First Tee scores and grows across area
Tuesday was not only a beautiful day to be out on the golf course, but Sara Cross and Jeff LaRue also celebrated the brand-new clubhouse at Highland Springs in Rock Island, their new classroom for First Tee of the Quad Cities, and the overall growth of the youth program.
“It turned out just beautifully,” Cross (executive director of First Tee QC) said Tuesday of the $1.9-million, 3,000-square-foot facility at 9500 35th Street West. “This is our first season with an actual roof over our heads.”
The old golf course clubhouse (over 50 years old) was torn down and the city worked with First Tee the past two years to build the new facility.
“We brought in contractors and engineers to look at the old clubhouse to see what we could do with it, but it was time that it came down,” Cross said.
“There was no room for a classroom in there,” LaRue (the Highland Springs PGA golf pro and First Tee coach) said of the old building, noting the new place is at least twice as big.
“To go from that to this is unbelievable,” Cross said, noting kids would just sit outside on picnic benches at the old clubhouse.
“When it’s 100 degrees at a picnic table, their attention span lasts about five minutes,” LaRue said.
“Now they have their own little area – I call it a fun room; it’s not a classroom,” he said. “It’s so good here, it’s amazing.”
Highland Springs and First Tee Quad Cities invite everyone to an open house to celebrate the new clubhouse and First Tee classroom on Thursday, April 20 from 2 to 4 p.m. Celebrations will include ribbon cutting ceremony, speeches, champagne toast, snacks and a cash bar.
In partnership with First Tee (itself a national youth development program), the Rock Island Parks and Recreation Department’s new clubhouse at Highland Springs will accommodate larger fundraising outings, provide a more accessible facility for all patrons and a classroom for First Tee students.
First Tee typically runs from end of March to mid-October. They served 290 students last year at Highland Springs and expect up to 350 this year. “For one year, that’s a big jump,” Cross said.
In 2014, when it began at Highland Springs, First Tee had about 80 students. They have students from beyond the Rock Island-Milan district, since it’s open enrollment, Cross said.
“The only thing we don’t provide is transportation,” she said. “We purchase a 12-passenger van, which brings our community kids here. But if a parent from Iowa has a relationship here or they work in Rock Island and it’s convenient, they’ll program here.”
Highland Springs includes kids from Rock Island Fitness and Activity Center, Spring Forward, and the King Center.
What is First Tee?
Since 2014, Highland Springs has partnered with First Tee Quad Cities to provide golf and life skills programming to youth from all backgrounds.
First Tee is a youth development organization that introduces golf and its inherent values to kids and teens. The local chapter teaches classes at Red Hawk clubhouse, 6364 Northwest Blvd., Davenport; Emeis Golf Course, 4500 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport, and Two Rivers YMCA, 2040 53rd St., Moline.
Students age 6-16 learn life skills that stay with them into the rest of their lives, like:
- Understanding and managing emotions
- Resolving conflicts
- Setting up step-by-step goals
- Planning for the future
- Appreciating diversity
“We want to make it extremely accessible for kids to play golf, but it’s so much more than that,” Cross said Tuesday. “It’s character development.”
Words and phrases on the classroom walls are words they truly live by, she said.
“We talk about honesty a lot in this classroom and how that applies, of course on the golf course – but more so, at home, in the classroom, with their peers,” Cross said. “They go out and golf and it gives us a platform even more so, to drive in, this is what honesty means on the golf course.”
Students don’t have to be a skilled golfer to be in First Tee, but their biggest focus is character development.
It runs on the similar principle as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts – using outdoor activities to teach and strengthen character development, Cross said.
“A child who enjoys sports, who thrives in sports, we are an amazing organization for them,” she said. “It’s just finding which platform connects with the kids the most.”
Though golf is a solitary sport, it helps teach teamwork and working with others.
“I think where that comes into play is the classroom management piece of it – sitting, listening to our head coaches and having dialogue back and forth,” Cross said. “It’s really not so much, a teacher is teaching to class – we love that open dialogue.”
Highland Springs head coach Jeff LaRue spends half his day working as the golf pro on the course and half teaching First Tee classes.
Each six-week session (class once a week) is $85 per child. Students can be in the program regardless of ability to pay. They give out hundreds of scholarships a year.
They have a few fundraising events per year, including a major one in September at TPC Deere Run in Silvis (home of the John Deere Classic).
Partnering with city and others
Over the past several years, Highland Springs has provided the First Tee program to hundreds of children by partnering with local organizations such as Spring Forward, Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Boys & Girls Club, Rock Island Parks and Recreation, RISE UP and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Approximately 40% of participants are underrepresented and more than 50% are girls. Through after-school and day camp programs, First Tee helps shape the lives of young people from all walks of life by reinforcing values like integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf.
First Tee QC will now permanently locate their programming at Highland Springs, enabling the nonprofit to grow and expand its programming reach in the Rock Island community. The clubhouse was designed by Legat Architects and built by Estes Construction.
First Tee raised $300,000 for the classroom. Cross praised their partnership with the city.
“I am extremely proud of how the City Council heard it and unanimously voted yes, that this was a great idea and a great partnership,” she said. “That confidence really kicked off our fundraising.”
“I’m really satisfied with how this turned out,” LaRue said of the clubhouse. “I love working with kids, I love teaching.”
About 15-20% of First Tee high schoolers are on their school golf teams, but that doesn’t matter, he said.
“It’s something you can do your whole life – you can’t play football when you’re 90 years old. You can’t play baseball when you’re 90, but you can still golf when you’re 90 years old,” LaRue said.
“Honesty and sportsmanship are what I try to instill more than anything, plus judgment, integrity,” he said. “Honesty in golf, you have to be your own referee, police yourself, and take pride in yourself.”
