The Future Generations Tournament is the cornerstone event for The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas on the Grand Strand, recognizing the contribution of our major sponsors, volunteers, educators and The First Tee participants who have exhibited The First Tee Nine Core Values™ while honing their golf skills.
Georgetown County Schools joined the Carol S. Petrea Youth Golf Foundation in 2012, forming the Branded Program Affiliate The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas along with Horry County Schools. Superintendent Dr. Randy Dozier served on the Board of Directors, with Keith Brown taking his seat in the 2013-2014 school year. Dr. Dozier continues as Director Emeritus and directs the School District’s major financial support of our Chapter and remains very active in our programs and events.
With the support of Dr. Randall Dozier, Superintendent of the Georgetown County Schools, the National School Program is active in all of the county’s 10 elementary schools, plus Coastal Montessori, impacting over 4500 K-5 students NSP is taught by the Physical Education Teachers as a part of their curriculum, and is the official Youth Development Program for Georgetown County Schools.
The School Day Program, headed up by Georgetown County Schools’ The First Tee District Coordinator Keith Brown, was piloted in 2012 and now includes all Georgetown County elementary schools and the Montessori Learning Center. Nine times per school year, our volunteers work with fourth grade classes, and their Physical Education teachers, at a green-grass facility during a 60-minute class centered on The First Tee Nine Core Values™, using golf as the medium.
The School Day Program culminates with the Champions Challenge, to be held at Wedgefield Country Club in Georgetown. Eleven elementary schools select a team of 14 fourth graders (7 girls, 7 boys) to compete in a golf skills challenge, with a total of 154 youth participating in the event every year since 2013.
Keith Brown, Instructional Technology Curriculum Coach, Physical Education District Coordinator and The First Tee District Coordinator, continues to serve on the Board of The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas. Keith works with the schools to see that equipment is maintained for the National School Programs that take place in all of the county’s Elementary School’s PE classes for Kindergarten through 5th grades. In addition, Keith coordinates the GCS School Day Program with The First Tee’s coaching and volunteer staff that engages over 700 4th graders in eight Spring and Fall golf sessions at Cherry Hill Country Club, Tradition Golf Club and Wedgefield Country Club. The School Day Program involves transportation of all 4th graders to the sites, working with the Principals and Physical Education teachers to maintain the schedule, handling weather issues, which are numerous, with The First Tee coaches. Over 6000 Georgetown County youth are involved in the National School Program and School Day Program!
Keith also works with The First Tee and the schools to schedule and stage the Champions Challenge event. Conducted each May since 2014, the Champions Challenge is a spirited inter-school competition among the 4th grade classes who each field a team of 7 boys and 7 girls. Participants are chosen based on their academic effort, demonstration of The Nine Core Values and, of course, golf skills. In addition to the 154 participants, the Champions Challenge draws many spectators including parents, teachers, administrators and the local media.
“The First Tee Program has prompted discipline, created enthusiasm, provided fun, and enhanced opportunities for our students to learn the great game of golf; and along the way, through the Nine Core Values, learn the skills that will make them successful in life. The program has given our students a renewed sense of responsibility, and has boosted school spirit.”
Keith Brown – District Liaison
Georgetown County Schools
In honor of Keith’s dedicated service to The First Tee programs over the past eight years, we are initiating the Keith Brown First Tee of Coastal Carolinas Scholarship Fund to assist The First Tee of Coastal Carolina youth in furthering their academic careers beyond high school. Interested donors may support the Scholarship Fund by sending a check to: The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas PO Box 1820 Shallotte, NC 28459 OR Click Here to DONATE. Designate Keith Brown First Tee of Coastal Carolinas Scholarship Fund on the dropdown box.
“My Adventures as a Volunteer Coach”, is what I would entitle the past five years of coaching Birdie participants in Brunswick County! Just thinking about some of the past memorable moments makes me laugh and shake my head, especially when it comes to Cassidy and Curtis…..
