• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Carmel Magazine

The Lifestyle Magazine of the Central Coast

  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food & Wine
  • Music
  • Golf
  • Cars
  • Subscribe to Carmel Magazine!

Arming Kids with Golf Clubs and Self Confidence

May 1, 2009 by Alan Shipnuck

On a brisk day several months ago, some 90 students from Bar ton Elementary School in Salinas could be found enjoying a break from class and learning how to swing a golf club. The activities were hosted by nonprofit group The First Tee of Monterey County, as part of a pilot program in which 12 nearby schools participate in a biweekly two-hour field trip, with The FirstTee providing transportation and instruction free of charge.

Third and fourth graders from Barton were on the practice putting green at The First Tee’s home course in Salinas, Twin Creeks Golf Course, constructing their own mini golf layout with pylons, hula-hoops and other fun items. A FirstTee instructor was chaperoning the large group and gently offering putting tips.

Meanwhile, fifth and sixth graders gathered on the tee box of the downhill 120-yard first hole in two orderly lines, one for boys, one for girls. The kids took turns whacking shots at the green. When a boy with spiky hair whiffed twice, no one snickered or teased, and when he got lucky and launched a shot toward the green, all his classmates cheered, though it was restrained.

These kids had already mastered the niceties of the golf clap. Surveying the scene with the contented look of a doting patriarch was Barry Phillips, the executive director of The FirstTee of Monterey County.

“The goal is to have fun, obviously, but we instruct them on the fundamentals and the etiquette of golf at the same time,” says Phillips. He is not unaware of the perils these kids may face in the real world, but he feels strongly that an exposure to golf can only help arm the kids with some important tools.

“We’re not teaching golf so much as self esteem, confidence, discipline, sportsmanship,” says Phillips.“The core values at the heart of the game are something these kids can always carry with them.”

The First Tee is a national program created by the World Golf Foundation in November 1997, six months after Tiger Woods’ epochal victory at the Masters led to renewed efforts to make golf more inclusive. Now there are nearly 700 program locations nationally, serving 2.2 million kids.

The Monterey County chapter was founded in November 2004, and it continues to grow exponentially, from 575 members in 2005 to nearly 3,000 today. By virtue of the school program, some 2,200 Salinas kids have been granted membership, meaning they can come by anytime and get a large bucket of range balls for $1, or play Twin Creeks’ 9-hole par-3 course for $2. (For comparison: a ticket to the latest Hollywood blockbuster at the Northridge Mall cinemas would cost the same kid $5.75.) There are numerous clinics taught every Saturday, and Phillips is currently trying to raise funds for buses that would leave from various elementary schools every afternoon, which could help keep more than a few kids busy after school.

The program is not limited to Salinas children; it is open to all youth in Monterey County, and families can sign up apart from the school system. A second facility is located at Laguna Seca. Programs are designed for kids aged 4-17 years old, and a year membership is only $95, plus an additional $20 per sibling, with scholarships available.

The First Tee offers plenty beyond the golf facilities.There is a “kids’ clubhouse” with 16 gleaming Sony computers and plenty of workspace to do homework. There are also good role models to be found, whether it’s the upbeat instructors, known as life-skills coaches, or older kids who are using golf to better themselves.

Two of the facility’s regulars, Haley Andreas and Annie Bowlsby, competed in last fall’s Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, and for the occasion, 700 Salinas kids were bused over to cheer.

“That was an amazing experience, to see this big-time tournament and the beauty of Pebble Beach through the kids’ eyes,” says Phillips. “For a lot of them it was the first time they had ever seen the ocean.”

Phillips would love to be able to afford additional staff so more school kids could be accommodated. The program currently has more than 100 active volunteers but is always looking for more. “We always hear from potential volunteers, ‘But I don’t know anything about golf!’ ”Phillips says.“We’ll worry about the golf. All we need is someone who is willing to be a role model and reach out to these kids. There are a lot of lives waiting to be changed.”

To learn more about The First Tee of Monterey County, go to www.thefirstteemc.org or call 831/444-7200.

Filed Under: Spring/Summer 2009 Tagged With: Golf

Primary Sidebar

CURRENT & PAST EDITIONS HERE

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

GUIDETOCARMEL

READ THE GUIDE HERE

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music surfing Travel

ForAdvertisers

  • ► Publisher’s Note
  • ► Mission Statement
  • ► Ad Specs
  • ► Advertise in Carmel Magazine
  • ► Media Contact
  • ► Full Media Kit

Secondary Sidebar

Archives

  • Spring 2025
  • Winter 2024
  • Fall 2024
  • Summer 2024
  • Spring 2024
  • Winter 2023
  • Fall 2023
  • Summer 2023
  • Spring 2023
  • Winter 2022
  • Fall 2022
  • Summer 2022
  • Spring 2022
  • Winter 2021
  • Fall 2021
  • Summer 2021
  • Spring 2021
  • Winter 2020
  • Summer 2020
  • Summer 2020
  • Winter 2020
  • Fall 2019
  • Summer 2019
  • Spring 2019
  • Winter 2019
  • Fall 2018
  • Summer 2018
  • Spring 2018
  • Winter 2018
  • Fall 2017
  • Summer 2017
  • Spring 2017
  • Winter 2017
  • Fall 2016
  • Summer 2016
  • Spring 2016
  • Winter 2016
  • Fall 2015
  • Summer 2015
  • Spring 2015
  • Winter 2015
  • Fall 2014
  • Summer 2014
  • Spring 2014
  • Winter 2014
  • Fall 2013
  • Summer 2013
  • Spring 2013
  • Winter 2013
  • Fall 2012
  • Summer 2012
  • Spring 2012
  • Winter 2012
  • Fall 2011
  • Summer 2011
  • Spring 2011
  • Winter 2011
  • Fall 2010
  • Summer 2010
  • Spring 2010
  • Winter 2010
  • Fall 2009
  • Summer 2009
  • Spring 2009
  • Winter 2009
  • Fall 2008
  • Summer 2008
  • Winter 2008
  • Fall 2007
  • Summer 2007
  • Spring 2007
  • Winter 2007
  • Fall 2006

Footer

Carmel Magazine is the quarterly lifestyle magazine for Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula, featuring the notable people and places, arts, food and wine, destinations, styles and events of Carmel and the Peninsula.

Address:
126 Clocktower Place, Suite 103
Carmel, CA 93923

Phone: (831) 625-9922
Fax: (831) 626-3613

Recent Posts

  • In Great Taste
  • A Grammy-Award Winner’s Home Hits All the Right Notes
  • Riding the Waves of Hope
  • A Driving Force
  • From the Bright Lights to Moonlit Nights

Search

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music surfing Travel

Copyright © 2025 Carmel Magazine · Carmel, California · Designed by BEAR★PRESS