The First Tee
Teaching Life's Lessons on the Golf Course
By Hilda Ochoa

It’s 4 p.m. on a school day. At the recently opened Harvey Penick Golf Campus, a PGA tour-designed 112-acre facility in East Austin, kids are sending golf balls flying across the rolling fairways, eyeing putts, raking sand traps and searching for lost balls in the dense woods. The kids, ranging in age from 8 to 18, are participants in The First Tee of Greater Austin program, a local chapter of The First Tee National Association.

The First Tee is an initiative of the nonprofit World Golf Foundation. Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has opened 210 golf-learning facilities across the United States and has introduced the game of golf to more than 450,000 kids. The focus of the program is to give young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through the game of golf, character and life-enhancing values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.
The First Tee of Greater Austin was co-founded by Jay Watson, John Ellett and Tom Martin, golfing buddies and business partners.

“The catalyst for the program was Jay,” says Ellett. “In late 1998, he got the three of us together to work on an idea of how to develop a life skills training program for youth through the game of golf. The First Tee program fit perfectly with our goals.”

Over the last five years, TFTGA has worked with thousands of kids from many different backgrounds and many parts of the Austin area. While the kids are taught the basics of golf including driving, chipping and putting and are encouraged to have fun on the golf course, the real focus of the program is to reinforce and instill in the young participants nine core values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

With the recent opening of the Harvey Penick Golf Campus in April of this year, many more kids will be able to take advantage of the TFTGA program. The campus has a challenging nine-hole course, a three-hole short course designed for beginner golfers, practice putting and chipping greens, a driving range, three softball/baseball fields and three soccer/football fields. In its East Austin setting, the First Tee campus provides a unique resource for the kids of Austin to learn important values while playing games and having fun.

“Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character,” Arnold Palmer.

One of the unique features that separates The First Tee from many other junior golf programs is its emphasis on teaching kids how to transfer the inherent values of the game of golf to other aspects of their lives. Students are taught about responsibility, courtesy, how to make decisions by thinking about the possible consequences, how to set and define goals, the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and the importance of showing respect for others.

“The purpose of the life skills curriculum is not to lecture kids,” says Stephanie Hamm, TFTGA’s development director, “rather it’s to provide them an opportunity to learn a new game taught by professional instructors and spend time with caring adult mentors who share their personal life stories about making mistakes, setting goals, facing difficult decisions, dealing with peer pressure and making healthy choices.”
Golf is a difficult game. The rules of etiquette and play are oftentimes confusing and there are few things more frustrating than hitting a ball into a sand trap or water hazard. The challenge golf presents the students in the TFTGA program gives them the opportunity to learn new skills and values.

“Because of the rules of the game, playing golf helps a kid become a better person,” says Austin attorney Russell Munsch, a board member of The First Tee of Greater Austin. “It builds their character … kids in the program are more confident, better able to deal with their peers and do better in school.”
For the kids who spend their afternoons and weekends on the links learning golf lingo and how to strategize in order to reach a goal, TFTGA is an extremely positive, life-changing experience.

Kids who participate in the TFTGA program change for the better, says Hamm. “Kids who are rebelling become calm when their unique worth is identified and they succeed at something no one else can do in their ‘group,’” she notes. “Kids who are shy learn a way to present themselves that opens doors to conversation and relationships — kids who are not star athletes at school become part of a team and shine.”

More Than a Game 2007

The 6th annual More Than A Game 2007 Celebrity Gala and Golf Tournament is a great way for sponsors and guests to support The First Tee of Greater Austin’s life-skills mentoring program while spending an enjoyable evening at the gala or a day of golf with Austin’s Celebrity Captains. This year’s captains include: Bob Estes, Tom Jenkins, and Tom Kite among others!

The “Only in Austin!” Celebrity Gala promises an evening of fun, excitement and great music at the 800-acre Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch-home to more than 1,200 domestic and exotic animals comprising 31 different species including buffalo, zebras, giraffe, impalas, and wildebeast. Guests will dine on Texas cuisine provided by award-winning caterer, Kurant Events, and dance to live music by Hal Ketchum featuring special guest Ray Benson. Also performances by an array of Austin musicians including Mario Matteoli formally of The Weary Boys, Django’s Moustache, and as seen on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” Fallon Franklin.

“Only in Austin!” offers a variety of activities for guests to enjoy, ride the mechanical bull, try your luck at the wine toss, beat the pro at our special par 3 golf hole, or take aim at the Skeet Shooting Range.
And don’t miss the silent and live auction. Auction items include:
* A seven-day, six-night all-inclusive stay Scuba Diving and Bone Fishing trip at the Coral Caverns Dive Resort on Andros Island
* A foursome of golf with Bob Estes and other exciting area professionals
* Memorabilia from Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastian, Mia Hamm, and Lance Armstrong.
The More Than a Game fund-raising event offers opportunities for participants to help kids learn golf and important life skills while entertaining clients and networking with community leaders and high profile individuals from throughout Central Texas.

For more information on the More Than a Game 2007, visit www.firstteeaustin.org or call (512) 732-0380.

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