Golf for Kids: Teeing it Up for a Great Cause

Through my years of coaching various youth sports, the venues have changed, but the message has not: sports, in so many ways, are a microcosm of life.

There’s competition, which inspires whole-hearted effort; striving to be your best is a trait applicable to all future endeavors. There’s winning and losing—enjoying success as a gracious winner and learning how to conquer adversity—that translate into real-life situations.

There are myriad others, but the underlying theme is that young athletes develop the drive to always get better, which carries over into all walks of life and every pursuit.

The First Tee of Aurora & Fox River Valley uses the sport of golf to impart life’s lessons. Since the mid-1990s, the Fox Valley Park Foundation has partnered with The First Tee to help build a better tomorrow for the next generation.

Those efforts will continue in earnest next Monday (June 27), when the 17th annual Golf for Kids Benefit Golf Outing is held at Orchard Valley Golf Course.

Morning tee times (7:30, shotgun start) are still available, with a bonus. Golfers who take part in the breakfast round will be offered the opportunity to play 18 holes for free that afternoon at Fox Valley Golf Club. Now that’s a nice two-for-one.

Considering what each golfer receives, the $175 entry fee will feel like a bargain. For starters, there’s the continental breakfast, buffet lunch and dinner at Orchards Restaurant. Your 18 holes of golf include a comfortable electric cart. Each golfer also will receive an Adidas ClimaCool shirt and box of custom golf balls.

The day also will include team awards, special hole competitions, putting contest, door prizes and raffle drawings, with the Golden Ticket winner receiving free golf and cart for two for an entire year!

But mostly, Golf for Kids is exactly that—for the kids. The First Tee makes the game accessible to kids of all backgrounds and demographics, teaching them important values such as self-management, goal-setting and decision-making. Like golf, these skills last a lifetime.

The nine core values imparted onto First Tee participants are the pillars to character development, not just for the children, but for those whose live they will ultimately impact: respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, judgment, honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.

“The First Tee is so much more than learning to hit a golf ball,” said Dan Abella, general manager of The First Tee of Aurora & Fox River Valley. “Golf provides the backdrop to teach life skills and values that provide kids a strong foundation for the future.”

Community response to Golf for Kids from individual golfers and corporate sponsors alike has been extraordinary—so noteworthy, in fact, that local contributors have helped the Aurora/Fox Valley chapter rank in the top 10 among the 208 chapters internationally.

More than 1,200 children are enrolled in the program this summer. In the fall and winter, The First Tee makes outreach efforts through 43 schools in Aurora, Montgomery, North Aurora and Oswego, involving upward of 10,000 youth.

As with a great golf shot, helping kids leaves a lingering glow. But it’s so much more than a memory. It’s a magical feeling; helping young children achieve a better life is the accomplishment of a lifetime.

Fox Valley Park District
Upcoming Events

Sunday, June 26: Antique Tractor Show at Blackberry Farm, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 30: Free Concert in the Park – Yorkville Big Band at Montgomery Park, 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Thursday, July 7: Free Concert in the Park – August at McCullough Park, 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 9: Prisco Fun Fair, Prisco Community Center, noon to 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 13: Free ice cream social at Blackberry Farm, 1 to 2 p.m.