Havertown teen selected to represent the First Tee of Greater Philadelphia in Pebble Beach event

by Joe Juliano, Philadelphia Inquirer 9/24/19

 

FOX29 SEGMENT

 

12-year-old tees off on community golf event

by pheron Source: http://www.montgomerynews.com/roxreview/year-old-tees-off-on-community-golf-event/article_b8015570-b224-11e9-9a64-2be316cf4c57.html Watch out, Michelle Wie. Caityln Plover is gunning for you. Plover, 12,  participates in the Girls Golf Program through The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia. She lives in Roxborough with her family and plays golf at Walnut Lane Golf Course, also in Roxborough. Plover was looking for a way to combine golf and community in a way that would benefit the community. The result will be held Aug. 6, a combination Girls Golf Tournament and Fashion Show. She came up with the concept when she was just 7 years old. According to Caitlyn, “it’s Girl’s Golf, not just golf.” Caitlyn, a First Tee Par Level Student in the 7th Grade, believes that her participation in the First Tee program has not only benefited her from an athletic skills viewpoint but also has had a profound effect on her social and emotional development. She feels that “we are learning daily values to put into our everyday lives that can help us become great people. The girls in the girl’s golf program are like family-we make each other laugh, we help out if someone is having difficulty, and we work together.” Through Girls’ Golf and this event, the 12-year-old Plover wants to show the world what girls can do. “At Girls’ Golf, we get to be who we are and we’re comfortable with that and each other,” she said. “Girls’ Golf teaches us that as girls we can do what we set our minds to.” Program Director Rebecca Caimano feels passionately about the First Tee’s mission in shaping character and providing the basis for a healthy life-long athletic pursuit. She maintains “that the First Tee curriculum teaches confidence and leadership far beyond what meets the eye. We are not trying to create the next LPGA touring professional. Our purpose and mission is to provide the educational experience of what the game of golf teaches.” She added, “We talk about the difference between a goal and a dream and watch them gain the confidence to achieve them.” All proceeds benefit The First Tee. Lilly Pulitzer is providing the fashions for the show. This tournament and show are perfect examples of the skills The First Tee teaches kids of goal setting, self-management, resiliency and good interpersonal skills. All of these have helped Caitlyn to reach her dream. The First Tee positively impacts the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instilling life-enhancing values and promoting healthy choices through the name of golf. At The First Tee, golf and life lessons are seamlessly incorporated into each experience. In addition to covering fundamentals of the golf swing and the game, kids are taught life skills lessons such as communication, self-management, goal setting and overcoming challenges.

Tee Time Tournament and Fashion Show is a hole in one for First Tee Girls’ Golf Program

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Sue Ann Rybak Source: https://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/2019/07/31/tee-time-tournament-and-fashion-show-is-a-hole-in-one-for-first-tee-girls-golf-program/ Many little girls have dreamed of having a fashion show, but a fashion show for girls’ golf clothes? That’s exactly what will happen thanks to an original idea by 12-year-old Caitlyn Plover, an Our Mother of Consolation student and Roxborough resident, who will work with First Tee Girls’ Golf program and Lilly Pulitzer to realize her dream of hosting a fashion show fundraiser for her girls’ golf club. The fundraiser called “Tee Time Tournament and Fashion Show” will be held on Aug. 6 at Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, 3801 Grant Ave., from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. All proceeds benefit the First Tee’s Girls Golf program. William Hyndman V, executive director of The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia, said the nonprofit positively impacts the lives of today’s youth “by providing educational programs that build character, instilling life-enhancing values and promoting healthy choices through the name of golf.” “At First Tee, golf and life lessons are seamlessly incorporated into each experience,” he said. “In addition to covering the fundamentals of the golf swing, and the game, kids are taught life skills lessons such as communication, self-management, goal setting and overcoming challenges.” Rebecca Caimano, program director for First Tee of Greater Philadelphia, was Plover’s coach when she first started the program five years ago; she recalled Plover suggesting they host a fashion show for Girls Golf at First Tee of Greater Philadelphia’s Annual Gala. Plover said at the time it was just an idea, but with the help of First Tee of Greater Philadelphia and Lilly Pulitzer, that idea will soon become a reality. Caimano, who played golf in high school, recalled having to wear a men’s golf shirt because she was the only girl on the team. She said girls don’t want to wear a white polo shirt and khaki on the golf course. Being able to wear vibrant, colorful, comfortable golf clothes will allow girls to feel more confident on and off the golf course. Eleni McCready, a spokesperson for Lilly Pulitzer, said that when the company first learned about Plover’s idea, “it was an immediate yes.” “The goals of the First Tee of Greater Philadelphia, and this event in particular, clearly align with Lilly Pulitzer’s mission of inspiring confidence and optimism in women and girls,” she said. “The fashion show is a fun celebration to close out a great event that begins on the golf course. The girls from the First Tee are our models and they have picked out their looks (which they get to keep) themselves during an outing to Lilly Pulitzer Suburban Square. Just as our product offerings have everything you need for a beautiful summer day, from the golf course to the beach and everything in between, so will the styles that the girls confidently wear that day.” Caimano said that through Girls’ Golf and this event, Plover, who will be entering seventh grade in September, will get to show the world what girls can do. “At Girls’ Golf, we get to be who we are and we’re comfortable with that and each other,” she said. “Girls’ Golf teaches us that as girls we can do what we set our minds to.” First Tee of Greater Philadelphia offers four weeks of youth golf lessons for just $15, and the nonprofit provides all the equipment. Youth ages 6 to 18 are invited to learn and play. For more information about First Tee of Greater Philadelphia or the Tee Time Tournament and Fashion Show, visit First Tee’s website.

