Ambitious Summer Schedule for First Tee of the Triad

SUNBRELLA® DRIVE, CHIP AND PUTT WARM-UP HIGHLIGHTS AMBITIOUS SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRST TEE OF THE TRIAD

GREENSBORO, N.C. – – The First Tee of the Triad has some lofty aspirations for 2015: prepare its students for upcoming Drive, Chip and Putt competitions, present its most ambitious summer schedule since its inception in 2007 and certify 1,000 participants prior to the start of the fall season. Lofty goals, indeed, but definitely doable.

Starting with the Sunbrella® Drive, Chip and Putt Warm-up set for Saturday, June 6, The First Tee of the Triad is offering 13 different summer programs throughout the Piedmont Triad in an effort to reach as many children as possible. The Sunbrella Drive, Chip and Putt Warm-up is an exact replica of the official Drive, Chip and Putt competition set for Bryan Park on June 18, and it is designed to help prepare participants for the competition with the hope that they might advance to the finals at the 2016 Masters Tournament.

The 2015 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is open to boys and girls ages 7-15. Boys and girls will compete in separate divisions in four age categories: 7-9 years old; 10-11 years old; 12-13 years old; and 14-15 years old. The top three overall point earners in each of the boys and girls divisions from the four age brackets at the June 18 event will advance to the sub-regional qualifying level of the competition followed by regional qualifying and later the championship finals April 3, 2016 at Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters Tournament.

Other summer clinics offered by The First Tee of the Triad include one conducted by some of the best junior golfers in the world at the AJGA Wyndham Cup at Old Town Club in Winston-Salem. Junior golfers at this Ryder Cup-style event will conduct a clinic for First Tee of the Triad students, but only those who have reached the birdie, eagle and ace levels are eligible to attend. The summer clinic schedule ends with one conducted by PGA TOUR professionals prior to the Wyndham Championship on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at the Grandover Resort. The full schedule of clinics, classes and tournaments is below:

Summer Clinics:
June 6: Sunbrella® Drive, Chip and Putt “Warm-up” Clinic, Gillespie Golf Course, Greensboro
July 26: AJGA Wyndham Cup Clinic at Old Town Golf Club, Winston-Salem
August 15: GirlsGolf2gether Clinic at Winston Lake or Gillespie (girls only)
August 18: Wyndham Championship Youth Clinic presented by Sunbrella

Summer Camps/Classes:
June 8-29 at Winston Lake in Winston-Salem: four Monday evening sessions
June 8-29 at Jones Crossing in Danville, Va.: four Monday evening sessions
June 9-30 at Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro: four Tuesday evening sessions

Summer Nine-Hole Tournaments:
June 16: Triad Masters at Gillespie; 3 p.m.
June 25: The Triad Open at Winding Creek; 11:30 a.m.
July 1: The Open Championship at Jamestown Park; 8:30 a.m.
July 14: The Players Championship at Iron Play Par 3; 9 a.m.
July 15: First Tee of the Triad Tour Championship at Tanglewood Park Par 3; 9 a.m.
July 16: Junior PGA Championship at Oak Hollow; tee times begin at 11:38 a.m.
July 27 and 28: Triad Cup Championship; 36-hole event; first round at 9:30 a.m. at Statesville Country Club; second round a 2 p.m. at Country Club of Salisbury.

“Our 2015 summer schedule is definitely the most comprehensive we’ve offered in the history of our chapter,” The First Tee of the Triad CEO Mike Barber said. “Our incredible staff wanted to offer as many programs as possible during the summer to get as many children as we could on golf courses around the Piedmont Triad this summer. We have created a wonderful mix of clinics, classes, camps and tournaments to attract golfers of all levels to our programs. We truly have something for everyone.

“If these programs are as popular as we expect them to be, and judging by our early registration numbers, they are, we should be able to reach 1,000 “certified” participants, those who reach our “PLAYer” or introduction level, before our fall programming begins. Reaching that milestone would be an incredible achievement for The First Tee of the Triad, but more importantly, it would mean a lot of Piedmont Triad children would have had a great summer while learning a few things along the way.”

Registration is currently open for most of these events. Information on registration and scholarships for all of these events is available at www.thefirstteeetriad.org. Simply click on “registration” to get started; scholarships can be requested during the online registration process. To register for the Danville, Va., programs, please visit www.thefirstteedanville.org.

About The First Tee of the Triad
The First Tee of the Triad is currently operating at 15 facilities throughout the Piedmont Triad, central North Carolina and southern Virginia. Its programming is offered at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, Country Club of Salisbury, Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro, Goodyear Golf Course in Danville, Va., Greensboro National Golf Club in Summerfield, Indian Valley Golf Course in Burlington, Iron Play Par 3 Links in Summerfield, Jamestown Park Golf Course, Oak Hollow Golf Course in High Point, Rick Murphy Golf Academy in Greensboro, Ringgold Golf Course in Ringgold, Va., Statesville Country Club, Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, Winding Creek Golf Course in Thomasville and Winston Lake Golf Course in Winston-Salem. The First Tee of the Triad is one of 204 chapters operating some 1,000 golf programming locations in all 50 states and four foreign countries with more than 10 million participants. More than 7,000 elementary schools participate in The First Tee National School Program.

About The First Tee:
The First Tee, an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, has as its mission, “To impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.” The goal of The First Tee is to provide the golf-learning facilities and the experience that will enable kids from every walk of life to partake of a game that teaches values for life and which can be played for a lifetime. Founded by the World Golf Foundation in 1997, The First Tee is a way to bring golf to children that otherwise would not be exposed to the game or its positive values. The program is overseen and has the active support of committee members representing Augusta National Golf Club, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, PGA of America, PGA TOUR and the United States Golf Association. Former President George W. Bush serves as Honorary Chairman; he succeeds his father, former president George H.W. Bush, who served as the The First Tee’s Honorary Chairman since the organization’s inception in 1997 and now serves as the Honorary Chair Emeritus.

Contact:Mike Barber
The First Tee of the Triad
Phone: (336) 580-4241
E-mail: mikebarberlaw@aol.com