Category: News

Recently Teen Golfer Association (TGA) member Kameron Povio, Savannah Mansueti, Mia Thorson, Samara Washington, Christopher Curtis and Shrey Shalia visited The First Tee of Aiken in South Carolina for the Sage Valley Junior Invitational. Chapter Coaches Emily Valentine and Jack Barrett attended and chaperoned the group. Along the drive, the TGA stopped in Jacksonville for a visit to The First Tee home office and then enjoyed a fun evening at TopGolf. Chapter Participants volunteered their time as standard bearers at the Sage Valley Junior Invitational, a tournament that is known to be the “Masters of Junior Golf.” Also, the students were working manual scoreboards. Emily Valentine commented, “Every participant had the time of their lives meeting other participants within The First Tee network, thousands of miles away! As a Chapter Alumni, I truly enjoying getting to see the participants experience these types of activities and trips, as I did.” A special thank you to Lexi Milford and Heidi Hoffman from The First Tee of Aiken for the very warm welcome for the second year at their Chapter and at Sage Valley. To learn more about the TGA, please contact Emily at [email protected]

Have you ever played 144 holes in one day? Sounds crazy and it is! With the help of the golf professionals at Bear Lakes Country Club and Chapter staff, students and supporters that played CMAA Marathon Golf, we raised over $15,000 to support the thousands of children and veterans in our programs. Special shout out to Bear Lakes’ General Manager and COO Marius Ilie and their members for hosting us this year. “We set a new First Tee chapter record this year and the three South Florida chapters together raised over $110,000,” said Mitch Stump, CPA, Chapter Treasurer and Marathon Golf Committee Member. “CMAA in total for the Seminole Region broke the $400,000 mark for the first time in Marathon Golf history.” It is not to late to donate and support the Marathon Golfers. To make a donation, please CLICK HERE. Pictured above left: Bear Lakes Professionals Adam Packard, Sean Knott, Chad Lauze and Lynn Valentine teed it up all day and received pledges from the members of Bear Lakes. Pictured above right: Chapter staff Carl Mistretta, Jack Barrett and Emily Valentine teed it up with supporter John Rothberg and student Tyler Mistretta.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis served as host at the inaugural Florida Governor’s Cup on June 3, raising approximately $500,000 for The First Tee. The event took place Monday, June 3 at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, bringing together members of the Florida Legislature and the Executive Branch for a 27-hole Ryder Cup-style event. “I was honored to serve as the host of the inaugural Florida Governor’s Cup to benefit chapters of the First Tee throughout the state,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “The mission of The First Tee aligns perfectly with our goal of creating more opportunities for young Floridians from all walks of life to be successful. I am proud of what we accomplished this first year and look forward to future Governor’s Cups with The First Tee to benefit our leaders of tomorrow.” Chapter student, Savannah Mansueti attended the event and spoke to the tournament guests about her many experiences with our Chapter and how The First Tee helped her gain admittance to the University of Florida! Pictured above: Savannah and her father (in middle) with Governor DeSantis and his wife, Casey. Proceeds from the charity golf event will allow The First Tee to expand and deepen its impact in the state of Florida through grants to chapters, training and education and college scholarships.

When: July 19th, 2019 @ 5:30 pm Where: 401 N Highway A1A, Jupiter, FL 33477 Cost: $16 to walk with pull cart rental or $27 to ride per person Please RSVP to YP Chairman, Tom Bliss at [email protected] The Young Professionals (ages 21-39) invites you to join our network of active Palm Beach County based individuals dedicated to the mission of The First Tee. The Young Professionals supports The First Tee of The Palm Beaches through fundraising, volunteer efforts, and by broadening awareness in the Palm Beach area as ambassadors of our local chapter. To learn more about joining our Chapter’s Young Professionals, please CLICK HERE.

To register to compete in Drive, Chip and Putt, please CLICK HERE. To help students train, PGA Professional and First Tee Coach, Rick Hengstenberg, will be teaching the following: • DRIVE: Focus on how to create more clubhead speed with accuracy • CHIP: Set-up and basic fundamentals are key to hit it close • PUTT: Train for the 15 foot and the 30-foot putt. Focus on distance control Cost: Drop in for $35.00 per class per student. Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm for Boys and Girls ages 7-15 Where: Dyer Park – 7301 N. Haverhill Rd, West Palm Beach FL 33407

SESSION DATES Tuesday, June 11 Tuesday, June 18

For more information or to register contact Coach Rick at 561-510-3679 or email at [email protected] Space is limited. Please register with Coach Rick ASAP. Local qualifiers are at the following courses: – Broken Sound Country Clubon Friday, June 14th 2019. Deadline to register Sunday, June 9th – PGA National Golf Course on Wednesday, June 19th 2019. Deadline to register Friday, June 14th – Mirasol Country Club on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019. Deadline to register Thursday, June 27th

Recently, ten female participants from our Chapter and The Girls Golf of The Palm Beaches participated in a tournament in Doral, Miami. The tournament was hosted by the Girls Golf Miami for girls ranging from four years old to fifteen! Zoe Shamy, Chapter participant, in the age group 14 through 18, had her best tournament round ever shooting an 86. Shamy tied Gabriella Gomez for 1st place, which lead to a playoff. Gomez pulled ahead and won on Hole #3. Great job girls! If you would like to follow them on Instagram @girlsgolfofthepalmbeachesfor all of their exciting events.

2019 Tournament Information Location: Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club 21351 Whitaker Drive Boca Raton, FL 33433 Date: Thursday, June 20, 2019 Time: 18 holes – 9:00am Shotgun Start / 9 holes – 11:00 a.m. Cost: 9 hole tournament – $45.00 / 18 hole tournament – $65.00 Entry fee deadline: Monday, June 10, 2019 Please call Donna Serino at 561-245-0523 or email [email protected] with any questions.

In May, over sixty of our chapter supporters enjoyed a wonderful lunch and networking event at The Cooper Restaurant on PGA Boulevard to learn more about our Chapter and the children and veterans we serve. “We are very grateful to Rich Rosenthal of The Cooper for hosting the event,” said Dr. Ed Slotnick, Chapter Vice President. “Rich is a great supporter, the food is awesome and the restaurant is a fabulous venue for our annual lunch event.” The lunch included a brief overview regarding our mission and programs and a veteran participant, Larry Zaffuto, spoke about his experiences with our coaches and golf facility.

Join us and Chapter supporters at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter for the 8th Annual SACSN All Area Honors Charity Invitational to support Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. The collective efforts continue to help hundreds of families in need get their children back and forth to medical treatments. When: Saturday June 1st, 2019 at Trump National Golf Club, Jupiter One Day Charity “Stroke Play” Tournament Divisions: Boy’s Open & Girl’s Open Player Contribution Donation: $195 ​ Please contact Tournament Director: Tino Gaudino [email protected] or 561-267-7947 with any questions or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!