In a region of the country where the average temperature sits below 60 degrees seven months out of the year, it’s critical for the First Tee – Western Michigan chapter to find ways to keep its more than 2,000 juniors engaged in golf during the long offseason.
“If I’m being generous, I would say we have five months of good golf weather,” said Jeff Keyser, Holland Area Director for the chapter. “Then we have five ‘no-go’ months, and two transition months where you might be able to play outside if you’re lucky. That disconnect between seasons is a challenge but something that we saw as an opportunity to introduce the ‘Homework and Hitting’ program to connect with our kids year-round.”
Operating out of each of the four program sites that make up the chapter in Muskegon, Holland, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Homework and Hitting is a First Tee-led initiative where the chapter partners with local after school programs in each region to combine homework help and mentorship with an introduction to the fundamentals of golf. By connecting with those organizations like the local Boys and Girls Club, First Tee is able introduce a diverse sector of juniors to golf who otherwise wouldn’t have access while breaking through the climate barriers that exist in the state.
“The idea is to connect with the kids between those outdoor season months, to be there for them with golf programming and continue to build the relationships so that when they’re done in the fall, they don’t have to wait six more months until spring to get out and golf again,” said Keyser.
The innovative and effective approach to winter golf engagement is being backed by USGA IDEA grant funding, where the support is enabling the purchase of the necessary golf equipment, as well as accelerating the chapter’s ability to grow its reach.
“The grant helps us expand our partnerships and ultimately bring the game to kids who wouldn’t normally be exposed to it,” said Keyser. “These are kids who don’t have golf clubs, they don’t have club access, they don’t have equipment – they don’t have anything they need to go out to a golf course and play. Because of the support, we’re able to host almost as many sessions in the winter as we do in the summer.”
“We then see in the spring and summer, more kids are involved in our programming because they were introduced to First Tee in the winter. We’re able to meet them where they are, create relationships and then get them out to the course because they’re already familiar with what we’re doing.”