Our 2016 Club Drives were a tremendous success and the resulting stats are impressive: Over 5,000 golf clubs collected. 35 participating country clubs in Palm Beach County. $25,000+ raised to support the mission and programs of The First Tee of The Palm Beaches.
“What an incredible growth our Club Drive program has experienced in the last few years,” said Dr. Eddy Slotnick, Chapter Director and Club Drive Chairman. “We are so very appreciative to all the clubs that participated this year. Our goal is to grow the program substantially again next year.”
The Country Club of Mirasol collected the most clubs with over 1,200 donated this past season. Right on their heels for top donations included PGA National Resort and Spa, Bear Lakes, Trump National Jupiter and Banyan Golf Club. All participating golf course receive a plaque from our Chapter.
Pictured above from Jupiter Country Club left to right: General Manager John Barrett and Head Golf Professional Mike Bronkema.
The Club Drive program began as an opportunity to collect equipment for students of The First Tee of the Palm Beaches. The donations became overwhelming for the staff as most adult clubs are always too long and heavy for juniors. Older players benefited from the program, but the clubs were not suitable for younger players. Cutting down shafts and re-gripping proved exhausting and expensive.“It got to the point where we had to stop the program,” said Carl Mistretta, Chapter Executive Director. “We had so many clubs in the lobby of our clubhouse I could not wade through them all to reach my office. But, each time we conducted a Club Drive, we met many new friends and supporters who learned about our Chapter.”
Over time, the Chapter figured out a way to use or sell every club donated. Now it is never an issue of having too many donated clubs. There are always plenty of clubs available at our 12-acre golf facility in Dyer Park and the excess clubs have become an annual revenue source.
The most important byproduct of the Club Drive is that thousands of country club members learn each year about their local chapter of The First Tee. The Club Drive has led to many clubs later supporting our Chapter through their club’s charitable foundations. Also, many of the men’s and ladies’ golf associations began to make donations from their tournaments and events.
“Our chapter has grown each year since inception,” said Steve Rockoff, Chairman of the Childrens Golf Foundation, the governing body of the chapter. “We cannot continue to grow and expand without the support of our local country clubs.”
Below is an alpha list of all participating for the 2015-2016 season:
Addison Reserve Country Club
BallenIsles Country Club
Banyan Golf Club
Bear Lakes Country Club
Boca Dunes Golf & Country Club
Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club
Boca West Country Club
Bocaire Country Club
Country Club at Mirasol
Eastpointe Country Club
Emerald Dunes Club
Forest Oaks Golf Club
Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club
Gleneagles Country Club
High Ridge Country Club
Hunters Run
Jupiter Country Club
Lost Tree Club
Mayacoo Lakes Country Club
Old Marsh Golf Club
Palm Beach Country Club
Palm Beach Par-3 Golf Course
PGA National Golf Club
St. Andrews Country Club
The Bear’s Club
The Breakers Rees Jones Course
The Broken Sound Club
The Club at Admiral’s Cove
The Club at Admiral’s Cove/Golf Village
The Club at Ibis
The Country Club of Florida
The Falls Club of the Palm Beaches
The Golf Club of Jupiter
The Wanderers Club
Trump International Golf Club
Trump National Jupiter
To sign your club up for a 2017 Club Drive, please contact Chapter Director Dr. Eddy Slotnick at
[email protected] for more information.
As always, The Honda Classic features a stellar tournament field including defending champion Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Justin Rose.
February 20-26, PGA National Resort & Spa, The Champion Course
Please CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. 
Featuring PGA Tour Players Bryson DeChambeau, Emiliano Grillo and Golf Prodigy Tommy Morrissey
Tuesday February 21st, 4:00pm
PGA National Resort & Spa – PGA Boulevard entrance.
PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE BEFORE 3:30PM
All arrivals before 3:30pm will be directed to the Mirasol parking lot.
Come join us for a fun afternoon at the Junior Golf Clinic, hosted by The First Tee of the Palm Beaches, featuring PGA Tour Professionals Bryson DeChambeau and Emiliano Grillo! Listen as the game’s best share insider tips and stories from their years of experience on the PGA TOUR.
The Honda Classic’s Birdies for Children program teams up our chapter with the PGA Tour event to raise dollars with a fun chance to win a new Honda automobile! Our chapter benefits from the proceeds, plus we receive a 10% matching contribution courtesy of The Honda Classic.
HOW TO DONATE AND GUESS THE BIRDIES?
Make a minimum donation of $20 or more to our chapter and then guess the total number of birdies that will be made by the entire field in all four rounds of the 2017 Honda Classic. 
The USGA, Masters Tournament and the PGA of America have officially launched the 2018 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship by announcing the local qualifying schedule for the program’s fifth year. The schedule includes dates and locations for participants to play in local qualifiers across the country with the opportunity to advance and earn an invitation to next year’s National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club. Online registration will be available starting Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 
Ringing in the New Year means that The Honda Classic is right around the corner. The Honda Classic brings the world’s best PGA TOUR players to Palm Beach County, providing a week of entertainment for the entire community, with a greater goal of supporting South Florida charities, including our Chapter.
The Monday after The Honda Classic, the Champion Course is yours for the taking! This is your chance to experience what PGA TOUR professionals do on Championship Sunday. The Champion Course will be set up in the same condition with the same pin placements as it was the day before for the final round of The Honda Classic.
EVENT FORMAT: 18 Holes, Two Player Teams – Best Ball Event Prizes will be awarded for Gross and Net Divisions. Special tee locations will be assigned for Seniors, Ladies and Juniors.
TIME: 8:00am Shotgun Start.
Limited Field of 96 Players. First come, first served. Please enter early to reserve your team, as this event will sell out quickly and a waiting list will be compiled thereafter.
Please 
For years, the golf course maintenance staff from the Breakers Hotel has volunteered at our golf facility donating thousands of hours of turf management practices including aeration, sodding, top dressing, fertilization and over seeding.
The Golf Course Superintendent of Breakers West and our great friend, Neil Sheridan, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Neil is 35 years old with two children under the age of 3.
The expectation of medical and travel costs that will come with his out of state cancer care is quite large and will be burdensome. Our goal with this tournament is to too help offset some of those costs. Our hope is that we can take some of the financial stress of this young couple so they can focus on more things like getting well and taking care of their family.
Please join us for a day of fun competition to benefit friend, Neil Sheridan. All proceeds will go to assist the Sheridan family with all upcoming medical and living expenses associated with Neil’s recent cancer diagnosis.
Tournament hosted by: Chapter Director Mark Reid & Breakers West Country Club
January 20, 2017
12:00 noon registration
1:00pm shotgun start
5:30pm cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, awards
Please contact Jennifer Bryan for more information at