It’s rare when a program’s needs align so closely with a new opportunity.  When it does happen, organizations like First Tee that operate on smaller budgets must take advantage.  One of those opportunities has arrived. Randy White, First Tee staffer, and PGA Professional will shift into a new role as First Tee’s Director of Instruction. We are excited about the impact White (Coach Randy) will make on our most vulnerable students through this new role. First Tee’s mantra is “Building Game Changers.” We are a youth development program.  The platform that we use to develop young people is the game of golf.  The new Director of Instruction position will perfectly blend First Tee’s ability to develop high character, high integrity young men and women with our students’ need for a deeper, more technical golf experience. The Need First Tee West Michigan has heard a similar question over and over again from its parents since its inception in 2011.  It goes something like this: “We love First Tee and Coach [Fill in the Blank].  My kid has loved the First Tee experience and is REALLY getting into golf.  We’re wondering if you can recommend an individual instructor in the area?” We love this question – it tells us the family and the participant are ALL in.  Almost without fail, these families become some of our most engaged participants, learning First Tee skills like goal setting, conflict resolution, and of course, our Nine Core Values.  They end up playing high school golf, and for some, they even end up playing college golf or go to college for Professional Golf Management. The issue since 2011 has been with WHO asks this question.  Most families that ask for recommendations for individual instruction have two characteristics: #1. They have financial means.  This means they can afford the $60-$100 hourly rate that is required for an individual golf lesson with a PGA Professional. #2. They often come from a family of golfers. They know the impact individual instruction can make on their child’s golf game, so they pursue it. Our most vulnerable students usually are missing one or both of these characteristics, and therefore rarely ask about individual instruction.  First Tee needs to pursue its own students with limited golf background and disposable income, and offer the opportunity for instruction.   Parents who didn’t grow up around the game often don’t know the value of individual instruction or don’t believe they can afford it. This is where our Director of Instruction Role comes in. How PGA Professionals have helped until now For nearly a decade, First Tee has recommended PGA Professionals to its participants, and they’ve been incredibly generous with our students.  Local pros we’ve recommended to our students include Raquel Bryant (Thousand Oaks), Jeff Caminiti (Maple Hill), Ian Hughes (Golf Tec), Andre Pillow (Blythefield CC), Brandon Roby (Cascade Hills), John Seltzer (Quail Ridge), and Charley Vandenberg (Thousand Oaks).  Many of these pros have offered discounted or free lessons to our families.  We will continue to recommend these and other pros to our full-price students.  Several of these pros have generously taken 1-2 First Tee students on scholarship annually into their instruction program at a discounted rate or free. But these professionals are busy, and if they give their time away, they need to be certain the student is “all in” before they begin. Oftentimes, our scholarship students have barriers like inconsistent schedules, lack of transportation, lack of opportunity to practice, etc.  First Tee wants to build a bridge to these families to ensure they have the same opportunities for individual instruction and that they know about that opportunity. How it will work Through Randy White, PGA Professional and new Director of Instruction, First Tee students in all communities (Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Holland, and now Kalamazoo) will be able to register for individual lessons with Coach Randy on our website.  They will work within the V1 Golf App to see uploaded swing videos and review past lessons.  During COVID-19, students will also be able to send videos for a mobile lesson.  These instruction videos will be available for students at any time to show their other First Tee coaches to ensure communication is aligned. First Tee will actively pursue and offer students on scholarship this opportunity.  Any child eligible for free or reduced-price lunch at school (an indicator of financial need) can receive First Tee’s scholarship rate of $5 for a six-class session. In 2020, First Tee also added any family experiencing financial hardship because of COVID-19 to the list of those eligible for the scholarship.

First Tee will offer students on scholarship hourly lessons for just $15, but will not turn away a family for their inability to pay. Group lesson rates will also be available, and non-scholarship students can also get lessons for $70. By working with Coach Randy, First Tee can offer this opportunity to students who are younger and less-seasoned in First Tee, capturing them earlier.  Informing parents and guardians about this opportunity for their child, and doing it at an earlier age can open up many opportunities, including:

• Playing on First Tee’s PGA Junior League Teams (4 currently)
• Participating on a High School JV or Varsity Golf Team
• Becoming eligible for First Tee HQ Opportunities, which requires being at the Birdie Level or Higher
• Getting a job at a local course as a caddie or in the bag room
• Becoming a Junior Coach at First Tee
• College Golf Scholarships
• And many more

Each lesson offered to First Tee students on scholarship will be subsidized by First Tee’s budget.  Already, a generous donor from Grand Rapids has committed $12,500 to this program in 2021, including more than $9,500 in subsidized lessons (a projected 165 group and individual lessons).  Your gift would ensure even more students would have access to these subsidized lessons with Coach Randy.

