By Gary Baines
Colorado Golf Journal,Thursday, October 16, 2008
The French call it raison d’etre, a reason for being.
When he resuscitated the Colorado Open golf tournament in 2004, Oakwood Homes CEO Pat Hamill wanted to find a purpose for the event, one that combined golf and giving back to the community.
Shortly thereafter, Hamill and others in the Colorado Open Golf Foundation hit upon what they were seeking. The three tournaments the Foundation runs at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club -- the HealthOne Colorado Open, Colorado Women’s Open and Colorado Senior Open -- would all benefit The First Tee organization, which was founded in 1997 to bring golf and life lessons to youngsters who wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to the sport.
The result was the building of a First Tee nine-hole short course that opened in 2005 -- with Jack Nicklaus in attendance -- at Green Valley Ranch. And on Thursday, Oct. 16 of this year, the next phase of First Tee development came online with the dedication of the First Tee of Green Valley Ranch Learning Center. Congressman Ed Perlmutter joined in the grand-opening ceremonies.
The $400,000, 2,300-square-foot learning center, which was built at the far end of the driving range at Green Valley Ranch, will provide a year-round setting for the 957 youngsters in the GVR’s First Tee program. There, the kids can do everything from their homework after school, to learning and practicing golf, to developing the life skills and core values espoused by The First Tee. Those values are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.
“Now this program can operate 365 days a year,” Hamill said. “This will allow us to hopefully get to the point that we can produce both great golfers and leaders in other areas.”
The idea is to live up to The First Tee’s mission, which is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.
The Learning Center will also serve as the offices for the staffers and interns who work for the Colorado Open Golf Foundation.
Green Valley Ranch is one of four First Tee chapters in Colorado, serving a total of seven locations. There are three at City of Denver courses, two in Eagle County near Vail and one in Pueblo.
Green Valley Ranch’s First Tee program has grown from five kids in 2004 to 957 now. Mentors who work with the youngsters include anyone from business leaders in the community to University of Denver golfers, who often practice at Green Valley Ranch. Meanwhile, the Colorado Open tournaments fund the program, to the tune of more than $100,000 per year, according to Hamill.
Playing the nine-hole short course at Green Valley Ranch, which features holes from roughly 80 to 130 yards, is free for kids who join the First Tee program, and costs $2 for other youngsters. Adults can also play the short course, for $10. Green Valley Ranch also has a deal whereby adults can pay $15 to hit unlimited balls on the driving range and play unlimited rounds on the short course on a given day.
Besides the 18-hole regulation course and the First Tee facilities, Green Valley Ranch features the McGetrick Golf Academy adjacent to the driving range.
“We’re not quite there yet, but we’re becoming one of the best campuses for golf anywhere across the country,” Hamill said, noting the youngsters, high school golfers and college players that call the facility home. |
