North Shore Golf Spring 2020 V3

6 >>> SPRING 2020
The First Tee
tees off in
Peabody
BY ANNE MARIE TOBIN
Trent Peacock, 5, makes contact with the ball as he takes some of his first swings during The First Tee program at the PGA Tour Superstore in Peabody.
PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK
The First Tee, an international
youth development program that
teaches life skills through the game of
golf, wrapped up its inaugural season
at PGA Tour Superstore in Peabody
last month.
The program featured three fourweek
instructional sessions from early
January through March. Each session
was 90 minutes and open to children
ages 7 to 18.
Jim Tobin, a PGA of America golf
professional since 1975 and the lead
instructor, said the pilot program was
a huge success.
"We started slowly, but after a
couple of weeks every session was full
to capacity," he said. "The kids really
enjoyed the simulators and being
able to play the game throughout the
winter season. Having this state-ofthe-art
indoor facility allowed the
First Tee to provide a different option
in terms of the traditional green grass
facilities we use in the summer, so it
was a great way to expose the kids to
the game of golf and the core values of
the First Tee program."
The program is on hiatus during the
coronavirus pandemic.
For Tobin, who is also lead
instructor of the First Tee program
at Franklin Park in Boston, the
program's impact has been more than
he could have imagined.
“It’s been incredible to see how we
can change kids’ lives,” said Tobin.
“The response from the kids and
parents has been overwhelming.
They’re so happy to see the
opportunity for these kids, who really
enjoy the program and have fun. They
truly embrace the opportunity to not
only learn the game, but to learn life
skills, which in my opinion is the real
value of the First Tee. It’s not just
about letting kids hit balls on a driving
range, it’s so much more than that.”
First Tee of Massachusetts Director
of Operations Kyle Harris said the
Peabody program is just the beginning
of the chapter's plans for future growth.
"Our outreach has been through our
Mass Golf connections, but we hope
to reach out to schools and area youth
organizations," he said. "We are trying
to leverage existing golf relationships
and eventually we hope to expand
the number of programs we offer,
especially we are looking to add a
strong presence on the North Shore."
One Peabody session attracted six
children from North Reading and
East Boston. Tobin said "The kids had
some fun and were very receptive.
This is a very different program from
the traditional First Tee programs,
but now that we have our first session
under our belts, we are in a position to
tweak it going forward."
PGA Tour Superstore general
manager Greg Cosgrove said that
the chain's owner Arthur Blank (cofounder
of Home Depot and owner of
the Atlanta Falcons NFL franchise) is
committed to the First Tee.
"Mr. Blank's goal is to have a
program in each store located in a
First Tee chapter. He donates $5,000
to every chapter … because he plays
the game and sees the benefit of grass
roots efforts to make golf a lovely
game. Exposure to a program like
this will help make the game more