Why Coach Randy White? White has served as First Tee’s Holland Area Director since 2017.  He’s led the growth in Holland from its start to now serving 150-180 students annually, fundraising and managing a $100,000 budget, and managing roughly 25 volunteers and 5 part-time Lead Coaches. But his heart is in instruction. In his 35-year career as a PGA Professional, White has instructed some of the finest high school golfers in West Michigan, including leading multiple area high school girls golf teams to state appearances, including Grand Haven, Spring Lake, and Mona Shores.  In addition, Randy has run the MSHAA’s Girls Golf State Championships for the past several years, building relationships with hundreds of high school golf coaches. Outside of golf, prior to his work at First Tee, White served as an area director for First Priority, a faith-based school mentoring program. White is also a Level III First Tee Coach and knows First Tee’s life skills and values curriculum well. He will be able to seamlessly weave First Tee’s life skills like goal setting, conflict resolution, appreciating diversity, and of course, First Tee’s Nine Core Values into his golf instruction with First Tee participants. He has already taught PLAYer, Par, Birdie, and Eagle classes, and knows how to communicate with students at each level. This winter, with COVID-19 limiting group opportunities, Randy has opened up his personal home golf studio in Muskegon for “Open Hitting” and has already seen significant swing improvement from participants. Randy will also provide lessons during the winter in Grand Rapids in the future. In addition to improving our participants’ golf skills, we also see instruction with White leading to higher retention and progression amongst our students on scholarship, leading them to more First Tee and golf opportunities in the future. What’s Next?  As White leads this new initiative, First Tee hopes to add other PGA Professionals to the program in its communities.  Through training, these instructors can learn the curriculum of First Tee, and serve as instructors, offering the subsidized lessons to more students in more communities. Your support of this new initiative ensures that more students on scholarship get this opportunity, and have all the top-level instruction possible.  Thank you for your consideration!    

Since its inception in 2011, First Tee – West Michigan has focused on impacting students who otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to golf and the values it can teach because of income, communication, culture, and transportation barriers. For as long as the game of golf has been played, race and income have been huge barriers to access.  Caddie programs used to be one avenue for people of color and those with lower incomes to gain access. Caddie programs still exist today, but at a much smaller scale (only five caddie programs remain in West Michigan). So how does a student TODAY who doesn’t know any golfers and has never golfed themselves learn about the game and what it can teach? That’s where First Tee comes in. First Tee seeks to remove the barriers of entry to golf and what it can teach. One of the major barriers is communication. COVID-19 exacerbated the communication and technology barriers for many families First Tee serves. 2021 marks a new year for First Tee, and with it will come new initiatives to improve, increase, and individualize the communication with our most vulnerable students. How does First Tee find its participants?  In 2019, 48% of First Tee’s 1,241 participants received a scholarship to participate because of their family income. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch at school receive First Tee’s programs for $5.00 or free, depending on how they participate. In 2019, 50% of students in Kent County (more than 50,000) were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, while in Muskegon (61%, more than 16,000), and Ottawa Counties (32%, more than 14,000) the need was great as well. First Tee works to provide access to students on scholarship through two different ways: partnerships with schools and other youth-serving organizations, and through open-enrollment sessions. Students receive the same curriculum and programming, but how they get to the golf course is different. In 2020, many of First Tee’s partnerships with schools and youth-serving organizations were put on hold due to COVID-19, which in turn, dropped our scholarship rate from 48% to 32% in 2020. Our 2021 communications plan will help increase the number of students on scholarship we serve.  In order to do that, First Tee needs to:

1. Improve retention among its existing participants on scholarship
2. Be more strategic in recruiting new participants on scholarship.