First Tee QC serves as many kids altogether as the Chicago area, LaRue said proudly. “We’re doing something right.”
“They learn all this from golf and they can take it the rest of their life,” he said. “It makes them better humans overall.” For him, it is very rewarding.
Growing the game in next generation
“I’m growing the game of golf, which is my passion,” LaRue said. “As a PGA professional, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, to teach the game of golf and make sure people following me will keep playing, so this game doesn’t die off.”
“We need to get more kids involved, and the easiest way to do that is First Tee and playing with their parents,” he said, noting many Highland Spring members (there are about 150 season-pass holders) have kids in the program.
The clubhouse has been open two weeks and people are really enjoying it, LaRue said. The outdoor patio should be done by April 22.
First Tee chooses local courses based on their facilities and resources.
“We take a really hard look at how busy that golf course is in general,” Cross said. “The driving range, of course. We need to tee times to get on the golf course.”
Fortunately, the nonprofit is at a place in growth where courses see the benefit of having a program on site, and they are requesting First Tee, rather than vice versa, she said. “We’re receiving a lot of calls about how they can get First Tee to their facility, which is a huge pat on the back for us.”
They opened in 2022 at Emeis Golf Course in Davenport for the first time, serving 160 kids and they’re expecting 200-plus this year, she said. “Demand is extremely high and our resources are growing to keep up.”
Since 2004, First Tee has been integrating the First Tee School Program into physical education classes across the country. They equip educators at elementary and middle schools with curriculum built around the game of golf, while positively impacting kids through both the game and its inherent ability to improve social-emotional learning skills.
They give durable plastic golf clubs and felt balls for 23 QC area schools (at no cost to schools), and First Tee trains the PE teachers to offer the program.
Expanding year-round
First Tee is expanding to the new Iron Tee Golf complex next to TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf in 2024.
The new facility (at Middle Road and Forest Grove Drive) will feature a new three-level golf entertainment venue, with TopTracer Range technology in 58 climate-controlled hitting bays, chef-driven menu items, top-shelf drinks, music, and year-round entertainment.
First Tee is locating there because they want to see kids year-round.
“Retention is a big pillar for us,” Cross said Tuesday “We want to check in with them – not so much in swinging golf clubs, but how is school going? How’s the home going?”
When they heard about Iron Tee planning to open in Bettendorf, First Tee wanted to partner with them, for winter programs.
“We’re never gonna get kids on the golf course in December, so our next best solution is to create partnerships which will allow kids to come to Iron Tee – which will have a beautiful classroom space there, plenty of bays to teach classes.”
“The best part of the partnership is how early we got ourselves in the door over there,” Cross said. “That allowed them to set aside space for us.”
There are many First Tee chapters nationwide that offer indoor programs over the winter months like this, she said.
Iron Tee is planning to open in May 2024, and First Tee will start that November.
They’ll come up with a schedule for Iron Tee, with a smaller number of kids, Cross said. “We’ll work with any number we can get,” she said, noting she expects wait lists (which First Tee sees at each facility).
“We want every kid to have that First Tee experience, especially if they want that,” she said. “I’m constantly bugging our coaches to open up more classes. Thankfully, everybody’s on board with the mission and the vision we have for this.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with First Tee Quad Cities for our new Iron Tee venue,” Ryan Hintze, developer of the new complex, said Tuesday. “This collaboration brings numerous advantages to both organizations and the community. Our partnership with First Tee Quad Cities at the Iron Tee Golf venue not only promotes youth development by providing opportunities to learn valuable life skills but also expands access to golf, teaching children important values like honesty, integrity, and perseverance.
“By collaborating with First Tee Quad Cities, we enhance our entertainment offerings with unique and engaging programming, setting us apart from other golf facilities while also building stronger communities and fostering a sense of unity,” he said. “Lastly, this partnership supports the local economy by contributing to economic growth in Bettendorf and the surrounding areas, generating revenue for businesses, and creating job opportunities as our venue attracts more visitors.”
Partnering with the Classic
First Tee also partners closely with the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic (this year July 5-9), including offering college scholarships to three First Tee students from across the country. They play in the Pro-Am and talk with the local students (about 1,000 QC students participate in the Youth Day).
“Our relationship with the John Deere Classic in general, is unbelievable,” Cross said. “It’s such a natural thing, when you have a big tournament in your area, to try to do as much with them as possible. We are the official sponsor of Youth Day.”
“Honestly, it’s amazing because so many of the pros on tour have a relationship with First Tee in their own market,” she said. “They jump on the opportunity to talk to our kids.”
First Tee College Scholarship Program supports selected alumni throughout their college career. The need and merit-based program provides scholarships up to $5,000 per year, renewable for up to four years of college admission.
The program also provides professional development workshops, access to internships and full-time employment placement post-graduation. One of the key factors of the program is pairing scholars with a dedicated adult mentor who will help encourage and guide them throughout the four years.
The program is open to graduating high school seniors planning to attend college the following year. Applicants must be active members of First Tee chapters and will be considered based on financial need, academic performance, chapter involvement, volunteerism and other criteria.
First Tee QC raises about $40,000 to $70,000 from the annual Birdies for Charity, and the TPC golf outing fundraiser in September usually nets $55,000, Cross said.
About 60 percent of First Tee annual revenue comes from individuals, corporations and foundations; 30% from fundraising events; 5% from student registration, and the rest from fundraising outside the area.
First Tee is now looking to expand in Iowa City and Geneseo, Cross said.
“We’ve had so much success in the last four years, that geographic growth is kind of what is probably next for us,” she said.
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