With MacDonald remaining part of the city golf system, The First Tee will complete a $1.5 million training center at the course, including a driving range and a building for golf instruction.
Renovations Would Make Houston’s Memorial Park GC Viable for PGA TOUR Event
Phase one of the renovation will cost $13 million, all privately funded, and includes the golf course, a new maintenance facility, a practice facility with a two-level hitting bay for public use and a First Tee complex with a four-hole course. Phase two, with a projected cost of $15-$17 million, would be for clubhouse facilities.
George H.W. Bush Had Lifelong Connections to Golf
In addition to having a father and grandfather who were USGA presidents and serving himself as the original honorary chairman of The First Tee, the 41st president of the United States was honored by golf’s leading organizations, including induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. And his greatest contribution to the game may have…
First Tee of Greater Richmond to Upgrade Chesterfield, Va. Course
The youth program expects to spend approximately $450,000 to revamp its clubhouse space to make room for a pair of golf simulators and after-school space. Similar improvements made at another facility that it runs in the Richmond area helped to generate player traffic beyond the organization’s base of students. The First Tee of Greater Richmond…
First Tee Project Jeopardized by Pending Sale of MacDonald GC
The local youth golf organization has suspended a $1 million project that includes plans for a driving range, learning center and indoor hitting center at the Wichita, Kan. course while it awaits a decision about the property’s future. A more than $1 million project for youth golf development has been put on hold after questions…
First Tee Project Jeopardized by Pending Sale of MacDonald GC
The local youth golf organization has suspended a $1 million project that includes plans for a driving range, learning center and indoor hitting center at the Wichita, Kan. course while it awaits a decision about the property’s future. A more than $1 million project for youth golf development has been put on hold after questions…
Twin Lakes GC Faces Uncertain Future
The North Branford, Conn. par-3 course, owned by the golfing village that is made up of a series of condos, is leased to an outside operator that plans on stepping away at the end of the year. A new lease arrangement is not yet lined up, but the ownership, and outside experts, think the course…
Brockton, Mass. City Course Tops $1M in Revenues for First Time Ever
The milestone for the D.W. Field Golf Course marked “the best year in the history of the golf course,” said the city’s Superintendent of Parks, and was due to improved course conditions and hard work by its staff. “D.W. Field is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations for golfers on the [Massachusetts] South…
The First Tee Appoints New CEO
Keith Dawkins, who most recently served as Executive Vice President of Nickelodeon, became the organizations’s newest CEO on January 1, following the retirement of Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., who had served in the position since 2008. Dawkins will report to the World Golf Foundation Board and The First Tee Advisory Board. Keith Dawkins, an executive…
L. A. County Moves to Remake Victoria Golf Course into Rec Center
The 51-year-old Carson, Calif. property has seen rounds drop to less than half of those at the county’s higher-performing courses, despite a recent $800,000 investment. Plans will now be pursued to use at least part of the 178-acre site for “a more accessible and diverse recreational facility … [that] could potentially include tennis, soccer and golf facilities, as well as facilities dedicated to after-school youth development.”
Tiger Woods to Design Public Courses at Big Cedar Lodge
Scheduled to open in 2019, the new Payne’s Valley Golf Course, named in honor of the late Payne Stewart, will feature a 19th hole set in a natural cavern system at the Branson, Mo., property. Woods will also design a short course, which property owner Johnny Morris described as “putt-putt on steroids.”
‘Topgolf for Good’ Youth Initiative is Launched
On March 19, five of the company’s venues offered free game play, golf instruction and food-and-beverage amenities, as part of a collaboration with The First Tee and LPGA-USGA Girls Golf that launched a year-round program, through which similar benefits will now be offered to charitable organizations and high-school golf teams.
Langston GC Renovates Bunkers Through Donations
Dean Graves, certified golf course superintendent of Chevy Chase (Md.) Club, recently rallied area superintendents and businesses to donate the equipment and sand needed to renovate seven bunkers at the short game practice area of the historic Washington, D.C., facility.
ClubCorp Charity Classic Sets Fundraising Record
In 2016, the company’s major philanthropic effort raised $3,053,312 that will benefit over 100 national and charitable organizations, including Augie’s Quest and the ClubCorp Employee Partners Care Foundation. The Charity Classic has raised more than $20.3 million since its inception in 2007.
Growth of Youth on Course Program Highlighted in USA Today
The national newspaper reported on how the 11-year-old program that caps the cost of a round at $5 for registered players ages 7-18 has caught on and is now offered at 330 participating courses in 12 states.