Improved, Increased, Individuals Communication to our existing low-income students With a Marketing & Communications Coordinator joining our staff in 2021, First Tee families will receive improved, increased, and individualized communications. Here are a few new tools and initiatives First Tee will use in 2021:

• Hubspot – our new customer resource management platform easily segments participants so they receive emails about program opportunities specific to their community. This way, families in Muskegon receive program info about Muskegon – not Grand Rapids. Likewise, as a donor or volunteer, you can choose to receive information that is applicable to you.
• TextMagic  Over time, First Tee has relied more on texting its families rather than emailing them. The reason? Every guardian and parent use texting regardless of their income or background – not all of our families use email frequently.
  • • Example of how First Tee will use TextMagic to improve communication: When a participant comes to First Tee through a partnership with an organization like the Boys & Girls Club, the only thing required from a guardian or parent before the student participates is filling out a simple application. Some parents do not know that their child is participating in First Tee. But, now through TextMagic, partnership parents and guardians will receive a weekly text sharing what their child learned that day at First Tee, and also be given a question to ask their child about their experience.  In the final weeks of the session, parents and guardians will be sent a link to register for the next session available.
   
• Case Workers – To foster more mentor-mentee relationships in 2021, First Tee asked their Lead Coaches in November to sign up for a new program. Six Lead Coaches opted in, saying they wanted to identify 3-6 participants on scholarship that they’d like to build a deeper relationship with. As a ‘Case Worker,’ our coaches will reach out individually 6-8 times per year to each of their students, sharing upcoming opportunities for six-class sessions, leagues, Saturday tee times, and other program opportunities. We expect the Case Worker initiative to increase retention and progression in the program, and foster more mentor-mentee relationships. Already, more than 75% of students who have participated in more than one session say they view someone at First Tee as a mentor.
• Improved First Tee Store Items with First Tee’s logo – At each session, students earn First Tee bucks (our in-house currency) for good attendance and exhibiting positive behaviors and our Nine Core Values. In the final week of class, students can use First Tee bucks to purchase equipment, apparel, and other goodies. With First Tee’s new brand rollout in September 2020, we will be investing in hundreds of youth-sized First Tee t-shirts and polos to increase awareness, particularly with our partnership and low-income students. T-shirts and polos will be ‘sold’ at the First Tee store to incentivize students to wear them at school, at home, and in their neighborhood.

A strategic approach to finding new participants eligible for First Tee’s scholarship rate First Tee has relied heavily on partnerships and word of mouth to recruit new participants on scholarship. With COVID-19 temporarily putting our partnerships on hold, First Tee will add new strategic approaches to recruit new students on scholarship in 2021. With a new Marketing & Communications Coordinator in charge, here are two initiatives that will begin in 2021:

• Facebook Advertising: Next spring, First Tee will offer programs at 19 area golf courses. By identifying lower-income neighborhoods nearby to those golf courses and advertising to ages 25-45,  First Tee can offer personalized program offerings to families in their neighborhood.
• Door to Door Mailers:  With the help of First Tee’s 16 teenage junior coaches, First Tee will distribute simple program advertisements door to door in specific neighborhoods near its golf course locations.  This will provide information to new potential participants, while also providing more hours (and earned income) to First Tee’s teenage participants.

Each and every one of these new initiatives will require strategic thought, time, energy, and creativity.  Your support at year-end helps First Tee pay for the new Marketing & Communications Coordinator, and also for the increased marketing, mailers, and strategic communication to our families. Thank you for considering First Tee’s year-end campaign, and for supporting deeper relationships with the students that need us the most.

