Success stories that started at the First Tee of the Lowcountry are beginning to be told on golf courses throughout the region as young golfers who first picked up a club as part of one of the organization’s many programs are making their names known on the junior circuit and even on area high school teams.
And the First Tee’s collection of dedicated coaches and trainers is ready to start a new chapter.
The First Tee of the Lowcountry launched its summer programming this week with the onset of its summer Life Skills Classes at four locations in Beaufort County, and the non-profit’s series of five weeks of four-day summer camps begins Monday, June 28, at the First Tee of the Lowcountry’s main campus on Hilton Head Island.
Students enrolled in the programs won’t just learn how to swing a club, either. The First Tee emphasizes nine core values — honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment — and teaches them through the lens of golf.
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“The First Tee is a youth development program,” executive director Pat Zuk said. “We’re looking at the whole kid, we’re not just looking at their golf skills. They’re going to come out and learn to play golf and learn the rules, but they’re also going to learn about setting goals, how to judge their own abilities, and how to go forward from there.”
And the program has an excellent track record for propelling students to impressive performances on the golf course. Among the recent First Tee of the Lowcountry alumni are Hilton Head Island High School standout Lexi Milbrandt, who earned Class 4A All-State honors as an eighth-grader playing on the Seahawks’ girls golf team last fall and Hilton Head Prep’s Jeep Patrick, who played in his fourth consecutive SCISA state championship this spring as just a sophomore.
It all started at the First Tee.
“When a kid comes to us their very first day of what we call the Player level, which is the introductory level, they’re carrying a tool box and it doesn’t have any tools in it,” Zuk said. “As they go through, they’ll learn things about respecting themselves, respecting other people, respecting their surroundings. They’ll learn about how to introduce yourself properly, how to smile and shake their hand and look them in the eye. Little tools like that help them build confidence, but also make them realize there are tools in life that are important besides hitting a golf ball.”
The First Tee’s programs are affordable — the six-week Life Skills Classes cost just $75 and include a one-hour session each week — and the half-day summer camps are $150 for four 2 1/2-hour sessions each week, and scholarships are available for the Life Skills programs, which are offered at the Hilton Head facility as well as Eagles Pointe and Crescent Pointe golf clubs in Bluffton and Olde Beaufort Golf Club on Lady’s Island.
Students begin at the Player level and advance to the Par, Birdie, and Eagle levels as they progress through the program, all the while building both golf skills and life skills.
“Every shot in golf requires you to know what you can do, make a judgment, decide how you’re going to do it, and then either remember what you did well or try to forget what you didn’t do well and decide what you’re going to do better next time,” Zuk said. “It’s a learning laboratory for life skills.”
In addition to the structured programming, students who enroll in First Tee classes and their immediate families can use the driving range, 12,500-square-foot practice green, short game area with bunkers, six-hole par-3 course, and disc golf course on the Hilton Head campus at no charge.
“It can become a place they can come out and spend some time and really enjoy some family time together,” Zuk said.
The facility is open to the public any time classes are not in session, but the organization typically asks for a suggested donation of $10 for adults or $5 for students.
For more information or to register for summer programs, visit firstteelowcountry.org/programs.