I first met Cassidy in the The First Tee’s fall session of Birdie class in 2014. I had been a volunteer coach for about three years at that point. Cassidy had just started middle school. We were usually paired up together as coach/student with another girl when we went out on the course after the lesson for that day. Cassidy usually didn’t want to hit first, her confidence was very low, and she was intimidated by the boys golf ability. I told her “don’t worry about it, someday you’ll be beating those boys”. I would tell the girls stories of my younger days learning to play golf, how you just have to stick with it, practice will get you better, and you will improve and learn to love the game and the values and life skills it will teach you! I’d try to make it FUN by bringing pink golf balls or tees, as Cassidy was always dressed to the nines with nice golf outfits. We even discovered we had the same striped Adidas golf shirt, but different colors! A connection, for us girls at least! Most weeks though, she’d forgotten a warm enough jacket for class, so eventually I starting bringing my lime green and turquoise beach jackets for her to wear. I can remember driving back to the clubhouse after playing a couple holes laughing all the way about whatever!
As I was writing this article, I started digging through old emails and found one in the Spring of 2016 asking my lead coach “Didn’t Cassidy sign up?” I knew she had a bright future with The First Tee and I wanted to be sure she continued with the program. Cassidy was back in the Fall! After that fall 2016 Birdie session, through perseverance and encouragement, Cassidy certified to move up to Eagle level! A week later, I took her out for 9 holes at my home course with another Birdie classmate so she could get some scores posted, a requirement for Eagle level. On the first hole, second shot in the middle of the fairway, I said……”girls, girls, girls……..please put away your cell phones….we are here to play golf, not look at pictures of boys you like”! After every shot, Cassidy would get in the cart, even if her Ball was 10 yards away! “Cassidy, you can walk, you know, it’s only 10 yards!” We had a lot of fun that day, and talked about the usual stuff – boys, boys, boys! Some of which were negative comments. But nonetheless, it was a teachable moment. We discussed the Golden Rule.
I hadn’t seen a lot of Cassidy for the next year as she was in a different Eagle class than mine. However, this past Fall at Eagle class, we were together again! The transformation in Cassidy was truly remarkable. She has turned into a mature, confident and poised young lady, as well as an excellent golfer. What surprised me the most was her engagement in conversation. She told me about being selected to participate in her high school state tournament in Pinehurst as the top golfer on her team. That was an incredibly proud moment for me!
Cassidy will be one of two participant speakers at The Golf Ball, a major fundraiser for our chapter in March 2019. I can’t wait to hear her speak, as I’m sure I will be beaming and dropping a happy tear or two. Who knows what the future will bring for Cassidy, but no doubt it will be full of exciting opportunities, achievements, and more adventures.
Curtis and I met in his first Birdie class in the Fall of 2015. Curtis’s maturity and demeanor was impressive for his young age of 11, the youngest in the class. Curtis lives in my community with his grandparents. I had met his grandmother while golfing several years prior to his participation in The First Tee. While he was a quiet participant, he was a pleasure to coach, and it was obvious he was going to be a great golfer with his natural athletic ability. I would take him out to the driving range to work on his swing and have putting competitions with him when his other sports of baseball and football conflicted with First Tee class. If he missing a shot, he would quickly look at me and say “what did I do”? Most times I’d say, “oh well, try again, it happens”!
In the Spring of 2016, I started taking him out to play 9 holes as often as possible. He was always receptive to advice and he continued to make great progress. His confidence was contagious! I remember a shot he executed perfectly out of the rough to a tight pin with the green running away from him. There was no way I’d try the baby flop shot. But Curtis did! Doesn’t he stick it close. So I figured, as his coach, I couldn’t chicken out! Well, I surprised myself with a tap in! High fives all around! That summer, I asked Curtis to play on our team at the Future Generations Tournament, our chapter’s largest fundraising event! He was so excited, but I think I was more excited. We had an AMAZING time, and he got to meet a lot of people who were excited to meet HIM.
Over the next two years, with a lot of hard work, Curtis moved up to Eagle, and we played or practiced every chance we could! Always finishing with an “Around the World” putting competition. I told him it will help him make clutch putts! He made the middle school golf team, was hitting the ball further than me, and has grown at least a foot! One day after playing 9 holes together, he came over for dinner and to meet some of my extended family. Curtis surprised me when he asked if I had ranch dressing to go with his baby carrots! Yikes, I hadn’t had ranch dressing in the house since my boys went away to college. That was the day Curtis discovered he had a new “go to” snack…..baby carrots with peanut butter!
