The Grand Strand Future Generations Tournament

One of our favorite events of the year – the Future Generations tournament – is in books, and with the support of Golf Channel personality Charlie Rymer and the local community, it was a rousing success. We had 132 golfers, including 34 of our First Tee participants, at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and raised $50,000. Best of all, 86 percent of what we raised – $43,000 – will go directly to programs that help expose kids to the game and values it encourages. We were able to keep overhead low thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and partners: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, Wilson Staff, which provided hats and golf ball, Moe’s BBQ (dinner), Jimmy John’s (lunch), Moore Insurance, Golf Tourism Solutions and PGA Tour Superstore. Charlie, who has attended all six Future Generations tournaments, is also a vital part of the event’s success. He spent time with every kid and tournament participant and his passion for the game and the First Tee is contagious. While Charlie has become a “regular” at the tournament, we certainly don’t take his participation for granted. The First Tee of the Coastal Carolinas is one of the nation’s largest and most active chapters – we will reach more than 16,000 Grand Strand children with our golf and life skills experience programs in 2018 – and the Future Generations event is vital to those efforts. LPGA player and Conway native Kristy McPherson was scheduled to attend the event but encountered travel problems and was unable to make it. Kristy promised to return on behalf of The First Tee of the Coastal Carolinas later in the year, and we are looking forward to her future appearance. The First Tee reaches public and private school children in Horry, Georgetown and Brunswick counties, incorporating its nine core values – honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgement – into the organization’s curriculum.