Third Edition - October 2009 - Wisconsin PGA Junior Foundation

The First Tee of Milwaukee County Special Edition
Vol. 1, Issue 3 October
When North Shore Country Club member Bill Forrer member passed
away unexpectedly last winter, the Forrer family decided to do something to honor their father, husband, brother, son, and friend. Since
Bill loved children and golf, they thought to combine the two and do a
golf fundraiser to benefit children. Wes Warren, PGA Professional at
NSCC and Chair of The First Tee of Milwaukee County (TFTMC),
suggested The Memorial in honor of Bill Forrer benefit TFTMC.
Contents
1— Bill Forrer Memorial
2— Devin Harris Camp
3— Summer Review
4— Volunteer Spotlight
With the committee, including family and friends in place, the members were hard at work trying to put together a day and night to remember.
Real cannons being shot off of the practice putting green was a perfect start to a day full of fun and surprises.
An amazing 188 players came out to support the event, using all 27
holes at NSCC. The overwhelming support shown by the participants
is a tribute to the man Bill Forrer was. Meeting all of the golfers on
each of the par 3’s were First Tee participants. The kids that were selected to participate as par 3 attendants were chosen because of the
dedication they show throughout the summer during lessons, and the
way they exemplify The First Tee 9 Core Values. The 15 participants
volunteered their day to meet and greet each player, rake bunkers, fix
ball marks, and clean golf balls on their respective hole. Some of the
kids even had an opportunity to hit a few shots. One in particular, the
littlest and youngest one out there, Donovan Draghicchio, sinking a
15 foot birdie putt for a team. All of the kids did a fantastic job on the
day and represented The First Tee amazingly well.
9 Core Values
Respect, Integrity,
Honesty, Perseverance,
Sportsmanship,
Courtesy, Confidence,
Judgment, and
Responsibility
5— Nike Kids Cup
WPGA Junior Tour Special
Edition Coming Soon
The First Tee of Milwaukee County
Over 300 people came to enjoy great food, great golf, and both silent and live auctions.
The silent auction brought in over $8,800 and then the real fun started. The 5 live auction items scheduled to be auctioned off started off great, and then the generosity and
excitement of the membership shined through. By the time it was all done the original 5
items had grown to 14 with members donating their houses, gift certificates , condo’s
and more. Before the band De’j’a vu kicked off the rest of the night on the dance floor ,
Head Pro Wes Warren, proudly announced the total raised from the live auction was
over $49,000.
The First Annual Memorial golf outing was a huge success on many different levels.
First and foremost is honoring Bill Forrer and the life he led. Secondly the money
raised, over $85,000, was almost triple the largest amount ever raised in our nine year
history. All of the money raised will fund The First Tee of Milwaukee County initiatives
that provide programming throughout Southeastern WI. Lastly was the presentation of
our program. Participants, staff and volunteers were all presented, via slideshow, in
front of an audience that can definitely make a difference.
Once again a special thanks goes out to all of the staff at North Shore Country Club for
ensuring that everything ran smoothly all day long. Thank you also to the Forrer Family, your dedication to Bill was inspiring and proved that his life will continue to make a
difference for years to come. Also, a thank you goes out to everyone who participated
in the event and donated to our cause that day. We appreciate it greatly!
Section News
At Devin Harris’ request the Wisconsin PGA and
The First Tee of Milwaukee County were on hand
to teach the fundamentals of the game of golf.
The PGA Professionals worked with the children
on the basics of the golf swing including the grip,
stance and posture. The representatives from
CSI Golf gave putting lessons using their line of
custom putters. Devin Harris, an avid golfer himself, spent a lot of time in the golf area talking with
the golf professionals and hitting balls.
2009
Devin
Harris
Basketball
Camp
Devin shows off his smooth swing.
From Tuesday, August 11th through Thursday, August 14th the Wisconsin PGA and The First
Tee of Milwaukee County teamed up with the 2009
Devin Harris Basketball Camp at North Division
High School. Devin Harris, a graduate of Wauwatosa East High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is currently an All-Star point
guard for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets.
A number of local PGA teaching professionals as
well as Craig and Derek Stingley of CSI Golf came
out to teach three 90 minute golf sessions per day
to over 400 children at the camp.
