Golf and Life Skills:
A HappyCombo

“Coach, Look at me”

“Coach, Watch me!”

These are the words that Ebon Sanders loves to hear every day. Sanders is the director of The First Tee, a golfing program that runs daily at the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor. He and his teaching partner, Cary Pender, work with
excited children as they learn important life skills in the context of the game of golf.

The First Tee is a national program that provides young people of all backgrounds an
opportunity to develop life-enhancing values such as confidence, perseverance, and judgment through golf and character education. In its 3rd year in Benton Harbor, the program here is greatly expanded and enhanced to teach the kind of life
skills that add value to the lives of young people who are coping with the particular challenges of growing up in Benton Harbor.

Sponsored by Whirlpool, the PGA, and The First Tee national program, Benton Harbor’s
First Tee program includes indoor hitting nets at the Boys and Girls Clubhouse, a three-hole on-site golf course and driving range, and a summer program that operates daily at the Boys and Girls Club. Every Sunday evening, all summer long, children have the opportunity to practice their golf at Lake Michigan Hills Golf Course. The golf course donates 9 holes for the children, their mentors and instructors. Additionally, the program includes a three-week program that operates in the Benton Harbor public schools teaching basic golf skills to elementary school children, who also have an opportunity to come to the golf course at the Boys and Girls Club to play. Sanders is also the varsity golf coach at Benton Harbor High School. Money is never an issue for children who want to participate in the program, which costs $5, because scholarships are always available. The fee also gives them a membership to the Boys and Girls Club. Sanders says that the game of golf is virtually unknown to most African American children, and they are anxious to learn the skills of the game. Bags, clubs, balls, and tees are provided for all participants. Children learn golfing etiquette as part of their golfing education; this includes appropriate dress for the course.

Sanders talks with pride about the first students graduating from his program. More than just
their golf coach, he has been prepping them for their ACT tests and helping them fill out college applications. In turn, these teenagers become mentors for the younger children as they help out with the summer program. An additional program trains teenagers to become caddies who can be hired by the Point O’Woods Golf Club and qualify for college scholarships. Mark Brown, Senior Vice President, Global Strategic Sourcing, at Whirlpool in Benton Harbor is Chairman of the Board of Directors for The First Tee of Benton Harbor. He has been with the First Tee program since its inception. A group of Whirlpool executives were brainstorming ways that they could “use golf as a way to make a difference in the lives of kids in this community.” They were elated to discover First Tee, a program that they could adapt to the unique needs of Benton Harbor’s children. With the financial backing of Whirlpool, the PGA and the LPGA, as well as The First Tee, the program settled in the Boys and Girls Club and created the three-hole golf course on the property.
Ann Duffi eld, Brown’s Administrative Assistant at Whirlpool, helps administer the
finances of the program, and Nancy Snyder finds mentors among the Whirlpool employees. Many of those mentors spend every Sunday afternoon at Lake Michigan Hills with the First Tee kids, who have free reign on the golf course for several hours every week. Brown says that although most kids start out knowing nothing about golf, kids “naturally like to hit things,” so they catch on to the game quickly. Brown is quick to praise Mike Longyear at Lake Michigan Hills and Tom Rose at Point O’Woods for their support of the
program. Whirlpool is not alone in its help for The First Tee Benton Harbor. Through word of mouth, other golfers in the community help out with coaching and by donating money, clothing, shoes, golf balls and tees. Questions about supporting this program can be directed to Ebon Sanders.

The First Tee of Benton Harbor
Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor
1200 E. Main St., Benton Harbor
269-849-0044/www.thefirstteemichigan.org

Photographs courtesy of The First Tee and
Ebon Sanders.

 

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