Young golfers to benefit from First Tee program

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association and the Southern Nevada Inner City Youth Golf Association merged to become The First Tee of Southern Nevada on Monday.

The First Tee is a national program dedicated to providing affordable and accessible golf to kids who may not otherwise have access to the sport.

"We hope to introduce golf to 5,000 to 6,000 kids within the next five years through parks and recreation, schools and other avenues," said Jane Schlosser, executive director of The First Tee of Southern Nevada. "Our goal is to increase the number of developmental players so we can increase the number of good competitive players coming out of Southern Nevada."

The Danny Gans Junior Golf Academy at the Callaway Golf Center will serve as the home of The First Tee.

Gans, a local entertainer and avid golfer since moving to Las Vegas, donated $30,000 to The First Tee at Monday's charter ceremony. The Las Vegas Founders Club contributed $125,000 to the program.

"There is such a need for The First Tee because golf is not a cheap sport," Gans said. "I'm thrilled to be able to donate money for this every year and be involved with this."

Kids enrolled in the academy's six-week program will complete five stages from beginning to advanced, then graduate onto the SNJGA competitive touring level to compete in tournaments.

Gradually, the program will be conducted at affiliate golf sites in Southern Nevada.

Life lessons have been an important component of The First Tee since its inception in 1997.

Kids enrolled in The First Tee participate in the Life Skills experience, which teaches them how to transfer values such as responsibility, honesty, integrity, respect, confidence and sportsmanship from the golf course to everyday life.

Each 1 1/2-hour session at the Danny Gans Golf Academy is divided into 45 minutes of Life Skills and 45 minutes of golf instruction. The Life Skills are taught on the golf course instead of a classroom.

"The First Tee is really about impacting the lives of young people by exposing them to the game of golf and its values," The First Tee executive director Joe Louis Barrow Jr. said. "We are certainly developing golf learning facilities, but we also think we're participating in the core development in these young people.

"I always say if you can sort of master the game of golf, you can master life. In life, you get a good bounce and a bad bounce and how you deal with those good bounces and bad bounces is just as important."

Barrow, son of former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, said some of his fondest childhood memories were spent on the golf course talking to his father.

"I think it's very important to expose the game of golf to all kids, particularly kids with diverse backgrounds, because the values of the game of golf can be very important to them in their lives, based on the challenges they face," he said. "We're very excited to be able to diversify the game."

Anyone interested in The First Tee program should call Eric Clark at 433-0626, ext. 211.