Year: 2017

Looking for something the children can do this summer that is both fun AND educational? Our chapter offers summer camps and programs at multiple locations for youth ages six to 18. CLICK HERE for Summer Camp locations near you! In addition to learning fundamentals of the golf swing and the game, your child will be introduced to our character education and life skills programs that help young people prepare for success at school, home and in the community. Lessons are offered, in a fun, activity-based, group setting with trained coaches.  Children are grouped together by age and ability.

Through years of support from volunteers, committee members and board members the Palm Beach County Junior Golf Association has been helping grow junior golf in Palm Beach County for over 45 years.  The PBCJGA continues to offer college scholarships to its members graduating high school. The PBCJGA has published its summer 2017 schedule and registration is now open.  Nine 1-day events are scheduled beginning Monday, June 5^th. For more information and to register, please visit www.pbcjga.org

Registration is now open for the Toski Junior Golf Tournament to be held at Saint Andrews Country Club on Friday, July 21. 9:00 a.m. Shotgun start for 18-hole tournament and approximately 11:00 a.m. Shotgun start for 9-hole tournament. To sign up visit www.toskijuniorgolf.com Please click on “Tournament Information” for full details. Limited to the first 75 players.  For questions, please contact: Donna Serino [email protected]

The mission of the Florida Junior Golf Council is to improve the lives of Florida’s youth by introducing them to the great game of golf and the tremendous values embodied in the game. Proceeds from the purchase of the Florida Golf License Plate provide funding for thousands of junior golf programs across the state, including our local chapter. Your contribution will help fund programs that seek to enrich the lives of our youth that include:

• In school and afterschool golf instruction and summer camp programs
• Inclusive programs for low income and children with disabilities
• Municipal and community-based recreation programs
• Golf course access and equipment
• Academic coaching and after school tutoring
• Core life skills instruction and health and wellness curriculum

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR LICENSE PLATE

The Admirals Cove Foundation was established in 2004.  The non-profit organization is committed to the philosophy of giving back to the community. The Foundation is dedicated to providing aid to worthy civic, cultural, education, social, and health-related non-profit institutions within Palm Beach County. “My fellow members at Admirals Cove demonstrate tremendous generosity to many local charities each year,” said Steve Rockoff, Chairman of the Children’s Golf Foundation.  “Their support helped us launch our chapter of The First Tee in 2009 and the members support us with individual giving.  There is always an abundance of foursomes from Admirals Cove playing in our golf tournaments.” Pictured: Dick Sheehan – CGF Chairman Emeritus, Steve Rockoff – CGF Chairman and Jack Barrett – Chapter Development Director accepting this year’s donation with Nate Fanberg at a recent reception at the club.

Recently the members at High Ridge Country Club held their season ending tournament and choose our organization as the benefitting charity.  A few participants from our Chapter, participated by hitting shots and greeting the members on the course during play.  High Ridge also conducted a Club Drive to benefit our organization. “The generosity showed by the members of High Ridge is truly inspirational,” said Dr. Edward Slotnick, Chapter Director and Club Drive Chairman.  “We asked them to conduct a first time Club Drive and they raised over $14,000 to support our programs serving local children and Veterans.” Special thanks to Harvey Karofsky for coordinating this generous contribution.  Without the tremendous support of our local golf clubs, we simply would not be able to fulfill our mission and deliver our programs. Pictured:  High Ridge CC, Head Professional – Marshall Carpenter, Chapter Director – Dr. Edward Slotnick, and High Ridge CC Assistant Professional – Jason DePietro. 

7 days a week, 365 days a year, every day! our maintenance staff, led by Superintendent Ryan Kelly, has to maintain our 13-acre practice facility and clubhouse grounds.  Three industry leaders in turf maintenance stepped up to help us with our needs. “Syngenta generously donated a variety of products to assist us with weed, fungus and insect control and Bayer generously donated product for insect control that was applied by Southern Soils,” said Mark Reid, chapter Director and Facilities Chairman and Director of Golf & Grounds Maintenance at the Breakers.  “We are very grateful for the support of Kevin Wasilewski from Syngenta, Brian MacCurrach from Bayer and Tom Seeber from Southern Soils.”

Pictured: Tractor and staff from Southern Soils applying donated insect control product from Bayer.