How it Started In the spring of 2020, First Tee announced its plans to expand to the Kalamazoo community, partnering with the Kalamazoo Junior Golf Association and the Kalamazoo Municipal Golf Association (owners of Red Arrow, Milham Park, and Eastern Hills Golf Courses) to offer its programs to kids starting in the spring of 2021. But the potential partnership between the KJGA, the City of Kalamazoo, and First Tee – West Michigan started long before that. Executive Director Tyler Smies first met with Mitch Wilson and PGA Professional Dean Marks of the KJGA in 2016 to discuss a potential partnership. At that time, First Tee – West Michigan was a young chapter, and unable to dedicate the time and resources to a potential partnership.  As 2018 came to a close, Tyler Smies reconnected with Mitch Wilson, Dean Marks and First Tee board member Nate Golomb to see if First Tee could be a fit in Kalamazoo.  Little did First Tee know all the groundwork the KJGA had already laid in the community. By the end of 2019, First Tee – West Michigan had a full business plan and applied for the opportunity to expand to Kalamazoo.  So many pieces were already in place thanks to the hard work of the KJGA.  The KGJA had already been using First Tee LINK, a modified version of First Tee’s curriculum, for years at Red Arrow Golf Course.  More than 150 students participated in the LINK program throughout 2019 and even more participated in 2020. An additional 250+ participate in the KJGA’s tournament series annually, a natural competitive golf opportunity for future First Tee students. In addition to Red Arrow, First Tee will run programs at Eastern Hills and Milham Park. PGA Professional Dean Marks, who operates the City of Kalamazoo’s three courses, and is also President of the Kalamazoo Junior Golf Association, is excited. “The KJGA has provided affordable golf opportunities to 400+ youth annually for over 30 years. The opportunity to partner with First Tee and their life skills and values curriculum will increase our outreach to area youth. That is a win for the community, a win for the youth, and a win for golf and the future of Kalamazoo. We are excited to expand the use of Red Arrow Golf Course to ensure that any family who wants their kids to learn important life skills through the game of golf will be able to do so regardless of their ability to pay.” Kalamazoo Advisory Committee & Kalamazoo Golf Marathon Fundraiser All throughout 2020, a newly formed Kalamazoo Advisory Committee has been meeting monthly to prepare for the launch of programs in 2021.  In September, First Tee launched its first-ever Golf Marathon fundraiser in Kalamazoo.  $38,000 was raised and more than 1,400 holes were played for First Tee’s launch in Kalamazoo.  Below are all the marathoners who played this year! This, along with a surprising and incredibly generous $25,000 gift from a local family foundation, allowed First Tee to begin searching this December for a full-time Kalamazoo Area Director.  All of these efforts have been led by the First Tee’s Kalamazoo Advisory Committee, listed below:

• Nate Golomb, Chair, Mercantile Bank
• Mercedes Befus, Horizon Bank
• Marcus Brussee, Mercantile Bank
• Matt Forkin, Boys & Girls Club of Kalamazoo
• Torean Greeley, HUB International
• Jeanne Hess, Kalamazoo City Commissioner
• Melissa Johnson, Gull Lake View Resort
• Dean Marks, Kalamazoo Municipal Golf Association, KCC Women’s Golf Coach
• Jack Versau, Kalamazoo Country Club
• Mitch Wilson, Retired from Pfizer, Pretty Lake Camp, KCC Men’s Golf Coach

    First Tee Kalamazoo Launch Timeline: 

• January 2016: KJGA visits First Tee – West Michigan’s Homework & Hitting program
• November 2018: Executive Director Tyler Smies and board member Nate Golomb reconnect with Mitch Wilson and Dean Marks of the KJGA
• January 2019: First Tee – West Michigan launches a feasibility study with support from Kalamazoo current and former residents
• December 2019: First Tee’s Kalamazoo Business Plan approved by Board of Directors
• February 2020: First Tee’s territory expansion to Kalamazoo County approved by First Tee HQ in Florida
• March 2020: First Tee hosts Meet & Greet at Homer Stryker Field in Kalamazoo
• April 2020: First Tee Kalamazoo Advisory Committee begins to meet monthly
• September 2020: First Tee’s first fundraiser, the inaugural Kalamazoo Marathon held at Eastern Hills, nets nearly $40,000 for the program launch.
• November 2020: First Tee received a generous $25,000 gift from a family foundation
• December 2020: First Tee Kalamazoo Area Director Position is posted

Fostering Community Partners As First Tee launches in the spring of 2021, it will look to partner with other organizations already working with at-risk youth in Kalamazoo.   First Tee ceaselessly collaborates with existing organizations to give students new opportunities to learn values and life skills.  Conversations have already begun with key strategic organizations in Kalamazoo, including:

• Boys & Girls Club of Kalamazoo
• Douglass Community Association
• Kalamazoo Country Club
• Kalamazoo Parks & Recreation Department
• Kalamazoo Public Schools
• Kalamazoo Communities in Schools
• Kalamazoo Youth for Christ – City Life
• The Moors
• And others

The Need Come this spring, with a new Area Director joining the staff and programs offered at multiple locations, First Tee anticipates 35-50 needed volunteer mentors to start in Kalamazoo.  Interested individuals can connect with Program Director Taylor Haudek at [email protected]. All this growth means a 2021 projected operating budget of over $100,000, with that number expected to increase in future years as First Tee impacts hundreds of area youth. Your financial support of this expansion at year-end can make a big impact on next year’s launch.  Thank you for your consideration!        