James “high-fives” a new golfer after a
great swing.
The children, 90% of which had never played golf
before, were also taught the importance of golf as
a lifetime sport as well as an important business
tool. The First Tee’s nine core values were also
discussed at the beginning of each lesson.
This was the fourth year that Devin Harris has
sponsored his basketball camp in Milwaukee. The
free camp was open to children ages 8 to 15 and
is part of Devin’s 34 Ways To Assist charity foundation. Harris’ foundation works primarily with
The Make-A-Wish Foundation and Big Brothers
Big Sisters in the Milwaukee, Dallas, New Jersey,
and New York areas.
Hanc Spivey looks on as a young golfer
hits consistently nice shots.
Evan Hewes discusses the basics of the
grip to interested youngsters.
2009 Summer Review
Well, another summer is
in the books for The First Tee of
Milwaukee County, and what an
exciting summer it was! We
picked up right where we left off
last year with full rosters of junior golfers ready to learn the
game of golf.
Right from the start this
year we had groups from Milwaukee School of Sign Languages,
Milwaukee Rec. Department and
numerous YMCA groups. In addition, we had our Pre-par, Par,
Birdie, and Eagle classes all anxious to get the season underway.
The weather was also extremely
cooperative for the majority of
the summer.
However, when there
was bad weather it always
seemed to be on Fridays, in particular, Kid’s Cup Fridays. After a
couple of make up rounds the
Kid’s Cup was back on track and
saw its first female winner in Savannah Vega-Schwartz.
Back again this summer
were our popular Parent/Junior
lessons and our Girl’s Only lessons. The Parent/Junior lessons
give Parents the opportunity to
join their child for a series of
hour long lessons that covers all
facets of the game. In addition
to a great experience to share
with your child you can also
greatly improve your golf game.
The Girl’s Only lessons, as expected, were a big success.
Over 100 girls took advantage
of the lessons with a female instructor and no boys to distract
them!
During the week of July 13th 19th we once again spent the
week running the practice range
at the US Bank Championship.
This, as always, was a great experience. Many of our students
came out and volunteered with
us on the range. In addition to
meeting Tour Players our students were able to see everything that goes on at a PGA
Tour event.
The kids also participated in the
Family Day Activities presented
by the US Bank Championship
and the Wisconsin PGA Junior
Foundation in which they got
free lessons from local PGA Professionals and Apprentices.
Not only did the following instructors donate their time, but
also helped raise over $7,400 to
support junior golf.
Kevin Kramp, Bill Ehn,
Mike Vance, Mark Rechlic, Doug
Mortola, Brendan Locke, Kevin
Kihslinger, Todd Gamroth, Dan
Hoffman, and Courtney Buchach
were all on hand to give lessons
to the junior golfers.
A clinic given by former Marquette
University golfer and member of
the 2009 PING All-America First
Team, Mike Van Sickle brought the
day of activities to a close. All in
all, this week was a huge success
for our students and for our programs.
Once again we had many
junior golfers join us for multiple
lessons this past summer and we
would like to thank all of them for
their continued support. Also, a
big thanks goes out to all of our
volunteers. The countless hours of
time and support you provide are
invaluable to us and go much farther than you know. As our numbers continue to increase we will
continue to evaluate our programming and make every effort to
make our golf lessons the best
possible experience for our children.
How successful the children
are at golf is secondary to how
successful the children are at making positive choices in life. This
summer was a tremendous success. The greatest success, however, was seeing the growth of the
kids not only as golfers but as
young adults.
See you all next Summer!
Honesty - Integrity - Sportsmanship - Respect - Confidence - Responsibility - Perseverance - Courtesy - Judgment
The First Tee’s Nine Core Values are at the center of everything we do.
The First Tee of Milwaukee County
Volunteer Spotlight: Curt Neudecker
Curt Neudecker has
been a volunteer with
The First Tee of Milwaukee County for the past
five years and in his own
words has, “loved every
minute of it.” As a former school teacher,
counselor, and administrator he knows the
value of the life lessons
that golf brings to young
kids. Many of the skills,
rules, and lessons
learned through The First
Tee program can be directly related to the type of skills one needs to succeed in life. “The program is so very well organized thanks to the hard work of the Wisconsin PGA
and The First Tee of Milwaukee County that every
day a lesson is taught and every day kids learn a
new aspect of the game as well as life,” said Neudecker.