Why the FDR Park golf course is going away forever

Source: https://billypenn.com/2019/07/30/golf-course-is-done-at-fdr-park-but-kids-program-lives-on/ The 18 holes at FDR Park have run their course. After almost 80 years in operation, South Philadelphia’s public golf course is set to close for good on Oct. 31. Its demise is among a handful of changes coming to the park by 2020, part of a $200 million renovation that touches all 350 acres. One hundred and fifty of those acres — more than a third of the space — are currently made up of tee boxes, fairways and greens. Under the new plan, the grounds will be turned into 12 new fields, several tennis and basketball courts, a playground, multi-use trails and restored natural areas. Of note: there will still be a driving range, and the First Tee of Greater Philadelphia will maintain its HQ there. Why shut down the golf course? According to city officials, there are two good reasons: following a national trend, sales are down. Plus, the darn thing is plagued by flooding. From 2017 to 2018, FDR Park saw a 22 percent decrease in the total number of rounds of golf played. Consequently, the city recorded an 18 percent sales drop in just one year. And since the entire park was built over literal marshland, the challenges to maintain the course were huge. With dropping revenue and constant waterlogging, the Department of Parks and Recreation determined the course was no longer worth the burden. “Golfers may use one of the city’s other golf courses,” said spokesperson Maita Soukup.

Golf: a dying trend?

The city has five other public courses: Cobbs Creek, Juniata Park, Roxborough and two in Northeast Philly. In contrast with pricey private clubs, where memberships can cost tens of thousands or more, these are much more accessible. Greens fees (what it costs to play a round) can cost less than $20 per person, and you don’t have to be a member to play. But the farewell to South Philly’s fairway fits with a national trend. Many experts say golf is dying. From 2002 to 2016, the number of regular golfers fell from 30 to 20.9 million. And in 2015, the world’s largest golf manufacturer, TaylorMade-Adidas, recorded a 28 percent loss in sales. Playing is seeing the sharpest decline among millennials, “who just aren’t that into an expensive, poky sport that provides few health benefits,” per a CityLab report. Instead, many courses are being redeveloped into more modern uses — like apartment complexes and office space. Driving ranges have been successfully redeveloped in places like Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. “Golf from a participation standpoint, and how it translates to retail, is in a structural decline,” Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Edward W. Stack told the Washington Post. “And we don’t see that changing.”

More than just a sport

But the leader of Philly’s First Tee youth golf program still sees value in teaching the game. The chapter teaches 20,000 kids to play every year — and has operated out of FDR Park for as long as executive director Bill Hyndman can remember. When he was in eighth grade, he learned to play there. The nonprofit’s mission is to teach more meaningful lessons by playing golf, specifically growing their interpersonal skills, setting goals, being resilient and managing their emotions. “When kids come in and they can’t get it off the ground, then all of a sudden they get it off the ground, they gain some confidence,” Hyndman said. “Our vehicle is the game of golf to teach these kids life skills.” The lifelong recreational golfer is a little disappointed to see the South Philly course go. Parents of program participants have already come to him and expressed their dismay. Still, Hyndman said he knows his program will survive, and to him, that’s all that matters. He’s already arranged a deal with Parks & Rec to keep First Tee running in the smaller FDR Park setup. “You just have to be flexible,” he said. “Our organization is all about the people. We’ll work through the transition and figure it out.”