Since 2016, Jorge and his younger brother Nicholas have been mainstays in First Tee, receiving its six-class sessions for just $5.00. Along the way, both Jorge and his brother have become solid golfers. Jorge was the number one golfer at Wyoming High School during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. Through donated lessons at Golf-Tec with number four teacher in the state of Michigan Ian Hughes, Jorge carded his lowest scores ever (in the low 40s on 9 holes) his junior year. As he wrapped up his senior year (golf season was canceled due to COVID-19), he was in the Eagle Level at First Tee and was a junior coach in 2019 and this summer. But since his freshman year, Jorge has been working toward something bigger than his 4.0 GPA and a good golf game – a full-ride college scholarship. He began caddying at Kent Country Club in 2016 and worked extremely hard in the summer of 2019 to get the loops he needed as a caddie for a chance at the prestigious Chick Evans Scholarship – a caddie scholarship that provides a full ride, including room and board, to the University of Michigan or Michigan State. Last winter, Jorge was the first-ever Evans Scholarship recipient from First Tee – West Michigan, and was the only caddie from the area courses selected for the award. Now, he’s in his first year at the University of Michigan with 25 other Evans Scholars, putting his self-reliance to the test with COVID-19 online classes and other typical first-year college challenges. He and Executive Director Tyler Smies connect every other week over Zoom to ensure Jorge is acclimating in Ann Arbor. He’s the first in his family to attend college. The normal challenges exist – getting to bed on time and balancing new freedoms with class demands and responsibilities in the Evans House. There is still time for fun – Jorge is excited that he made an eSports Team at Michigan and has found a passion for ping pong as well. Looking back four years ago when we first interviewed Jorge’s mother Maria, it was clear to her even then what impact First Tee was making on Jorge and Nicholas. “I noticed then that both my sons were calmer, more polite, more thoughtful, and even more strategic in their day-to-day life than they were before,” Maria said. “The values that First Tee talks about – they are truths that they can live by in all parts of life – it’s not just in the context of sports.”

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – November 17, 2020  – Since 2011, First Tee – West Michigan has provided youth development and golf programs to young people in Muskegon, Kent and Ottawa Counties. This upcoming spring, it will also provide programs in Kalamazoo Counties.  To accommodate the growth of the organization, First Tee has recently hired Benjamin Elenbaas as its first full-time Administrative and Accounting Coordinator. Elenbaas grew up in Byron Center, graduating from South Christian High School in 2012 as a multisport athlete in golf, soccer, and basketball, including a 2-time state competitor in golf and state champion in soccer in 2010.  Elenbaas went on to play golf at Calvin University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Accounting in 2016. He continues to be an avid golfer and has a 2 handicap. Elenbaas’s work experience includes two years at Everett’s Landscape and two years at the Christian Athletic Complex, serving in accounting and programming roles.  In addition, Elenbaas has more than 5 years of coaching experience, including currently serving as the Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at South Christian High School. “We’re thrilled to have Ben on our staff,” said Executive Director Tyler Smies. “His background and passion working with youth, experience in accounting, along with his passion and skill for golf makes him the ideal fit for this role. We are excited to have a steady hand on our finances, and can’t wait to see the impact he’ll make on our young people.” First Tee – West Michigan grew to serve more than 1,200 students in 2019 at 15 area golf courses, teaching life skills and its Nine Core Values through the game of golf.  Hundreds of their participants receive First Tee’s programs for $5.00 or less because of their families’ income. Despite the coronavirus, First Tee will still serve nearly 950 students in 2020 and has a strong financial position to pursue continued growth. Registration for First Tee’s virtual winter program is currently open to all returning and new participants, with sessions beginning this week.  To register a participant between the ages of 7-17, visit firstteewestmichigan.org/register. For more information on The First Tee of West Michigan or to interview Ben Elenbaas, contact 616-240-8069 or email [email protected].