Curt continues to be impressed with the number of
community groups and organizations that The First
Tee of Milwaukee County works with each year
saying, “The number of children that they reach
year in and year out is remarkable. I will continue
to work with The First Tee until I am unable contribute in a meaningful way!”
Curt’s golfing career began at the age of 10 at a
country club in Southern Illinois and he has been
hooked ever since. “I have been fortunate enough
to play at many of the great courses in the United
States, mostly in California, Florida, and the Midwest but nothing beats my most memorable round
at Ko’olau golf course in Hawaii. I broke 90 that
day on what many people say is one of the most
difficult courses in the world. Also, Happy Gilmore,
I mean Adam Sandler, was playing in the foursome
ahead of us, so that was a pretty cool day!”
As for his career highlights, Neudecker coached
boys and girls golf at the high school level in
both Wisconsin and Illinois. “While coaching my
first boys golf team, we had a match against
Belleville West High School in Illinois and they
had a sophomore on their team by the name of
Jay Haas. His uncle happened to be Bob Goalby
who won the Masters when Roberto De Vicenzo
signed an incorrect score card. Yea, I'm that
old,” joked Neudecker.
Looking back on his time with The First Tee of
Milwaukee County Curt remembers his first year
with The First Tee when he was amazed at how
many young, skilled players there were. “Not
only were there skilled players but they were
well-rounded players. The kids always have
great attitudes and are eager to learn. That was
when I knew the program was for me,” said
Neudecker.
“I have also been very pleased that many of the
kids come back year after year and that the program has grown under its strong leadership,”
remarks Neudecker. “The First Tee of Milwaukee
County is something I am proud to be a part of!”
Curt and Pat, his wife of 36 years, currently reside in Oconomowoc. They also have two sons,
Erik and Chad with whom Curt goes golfing with
whenever he can saying, “Both boys hit the ball
way past me but I always seem to have the best
score at the end of the round. It just goes to
show that a little skill can overcome a lot of
power in this great game of golf!”
A special thanks goes out to Curt and his family
for their dedication to our programming and vision. The enthusiasm of volunteers like Curt is
an invaluable tool to us at The First Tee of Milwaukee County. Without their yearly commitment our programs would not be the same.
Thanks again!
2009 Nike Kids Cup
Back for another year and welcoming a new sponsor, the Nike Kids Cup showcased a group of talented
young golfers. 35 First Tee of Milwaukee County participants teed it up throughout the summer in four competitive rounds at Noyes Park. Plagued by a few rainouts, the participants persevered and finished the summer with some outstanding play.
The “A” flight division was neck and neck throughout the season. Defending champion David Foster was trying to make it two straight titles, but Savannah Vega-Schwartz saw it differently. Savannah squeaked by and
defeated David by one stroke. Securing third place was Danny Sanicki. Who said there needed to be a girls
division?
Don’t leave all the dramatics to the “A” flight, there was a battle for second place on the line in the “B”
flight.. Drew Horter and Matthew Wagoner were all tied up after the fourth round and battled it out in sudden
death. After tying the first hole both boy’s had their game face on going into the ninth hole. Drew edged out
Matthew securing second place with Matthew taking third.
A cookout and always exciting game of S.N.A.G baseball capped off another great season and recognized all
of the competitors for their efforts and accomplishments. Thank you to all of the parents for participating all
season long as scorers and rules officials.
A huge thanks goes out to Jason Fitchett and Barry Beckert from Nike Golf for their support.
9 CORE VALUE AWARD WINNERS
The 9 Core Value awards are given to participants that exude the values on and off the golf course.
The recipients of the awards were chosen by the staff by performing in a manner that exemplify one
of the 9 Core Values.
-Respect
Sydney Brandt
-Integrity
Drew Horter
-Responsibility
Savannah Vega-Schwartz
-Perseverance
Brandon Wilde
-Confidence
Philip Maio
-Judgment
Drake Sutton
-Courtesy
Tyler Termaat
-Honesty
Steven Sanicki
-Sportsmanship
Zak Kachelek