First Tee of Myrtle Beach Launches Inaugural Program
04/07/2006
April 7, 2006, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The First Tee of Myrtle Beach launched the inaugural First Tee program for the youth of Horry County today with a grand opening ceremony at the Cane Patch Par 3 & Driving Range.
Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes, along with Horry County Council members, Hootie & the Blowfish, representatives of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, Burroughs & Chapin Company, the Horry County Public School Systems, Lymo and the Coastal Carolina University Professional Golf Management Program were in attendance along with children from the First Tee program who sank a ceremonial “first putt” to signify the start of the Grand Strand’s junior golf program.
“It is a privilege to announce the grand opening of The First Tee of Myrtle Beach program today,” remarked Joseph Washington, executive director of the First Tee of Myrtle Beach program. “This day is the result of more than one year of planning and organizing. We have had three introductory sessions during the fall and winter and have enjoyed a tremendous response from the community. We hope to have more than 400 local young people enrolled in our chapter within the next three years and will grow even more in the future.”
Fostered by a partnership with The Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, SharedCare, Inc., Burroughs and Chapin, the Horry County Public School System and Lymo, the First Tee program is a nation-wide initiative to reach youth from eight to 18 years of age who might have never played golf while also striving to make a positive impact on their lives off the course.
Through Burroughs and Chapin Company, The First Tee of Myrtle Beach uses the Cane Patch Par 3 and Driving Range as the official site and the middle school children meet each Thursday afternoon for six weeks during the school year to learn life and golf skills.
After school ends each Thursday, buses from Lymo, the Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority system that services Horry County, picks up the First Tee children and transports them to Cane Patch. The Coastal Carolina University Professional Golf Management School provides the students who serve as the coaches and mentors for the children with a different facet of golf taught each week along with the nine First Tee Core Values of Life – confidence, integrity, perseverance, respect, responsibility, judgment, courtesy, honesty and sportsmanship.
The national First Tee program began in 1997 and now includes programs at 200 facilities in 22 states and reaches more than 450,000 young people. The First Tee of Myrtle Beach program is the fourth in the state of South Carolina joining existing programs in Columbia, Spartanburg and Sumter.
“We are excited to be associated with such a great program that introduces the game of golf to our youth,” said Bill Golden, vice president and director of marketing for Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “As the ‘Golf Capital of the World,’ Myrtle Beach should have a world-class First Tee facility. Joseph Washington has taken leadership of the First Tee of Myrtle Beach program and has been able to garner the community support needed for the program to be known as one of the best in the world.”
For more information about The First Tee Myrtle Beach, call (843) 913-5261, ext. 410 or visit www.thefirstteemyrtlebeach.org.
About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association of 60 accommodations, 85 championship golf courses and four golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization continues to be the driving force behind the success of the Myrtle Beach area golf market as the world’s leading golf vacation destination. In addition to hosting the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters and Golfapalooza, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday also manages the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world's largest amateur golf tournament – the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the spring and fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, visit the Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday website at www.golfholiday.com.
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04/07/2006
April 7, 2006, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The First Tee of Myrtle Beach launched the inaugural First Tee program for the youth of Horry County today with a grand opening ceremony at the Cane Patch Par 3 & Driving Range.
Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes, along with Horry County Council members, Hootie & the Blowfish, representatives of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, Burroughs & Chapin Company, the Horry County Public School Systems, Lymo and the Coastal Carolina University Professional Golf Management Program were in attendance along with children from the First Tee program who sank a ceremonial “first putt” to signify the start of the Grand Strand’s junior golf program.
“It is a privilege to announce the grand opening of The First Tee of Myrtle Beach program today,” remarked Joseph Washington, executive director of the First Tee of Myrtle Beach program. “This day is the result of more than one year of planning and organizing. We have had three introductory sessions during the fall and winter and have enjoyed a tremendous response from the community. We hope to have more than 400 local young people enrolled in our chapter within the next three years and will grow even more in the future.”
Fostered by a partnership with The Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, SharedCare, Inc., Burroughs and Chapin, the Horry County Public School System and Lymo, the First Tee program is a nation-wide initiative to reach youth from eight to 18 years of age who might have never played golf while also striving to make a positive impact on their lives off the course.
Through Burroughs and Chapin Company, The First Tee of Myrtle Beach uses the Cane Patch Par 3 and Driving Range as the official site and the middle school children meet each Thursday afternoon for six weeks during the school year to learn life and golf skills.
After school ends each Thursday, buses from Lymo, the Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority system that services Horry County, picks up the First Tee children and transports them to Cane Patch. The Coastal Carolina University Professional Golf Management School provides the students who serve as the coaches and mentors for the children with a different facet of golf taught each week along with the nine First Tee Core Values of Life – confidence, integrity, perseverance, respect, responsibility, judgment, courtesy, honesty and sportsmanship.
The national First Tee program began in 1997 and now includes programs at 200 facilities in 22 states and reaches more than 450,000 young people. The First Tee of Myrtle Beach program is the fourth in the state of South Carolina joining existing programs in Columbia, Spartanburg and Sumter.
“We are excited to be associated with such a great program that introduces the game of golf to our youth,” said Bill Golden, vice president and director of marketing for Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “As the ‘Golf Capital of the World,’ Myrtle Beach should have a world-class First Tee facility. Joseph Washington has taken leadership of the First Tee of Myrtle Beach program and has been able to garner the community support needed for the program to be known as one of the best in the world.”
For more information about The First Tee Myrtle Beach, call (843) 913-5261, ext. 410 or visit www.thefirstteemyrtlebeach.org.
About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association of 60 accommodations, 85 championship golf courses and four golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization continues to be the driving force behind the success of the Myrtle Beach area golf market as the world’s leading golf vacation destination. In addition to hosting the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters and Golfapalooza, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday also manages the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world's largest amateur golf tournament – the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the spring and fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, visit the Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday website at www.golfholiday.com.
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