(upbeat music) - And hello and welcome to Forum 360, a program with a global outlook and a local view.

As we look at a topic today with a global outlook, it's the world of golf, amateur golf, where young people get involved in the sport.

We are very fortunate to be talking about a program called First Tee, which is a national program here in the United States.

The PGA and other organizations have helped put this program together.

Today, our Executive Director of First Tee Akron is with us and he is Jeff O'Brien.

Good to have you with us, Jeff.

- Bill, pleasure to be here.

Thanks for having me.

- And we're gonna talk about why First Tee is so important to the region and also nationally.

Some of the early days, I believe it goes back to the late nineties, 1997, correct?

- Correct.

So yeah, First Tee was created in 1997.

It was created based on the premise of answering the question, why aren't more kids playing golf.

So if you take a look at the USGA, and the PGA tour, PGA of America, along with the LPGA tour founded First Tee to answer that question and actually Tiger Woods' dad, Earl, was one of the main people that kind of pushed that creation of First Tee.

- Excellent.

And I believe former presidents, both the George H W Bush and George W. Bush were past, they were starting the program, very active in the program.

- Yeah, that's correct.

So George W. Bush is still an honorary chair of First Tee, and he's still very involved.

- Now, First Tee is showing up after 23, 24 years now.

The program provides, one of the things I found out, is a safe place for kids to learn.

There are volunteers, and there are people involved such as your team, staff people.

And what are some of the important things that these coaches, the volunteers, as well as your staff do for the young people?

- So, yeah, so if you take a look, our staff, so we have an executive staff, myself as Executive Director.

We have a program director, Mike Clark, an operations manager, Jermaine Wilson, as well as we're gonna bring an outreach coordinator on board.

So what we have four full-time staff on the nonprofit side, we also have volunteer coaches, paid coaches, and then volunteers who love the game of golf that help out.

And basically without these volunteers and paid coaches, we wouldn't be able to have the reach that we do.

If you take a look, last year, even in a COVID year, if you take our life skills programming, which is done at three local golf courses, Mud Run in Akron, in Cuyahoga Falls, we are at Brookledge Golf Course, And then down in Uniontown, Green area we're at Raintree.

So if you take those three locations along with our school program and our community partners, we reached over 20,000 kids last year.

- [Bill] Beautiful.

- That wouldn't be possible without our volunteers, without the parents, as well as our supporters.

- I want to thank a program which is definitely a part of it.

It's the parents, First Tee parents, 'cause First Tee parents have to help encourage the same goals, the same practice schedules that you as coaches and the golf pros are teaching, correct?

- Yeah, and without the parents, I mean, clearly one of the big hurdles we have is transportation, right?

The parents help get the kids to the program locations.

- Right.

- They also help reinforce, you know, our core values, every one of our classes includes a core value.

Some of them are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship.

They're all values that we feel are learned inherently through the game of golf.

And without the parents, we ask them to reinforce them at home.

You know, we really drive those core values home with the kids, and we ask them, hey, give us an example of how you would use or show respect at home.

So it's really kind of a two-pronged approach.

While we have the coaches, the volunteers, and the staff at First Tee, really, without our parents buying in and really helping, we don't have the impact that we have without that.

- So, I actually got to talk to a friend of mine who's an amateur golfer, Dave Boston, who grew up in the southeast Akron, Ellet area.

And when his young children started in elementary school in the Ellet area, Dave said that they were actually meeting at Firestone, the nine, Raymond Firestone course out near the Firestone Country Club.

So, I mean, it's moved around a little bit, it's matured.

And so we see it's revitalizing youth golf and it's helping young people.

I did notice when I went to the PGA tour website, they have a program there called Links to Learning partnership with First Tee and those First Tee core values you talked about integrity, sportsmanship, responsibility, judgment, perseverance, courtesy, honesty, confidence, and respect.

So I think all of those are demonstrated in your program, correct?

- A hundred percent.

You know, those are what we deem the nine core values.

And, you know, the partnership with the PGA tour is amazing.

You know, here locally in Akron, our chapter wouldn't be around without that partnership.

You know, we were created due to a lot of the charitable giving for both, you know, the NEC when it was here, then the WGC, which obviously Tiger made very famous 'cause it seemed like he won every year.

And now we love the partnership with the Champions Tour and to be involved with Firestone Country Club is awesome.

So, you know, locally, we're not here without the PGA Tour, so special thank you to everyone with the tour.

- And if you go out to the Mud Run golf course, which is on Hawkins Avenue, you'll notice the van, there's a van, the donations, including Northern Ohio PGA.

Well, the Northern Ohio golf charities, which basically started at the Firestone Country Club with the various tournaments that we put on here in Akron.

Now your website, in case people are interested, Jeff O'Brien is www.firstteeakron.org.

- Correct.

- Correct and so if anyone is interested, we'll put that website up here on Forum 360, and we'll have people, you know, respond.

Once they see what the children are doing, the young people, First Tee's a youth development organization, as Jeff said, and it integrates golf into various lifestyles and active learning.

I know it is a very hard sport, you know, but the NFL has Punt, Pass, and Kick programs at local levels, major league baseball has a little league and, you know, we see how those programs have responded.

So it's great to see kids get involved in the golf program.

There's a lot of rules.

There's a lot of, you know, the rules of golf USGA.

There's a lot of things that have to be taught.

How are your classes set up and how do you set up a daily program?

- Sure that's a great question, Bill.

So historically, you know, we were, we only program during the warmer months, right?

We're in Northeast Ohio, you know, the winters here can be pretty harsh.

- Exactly.