At the end of the last class of the 2018 spring session of Eagle, I told Curtis that I would be with him every step of the way until he got that golf scholarship from The First Tee to play in college. I think that really made an impact on Curtis. My most memorable adventure with Curtis was being selected to play in the Inaugural Mentor Cup 2-person team in October 2018 in Myrtle Beach. Working on the Mentor Cup application together was really fun….”Curtis, when you say ‘she helps me……’, who is she?” “Oh yeah, Miss Judy”, haha”. “Full sentences Curtis”. We set specific goals for that tournament, worked hard for seven months, and made sure we coordinated our golf shirts for our big day! We played really well in the Mentor Cup, even though we were freezing. Curtis showed up wearing shorts after I told him not to the day before. Boys! Curtis told me that this was the biggest golf day of his life! It was for me too! An experience both of us will never forget!
We are looking forward to Curtis moving up to Ace level soon and us playing in the Mentor Cup again this coming October. Curtis is going to help me with the 2019 Spring Birdie class that I coach to get some of his volunteer hours in for Ace level. We also are looking forward to opportunities for Curtis to speak at various First Tee events. Oh, did I mention, he’s only an 8th grader? Curtis recently commented to me that “everything I do well is because of what I’ve learned in The First Tee”. Now if that’s not a glowing endorsement, I don’t know what is!
~ Judy Cuppernull 
Board Chairman Lindell Bradley and Executive Director Rich Abraham received a plaque from Mike Forte, District 4 Brunswick County Commissioner, recognizing The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas for our community service efforts during and after Hurricane Florence, which devastated Brunswick County this Fall. The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas’ Golf Club at Cinghiale Creek in Shallotte, NC hosted 20 emergency crew members of the Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation (BEMC) for several days in the aftermath of the storm at our Carolinas Leadership Academy. In the six weeks following Florence, we housed around 100 different families for various times who were displaced by the storm. 
Jayla Rogers of Wilmington, N.C. this week became the third female golfer in the history of The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas to sign a National Letter of Intent to play collegiate golf, committing to continue her academic and athletic pursuits at North Carolina A&T State University.
Jayla will join past First Tee participants Ashley Sloup (Winthrop University Class of 2018) and Cameryn Smith (Queens University Class of 2019) in continuing their golf careers at the collegiate level. Jayla will enroll in North Carolina A&T’s Class of 2023 and join their women’s golf team in the fall of 2019.
A senior at E.A. Laney High School in Wilmington, Jayla enters her final year of high school competition as a three-time Mideastern 3A/4A Conference Player of the Year. Her seven years of participation with The First Tee have been invaluable in helping Jayla achieve success, as she has completed all four levels of proficiency (Par, Birdie, Eagle, Ace) in her time with The First Tee of Brunswick County and The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas.
Jayla’s First Tee achievements were honored with her selection to play at Pebble Beach in last year’s Pure Insurance Champions Tour event with Davis Love lll, joining Ace participant Spencer Faircloth in representing our First Tee chapter among 81 additional First Tee players nationwide at this prestigious event.
Congratulations, Jayla. We’re so proud of your achievements, and excited to see what your bright future has in store for you! 
In 40 years as a PGA Professional that includes competing on the PGA and Champions tours, Terry Mauney, PGA has accumulated a lifetime of golf experience as a player, instructor and mentor. For the past seven years in Brunswick County and for several years prior to that at The First Tee of Forth Worth, Tex., Mauney has applied that base of experience and knowledge to benefit kids in The First Tee’s Life Skills Experience (LSE) program – in particular, the program’s more advanced players.
By actively engaging as many as 250 players a year in its LSE program that now includes 10 Brunswick County elementary schools, Mauney has seen about a third of those participants each year advance beyond the program’s introductory levels (Player, Par) to become more accomplished players at the Birdie, Eagle and Ace levels.
“Based on my experience on the professional tours, I’ve focused on elevating the teaching philosophy here to serve both teachers and players who have a higher golf IQ,” said Mauney. “We’re providing more advanced training for coaches, who themselves are good players, and are giving them the tools they need to turn these kids into players, as opposed to having them just come here to be part of an activity.
