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.
