About Us
Founded in 2004 under Shreveport/Bossier Junior's Tour.
Front 9 Tour is where kids grow through the game of golf. The students play competitively at their local area golf course for ultimate practice and receive top-quality golf instruction. Front 9 Tour's first tournament was held in June of 2005 in Shreveport, LA and was a complete success.
The Front 9 Tour is founded on Christian principles with a mission to further God's kingdom through the game of golf. Matthew 19:14 says, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." God also commanded us in Proverbs 22:6 to "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." The seven life essentials that the game of golf teaches is honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, determination, perseverance, character and commitment. The Front 9 Tour emphasizes these in a five minute "life truth" lesson before each tournament along with a prayer.
The Front 9 Tour believes that every child should have an opportunity for a higher education and supports this belief with college scholarships for its Interns. As a non-profit organization, The Front 9 Tour relies heavily on its sponsors and those that donate to the program. Since the Tour began, it has been blessed with enough donations to give out over $70,000.00 in college scholarships. Front 9 Tour is very proud of this and hopes to continue blessing students in this way as the Tour grows.
In 2012 the Front 9 Tour lost one of its members to a tragic automobile accident. The Tour set up the Hayden Hough Scholarship fund in his honor and proceeds go to a college scholarship to be awarded to a former member of the Front 9 Tour. This award is presented at the Hayden Hough Junior Memorial each year.
Michael Johnson/Co-founder is a native of Arkansas who grew up playing competitive golf. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University where he was a member of the college golf team. He and his wife, Melanie reside in Shreveport, LA and have two children. Michael is the Golf Director for the Caddo Parish Middle and High Schools, and is a member of the FCA golf committee.