Category: News

The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas Carolinas Leadership Academy (CLA) was once again the perfect place for teens, both locally and from around the country, to spend an unforgettable week at the beach! The CLA is a weekly overnight camp for boys and girls between the ages of 14-17. The 10,000 square foot facility housed dozens of campers, counselors and coaches for four summer sessions. Make sure to include your teen groups in one of our 2019 Carolinas Leadership Academys. The CLA sits on twenty-eight secluded acres with a nine-hole Par 3 course, driving range, multiple putting and chipping areas and plenty of wide open space to engage in various other activities and sports-all within a few miles of the beach!

Here are some of the highlights from the 2018 Carolinas Leadership Academy:

View More on our Facebook Page

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.  

The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas Announces 8^th Annual Future Generations Tournament at Sea Trail Golf Resort  Golf Industry Leader Turner Revels Will Be Official Honoree SHALLOTTE, NC – The 8th annual Future Generations Tournament to benefit The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas will take place on Saturday, June 16 at Sea Trail Golf Resort in Sunset Beach. This prestigious tournament is one of The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas’ major fundraisers to support its core programs of golf skills and character development for young people. “If you care about the future of our young people and the future of golf, please join us,” said The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas Executive Director Rich Abraham. “Every player will make a difference.” This year, the Future Generations Tournament is proud to honor Turner Revels, a leader in the golf industry in the coastal Carolina region and owner of Revels Turf & Tractor in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In particular, Revels is being recognized for his generous support of The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas by providing care and maintenance for the organization’s golf facility at Cinghiale Creek in Shallotte. The facility includes a Par-3 course designed by golf legend Tom Watson, which hosts classes and events for hundreds of students each year. “The recipient of the 2016 Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association’s Distinguished Service award, Turner has won recognition for his significant contributions to the regional golf industry,” said Abraham. “He’s known as the ultimate team player, and we couldn’t agree more. We couldn’t offer the kind of programs we provide for our kids without Turner’s generous support.” Our STEM educational initiative is underway and we expect to conduct a minimum of four STEM Field Trips for middle school students this Fall at the Brunswick County Carolinas Leadership Academy in Shallotte, NC utilizing The First Tee’s Physics of Golf and Golf Course Agronomy STEM curriculum. Honoring Turner Revels at our Brunswick Future Generations Tournament is a great way to kick off this educational initiative that will help grow the game of golf on the Turf side of the industry.  We will be looking to partner with the local superintendents, the Brunswick Community College and Horry Georgetown Technical College Golf Course Turf Management Programs to introduce golf course agronomy to future superintendents. The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas reaches over 6,000 children a year in Brunswick County, ages 5-17, with programming that stresses The First Tee’s Nine Core Values™ to promote success in school and life. “Our Tournament raises the resources we need to impact the lives of thousands of Brunswick County youth,” noted Lindell Bradley, Chair of the Carol S. Petrea Youth Golf Foundation, the parent organization of The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas. “Through our programming, we teach character development, life skills and leadership through the medium of golf,” Bradley said. “We’re focused on nurturing future generations to help them become the community leaders of tomorrow.” This year’s Future Generations Tournament returns to Sea Trail Golf Resort in Sunset Beach. The resort features award-winning 18-hole courses designed by Rees Jones and Willard Byrd. The Tournament format is Captain’s Choice (scramble), with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. and a shotgun start at 10 a.m. The entry fee is $100 per player or $400 per team and covers cart and green fees, a post-Tournament lunch with complimentary beer and wine, live and silent auctions including a golf trip to the Greenbrier Resort for four people, as well as gift certificates for golf, local restaurants, stores and businesses and a raffle. The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas is an affiliate of the national First Tee organization, founded in 1997 by the PGA Tour, the PGA of America, the LPGA, the Masters Tournament, and the United States Golf Association. Research shows that among youth who attend The First Tee:

• 73 percent reported high confidence in their ability to do well academically
• 82 percent felt confident in their social skills with peers
• 52 percent credited the program for their ability to appreciate diversity

The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas provides participants a number of opportunities to broaden their golf and life skills. In 2017, for instance, Jayla Rogers and Spencer Faircloth of Brunswick County both earned the opportunity to play in the Pure Insurance Open at Pebble Beach alongside golf pros Davis Love III and Jeff Sluman. The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas was created in 2017 through the consolidation of existing chapters of The First Tee in Brunswick County, Eastern North Carolina (Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties) and the Grand Strand (Horry, Georgetown counties). Funds generated by The Future Generations Tournament at Sea Trail will support The First Tee programs throughout Brunswick County. The Tournament has sold out every year. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, go to www.firstteecoastalcarolinas.org. On the site, registrants can use a credit card, Pay Pal, or pay by check. For more information, please call The First Tee offices at 910-754-5288.