“Getting the parents involved has been key, too. We’ve had seasonal tour events, at our Golf Club at Cinghiale Creek in Shallotte, NC, to engage the more serious young golfers among our ranks, to give them more opportunities to play at a competitive level.“
One short-term reward for many of these kids’ efforts comes via invitation for them to participate as players in TFTCC’s high-profile special events including The Mentor Cup and Future Generations golf tournaments. Rich Abraham, TFTCC’s executive director, points to Mauney’s unbridled enthusiasm as a factor that gets First Tee participants excited enough to want to progress to that level and earn such rewards.
“Terry not only gets the kids revved up and enthusiastic about playing the game competitively, but even more so to have fun with it,” said Abraham. “And that enthusiasm carries over to the parents, and really makes it as much of a family atmosphere as it is a great growth environment.”
“They’re like my grandkids. It’s been awesome,” said Mauney, who has now seen 18 First Tee kids he’s helped go on to play college golf. “That, to me, is what’s really inspiring, that they used The First Tee as a platform for staying with the game and growing to that point.
“If I can inspire them to keep golf as an important part of their lives, then it’s worth every bit of time I’ve put into this.”
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As a former professional tour caddy and now a Level 3 coach for The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas, George Brooks has been instrumental in developing a grassroots involvement of children and their families from throughout Eastern North Carolina. He’s had a significant hand in attracting more than 8,000 annual youth participants to TFTCC’s National School Program across 17 elementary schools in Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties.
“George’s sincerity in helping First Tee participants is in his community outreach, and in getting The First Tee’s Nine Core Values embedded in so many schools in the Eastern North Carolina region. That’s a lot,” noted Abraham, who also pointed to Brooks’ broader efforts through The First Tee’s DRIVE initiative to “Develop Rewarding, Inspiring Values for Everyone who participates.”
“He’s essentially become a First Tee community activist,” Abraham said, citing outside youth organizations, churches and civic groups that Brooks has engaged over the past six years to help The First Tee instill those values in the lives of so many local families.
For Brooks, the organization made an immediate impression when he was first exposed to its work several years ago, while caddying a Champions Tour event in Pebble Beach where First Tee players were involved.
“I was so impressed by the behavior, mannerisms and respect that these kids exhibited that week, and how The First Tee played a big role in molding their character. That’s what got me motivated to get the program going here in New Bern,” said Brooks.
Now, as it was then, the motivation to keep The First Tee on its upward trajectory in Eastern North Carolina is simple. “It’s not just about teaching and preaching the Nine Core Values,” explained Brooks. “It’s about really getting these kids to understand their meaning.”
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After graduating in 2014 from Coastal Carolina University with a degree in recreation and sports management, Patrick O’Brien spent seven months interning with the Northern Texas PGA Section running their junior tour league. He was learning a lot there about the junior golf industry, and as he began his pursuit of a lifetime career in the game, he came to a pretty sensible conclusion.
“I knew the state of junior golf needed to improve,” reasoned O’Brien, “and if I wanted to have a long-term impact on the game, I’d be pretty well-served helping today’s kids develop so they can be part of that future growth.”
In his tenure with TFTCC as Instruction Associate Manager for its Grand Strand region, O’Brien has injected a youthful enthusiasm in his work. Kids marvel at how he demonstrates his own golfing prowess (he can routinely “bomb it” off the tee, Abraham observed), but his ability to connect with the next generation goes well beyond.
“As a younger man, Patrick can more easily engage the kids,” said Abraham. “They have fun while he still maintains discipline around the Nine Core Values. There’s always a game going on as part of his instruction, a target to shoot at, squares laid out on the green … So the kids are having fun, but discipline is being maintained while he’s executing the Player-Par-Birdie-Eagle-Ace curriculum properly and seeing these kids through the certification process.”
“I incorporate games as part of my teaching instead of just giving orders and direction,” said O’Brien. “When the games are complete, it’s a lot of, ‘What did you learn?’ ‘Did you find something better about your golf swing?’ It’s about keeping it fun while we’re engaging them.
“So many kids get driven away from sports because they feel like they’re being forced into it. I want them to enjoy being there. And when they learn something more about themselves and their game, it doesn’t seem like it’s been a chore or burdensome task to get there.”
