Why Golf?

Experiences are our greatest teacher. First Tee believes in developing the ones that are just as fun as they are meaningful, where kids feel excited to grow, safe to fail, and better equipped for whatever comes their way next. Through our personal growth and junior golf programs, we see kids’ build self confidence, inspiring more active participation in leadership opportunities and events, community involvement, and college scholarships.

Golf is the ONLY sport that families can play together for a lifetime.  It is an individual sport yet with a team element.   Golf is different from other sports because players learn values like honesty and responsibility by calling penalties on themselves and reporting their own score. Golf is a perfect platform for helping young people develop character because just like in life, players experience the highs and lows of the game.

Introduce your child to the wonderful world of golf and all the opportunities that it provides!

The class fee includes use of equipment, program materials and weekly instruction. Classes meet 1x per week (about 1 hour each) for 8 weeks (weather permitting).

At First Tee – Jersey Shore, we’re Building Game Changers by empowering kids and teens to be the best version of themselves.

By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with character-building, we create learning experiences that help kids uncover their inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that they can carry to everything they do. Participants in the First Tee Program engage with trained, caring adult coaches and mentors, and interact with a curriculum that is both developmentally and age appropriate to meet participants where they are and address their ever-changing needs — including their emotional and social needs as they are surrounded by and working with peers their same age.

Our trained coaches not only provide an introduction to junior golf and an opportunity to enhance golf skills, but they also create a safe, supportive, and empowering environment to help your child prepare for life ahead, including friendships, school, college and even their careers.

Through our program, kids will learn skills that stay with them for life:

  • Understanding and managing emotions
  • Resolving conflicts
  • Setting up step-by-step goals
  • Planning for the future
  • Appreciating diversity
  • Golf fundamentals and advanced techniques

We are committed to providing programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf, and our curriculum has evolved to increase our impact, relevancy and scale.

The curriculum is centered around First Tee’s Commitment to Being a Game Changer©. The five Key Commitments are the life skills we want our participants to adopt and pursue – these are the keys to unlocking good character.

  • Pursuing Goals
  • Growing through Challenge
  • Collaborating with Others
  • Building a Positive Self-Identity
  • Using Good Judgment

The First Tee Program curriculum is organized around four age groups:

  • Age 7-9: Coaches deliver lessons that introduce and engage participants with both golf and life skills. Kids get active and play golf with their peers.
  • Age 10-11: Coaches deliver lessons that support the exploration of both character and golf skills in active and collaborative ways.
  • Age 12-13: Coaches deliver lessons that empower participants to explore both golf skills and character commitments through opportunities for mastery and growth.
  • Age 14+: Coaches deliver lessons that help participants elaborate on their understanding and place a greater emphasis on their personal development.