, Fred Couples, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan, a group that blends personal meaning with pure legend.

Away from finance and fairways, Patrick comes from a family of farmers who have worked the land in central California for over 80 years. It is something he wishes more people knew about him, and something that clearly shaped who he is. If he were not in asset management, he says he would most likely be back on the farm.

His advice to junior golfers is as grounded as his roots: just have fun. Don't worry about your score or your handicap. That will come with time.

The best advice Patrick has ever received? Find what makes you happy, be the best at it, and success will follow.

eff Ninnemann serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Southern California Golf Association. He previously served as the Association's Executive Director, a role he accepted in 2024 after short terms as Interim Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. Ninnemann's executive administration roles followed a 17-year stint in the SCGA’s Championships and Golf Operations department, the last 10 years of which he served as Director and department head. He began his SCGA career in 2003 as a USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern.

As Chief Executive Officer, Jeff is responsible for overseeing all activities of the SCGA, including program development and business operations. He provides strategic direction and leadership to ensure alignment with the organization's mission and goals, offering guidance and support to the SCGA Executive Committee and Board of Directors. He oversees various departments and manages a team of 30-plus staff members. Jeff also manages all financial aspects of the organization, including budgeting, investment portfolio, revenue generation, expenditures and audits. He also closely collaborates with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation team to promote and advance the Foundation's initiatives.

Jeff’s leadership in golf expands beyond the SCGA as he currently holds board positions with the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation and the California Alliance for Golf. He is also an Allied Golf Association council member, SoCal Golf Hall of Fame Committee co-chair, and executive committee member of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. Jeff has served on the Rules Committee at over 15 USGA championships, including five U.S. Open Championships and two Walker Cups.

Jeff resides in Moorpark, Calif. with his wife, Karin, and two children.

Lynne Haraway is a retired International Business Development and Engineering Services professional based in Northridge and a proud member of Wood Ranch Golf Club. She was drawn to serve on the SCGA Board during a pivotal moment for the organization: the unification of the WSCGA with the SCGA, a milestone she wanted to be part of shaping.

Lynne has been playing golf off and on for forty years and consistently for the past fifteen. For her, the game is about more than competition. It is about showing up, playing by the rules, and honoring the spirit of the sport. Her favorite rule of golf is exactly that: play by the rules and the spirit of the game.

Beyond her board service, Lynne volunteers at professional tournaments including The Genesis Invitational, where she enjoys working across different areas from the cart barn to greeting and concierge. 

If she could play a round with anyone, living or gone, s he would spend that day with her father, her mother and her husband. And at the end of the round, her favorite 19th hole is home.

Her advice to junior golfers speaks to everything the game has given her: golf is something you can play your whole life, with friends, family and colleagues. It will help you in whatever direction your life takes, professionally and personally, and you will have fun doing it.

Off the course, Lynne's greatest passion is continuous learning and specifically the pursuit of becoming the best version of herself for the people and causes she cares about.

Her message to Southland golfers on why they should join the SCGA is characteristically straightforward: come for a fair and equitable game, enjoy it with friends and compete if that is your thing.