Recognized by GolfWeek as the #1 junior event in golf, the Junior Invitational welcomes the very best junior golfers from around the world to Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina. Past participants have succeeded at every level having already played in the Ryder Cup, Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship. Chapter participant, Brandon Doner, was invited to attend the opening dinner and play in the tournament ProAm.  He was joined by his father, Adam, who also played in the ProAm. “What an incredible event and golf course,” said Brandon.  “Through our local chapter, I played in the The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and now I have played Sage Valley.  It does not get any better than that!” The invitation was made possible by an exchange program between our chapter and The First Tee of Aiken.  Students from Aiken attended this year’s The Honda Classic and played in our Monday after tournament. Congratulations to Adrien Pendaries, the grandson of Chapter Director, Dr. Edward Slotnick.  Adrien played in the Junior Invitational and finished tied for 11^th place at three under par.

Looking for something the children can do this summer that is both fun AND educational? Our chapter offers summer camps and programs at multiple locations for youth ages 6 to 18. CLICK HERE for Summer Camp locations near you! In addition to learning fundamentals of the golf swing and the game, your child will be introduced to our character education and life skills programs that help young people prepare for success at school, home and in the community. Lessons are offered, in a fun, activity-based, group setting with trained coaches.  Children are grouped together by age and ability.

The mission of LOOPER is to bring caddies back to the game of golf and make them more accessible to golfers of any skill levels at virtually any course. Our chapter has partnered with LOOPER to accelerate their development of the South Florida market and to provide extended opportunities to our chapter’s students. As LOOPER’s South Florida launch partner, our chapter will help recruit and develop caddies through our existing on-course programming. LOOPER, the on-demand app and caddie platform, will provide more learning and earning opportunities for these new caddies. In addition, our chapter will be LOOPER’s primary beneficiary in the south Florida market receiving a donation for every completed LOOPER round. “The First Tee has become integral to providing youth with access to golf through its many chapters across the country,” according to LOOPER Founder and CEO, Dave Cavossa. “We share the core belief that golf can provide youth with life-changing opportunities, and we are excited to work with the Palm Beaches chapter to bring those opportunities to more students in south Florida.” Today, only a handful of high-end private clubs and resort courses offer caddies. LOOPER, launched this past Spring in the Mid-Atlantic, aims to change that trend. LOOPER has deployed a shared economy platform, in the model of popular ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, that is disrupting the caddie industry and making it easier for golfers to book caddies, and for courses to offer caddie services. LOOPER offers a quick, easy and more affordable way for golfers to book a caddie while allowing the courses to provide a premium service at no operational cost. Golfers simply download the LOOPER app (available for iPhone and Android devices) and register to start using the service at participating courses. Once the golfer enters the course, the date and time they plan to play, they then receive a confirmation notice from their LOOPER caddie who will meet them at the course. Fees range from $25 – $85 plus tip. LOOPER currently offers four levels of service: JR LOOPER, LOOPER, FORE-LOOPER and PRO-LOOPER. “We are excited to work with LOOPER in this partnership.” The First Tee of The Palm Beaches, Executive Director, Carl Mistretta, explains, “Golf provides young people with the opportunity to build character, learn values and make healthy choices. Working with LOOPER will create more opportunities for our students to thrive in and around the game of golf.” The LOOPER technology platform is completely customizable for each course’s needs. Each course can choose the service offerings and pricing that allows it to best serve its golfers. To join the growing list of courses offering caddies through LOOPER, courses can visit www.looper.golf. LOOPER is the fastest growing caddie-on-demand service platform in the Nation. LOOPER was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in the Washington, DC area. LOOPER is currently operating in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania with upcoming market launches in South Carolina, Florida and California. For more information go to http://www.looper.golf/.

Please join our program partner, the Boys & Girls Clubs for their upcoming tournament! CLICK HERE to view the invitation and sponsorship card for the event that will be held on May 12th and 13th. This is the 28th year for this fun event and the activities will include:

• A dinner & auction on Friday, May 12th at the Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place, and
• A round of Golf at the exclusive Dye Preserve Golf Club on Saturday, May 13th

Since its inception, the B&GC Annual Golf Classic & Auction has raised over $6 million for the clubs of Palm Beach County, and with your support they will have another successful event to support the youth in our community.

Bella Gingrich, a senior at Cardinal Newman and member of their golf team, recently spoke to our students at Dyer Park. Bella visits our facility in Dyer Park once a week to practice with the Cardinal Newman team. She visited our PAR and BIRDIE classes and discussed how important it is to become an excellent public speaker. She is a member of the debate team and went to Harvard University last month for a debate tournament. Her team won the tournament. She incorporated the life skills of our curriculum in her speech to our participants.