The kids seem to be getting the message, and in steadily growing numbers. Abraham notes that the number of participating National School Program schools along the Grand Strand has swelled from 18 to 25 in the past four years, with more than 10,000 new youth participants coming onboard in that time.
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Little did Shannon Parks know nine years ago just how much of an impact The First Tee would have on her family’s life – and, in turn, how much of an impact she’d have on youth development through golf.
Parks began with The First Tee of Brunswick County as a volunteer in 2009. She was introduced to the chapter’s works by her daughter, Cameryn, and experienced first-hand how its programs helped Cameryn blossom as a competitive golfer who would go on to earn a golf scholarship at Queens College in Charlotte, N.C.
Parks then joined the Brunswick County staff as an administrative assistant in 2013. Today, as director of TFTCC’s Carolina Leadership Academy (CLA), Parks has overseen a notable revival of a summer camp program for teens whose participation levels had flat-lined.
“Participation was dead,” observed Abraham. “And Shannon teamed up with several educators to rewrite a curriculum that would make it more engaging and fun for the kids.”
The curriculum involves a weeklong, overnight camp experience for boys and girls ages 14-17. And while golf is at the core, it’s not a prerequisite; CLA proudly touts the fact that participants need not have previous golf experience to attend. “This is not a golf camp,” their Web page explains, “but a fun, interactive camp where you will learn communication, leadership and life skills all while learning a little golf!”
Kids are getting the message – at a participation rate that has more than doubled in one year, from 35 participants in 2017 to 72 this past summer.
Abraham looks beyond the numbers for the ultimate sign of how well this program is working. “Each summer camp session begins with some kids having natural apprehension about a new experience,” he said. “But by the time the week’s over, they don’t want to leave!”
Many participants are not only eager to return, but Parks noted that several have done so as interns.
“To see how these kids embrace the value of this program, and now in turn want to help pass that positive experience down to others, is truly remarkable,” said Parks. “That means so much.”
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Our program managers’ collective efforts have also been a key source of support for some of our most recent achievements. In late October 2018, the youth participants, parents and volunteer coaches of The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas experienced a very successful and exciting week, participating in a clinic at Pawleys Plantation with Jack Nicklaus as well as the inaugural Mentor Cup at Tidewater Golf Club. More than 40 of our youth attended each event and truly made The First Tee proud, as they showcased their golf skills and mastery of The Nine Core Values.
With increasing support from the local golf industry and community foundations, The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas is poised to increase the quantity and quality of programming across its footprint. A recent change in The First Tee’s National guidelines allowing local training for Certified coaches will facilitate a significant increase in trained coaches, new programs and the expansion of our Birdie-Eagle-Ace program for advanced participants. 
As part of an appearance the 18-time major winner made to celebrate the 30th birthdays of his designs at Pawleys Plantation and Long Bay Club, Nicklaus was part of a 45-minute First Tee clinic that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our kids.
How often do you get the chance to meet someone who was the greatest to ever play their chosen sport? It was an advantage our kids were able to take advantage of, and Jack was typically gracious and accommodating.
The Golden Bear strolled onto a roped-off driving range at Pawleys Plantation and immediately began interacting with our players. A long-time advocate for the First Tee, Nicklaus was talking with kids, providing tips on the range, signing autographs and posing for pictures.
In short, he was everything you would hope one of the legends of the game would be.
The First Tee of the Coastal Carolinas is fortunate to host several high-profile events, including our annual Future Generations tournament that annually attracts the likes of Golf Channel stars Charlie Rymer and Kelly Tilghman, and the appearance of Nicklaus has made 2018 a year our organization will never forget.
The day concluded with a dinner experience that also served as a First Tee fundraiser. VIP guests got their picture taken with Nicklaus and all attendees enjoy a four-course meal at the Pawleys Plantation Conference Center.
The evening finished with a Q&A session between Jack and the crowd of 200 people that filled the room. Gary Schaal, a former president of the PGA of America, moderated the Q&A as Nicklaus opined on everything from the Ryder Cup to the health of the industry.
It was a great day for the First Tee and most importantly, our kids.