- However, three years ago, right after I started with First Tee, we actually received a grant as well as some donors stepped up and we were able to put a golf simulator in our back program room at Mud Run.

So we started launching programming 12 months out of the year.

So it starts right now in early January, we're gonna launch a winter simulator class indoors.

And those classes will be smaller.

There'll be six kids.

Obviously we're still in a COVID time.

So we try and space everybody out.

And then from there, we'll go into our spring programming, two summer sessions, a fall session and then we'll probably do a fall winter simulator session.

The amount of kids all depend on the class levels.

So we're really excited.

Late in 2021, First Tee headquarters announced new curriculum.

So we used to be skill level based.

So we would start at the player level.

Then you progress up to Par, Birdie, Eagle, and then the ACE level.

Headquarters invested a lot of money to work with a group, the Bridgespan Group, to take a look at our curriculum.

And what they found was all chapters, kids weren't staying in the program and leveling up.

So now we're gonna go to age based programming, which I think makes sense.

We're excited.

To take an example with Punt, Pass, and Kick or with major league baseball and kids don't play baseball, if you're eight years old, you play with other eight year olds.

- Right, little league.

- Yeah, exactly.

Or 10 years old, you play with kids the same age.

With First Tee, you know, we could potentially with the old curriculum, have a nine-year-old in a class with a 12 year old.

While it worked and it was a great experience.

I think the new age based curriculum is gonna be a home run.

Our classes, we're fortunate, when we release 'em online, they sell out in a matter of minutes.

- [Bill] Very good.

- So I think that's gonna continue.

I think the parents will buy in with this just 'cause we invested so much money at headquarters level to take a look at what was best.

So we're excited to get going with that.

- And First Tee, nationally, has headquarters down by Jacksonville, Florida near the PGA facility.

So do you interact with other across the country, occasionally interact with other directors and executive directors to find out what's going on in the country?

- Yeah we do.

And we're fortunate here, here in Northeast Ohio, we have two other chapters very close.

So if you take a look, we have a chapter in Cleveland as well as right down the road in Canton.

So I talked to those executive directors, I'd say weekly, or at least monthly.

We share best practices, which is great.

And then the staff at headquarters really does a good job of putting similar market chapters in touch with each other.

You know, our new CEO of First Tee headquarters.

His name is Greg McLaughlin.

He's actually an Ohio guy.

He went to Ohio State.

He was commissioner of the Champions Tour for a while.

And he also runs, he ran Tiger Woods' charitable foundation.

So he's come in, we have a new logo, we've rebranded and we have the new curriculum.

So we're super excited.

It's kind of been a little bit of a refresh, locally, as well as all the chapters.

- I know you, your predecessor, Frank Stams, Akron Saint Vincent Saint Mary grad, Notre Dame University grad, and played for the LA Rams and the Browns.

And he is very active in as an amateur golfer.

So he kind of worked with the City of Akron and the neighboring communities.

And then there was for awhile, it was an interim.

And then you took over.

Tell us how you got here.

You were from Connecticut and you actually worked for ESPN there in Bristol for awhile.

Just a brief synopsis.

We're gonna take a break in 30 seconds, but come back and we'll finish up discussing your background.

- Perfect.

- But you came from Connecticut, correct?

- Correct.

Born and raised live there the first 27 years of my life.

And then moved out to Ohio in 2009.

- We're gonna talk a little bit more with our Executive Director of First Tee Akron.

That is Jeff O'Brien.

It's a pleasure to have him on Forum 360.

I'm your host, Bill Steven Saus.

We are talking about Forum 360, a global outlook, local view globally.

We're talking about golf, amateur golf, and professional golf.

It all has to start somewhere and it starts with youth programs.

Today, Jeff O'Brien is introducing us to the First Tee Akron program.

Again, how did you get started as a young person in, to peak your interest in golf?

Because it was obviously before 1997, before the First Tee program.

And then you moved up into this position from Connecticut.

- Sure, so, you know, I grew up playing hockey in Connecticut and then my uncle introduced me to the game of golf.

He was the first guy to get me clubs when I was young.

My dad played golf.

We were fortunate, we were members of the country club.

So I did have access to private lessons, which was huge.

- [Bill] So right.

- Once I kind of, once high school came around, you know, I kind of hung up the skates for hockey, got into golf, really fell in love with it.

You know, it's an addicting game.

Really battled, saw success, made the high school team my senior year.

I came from a really good high school, actually our team senior year, all five starters went on to play college next year at the D1 level.

So played one year of high school golf.

Walked on in college.

And what I found was after school, you know, I worked at ESPN and then when I moved out here, I worked for the Cavaliers, really having the ability to play golf as well as how to act on the golf course helped me personally, helped me progress my career.

So then after that worked at Shaker Country Club for a while, really enjoyed that, oversaw membership and marketing there.

And then, you know, the First Tee came knocking, I knew a lot about it being a golfer.

You know, I'm in my late thirties.

So now really the opportunity to give back to a game that's really been able to give me so much in life was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

So, you know, hopped on board with First Tee, just over three years ago.

My wife, we built a house down here in Akron.

She works in Akron and that's kind of, I guess, not so short story, but that's how I ended up here at First Tee and down in Akron.

- Excellent.

Now you were talking about bringing volunteers on board, bringing volunteers.

They're all volunteers are required to do a background check.

They're they're working with youth and many of the youth are at risk coming from disadvantaged homes, families.

How do are you using the volunteer program to make sure that you have qualified people that have passed background checks?

What's the scenario?

- So, if you go to our website, there is a form that you would complete if you want to be a volunteer.

That gets sent to us.

At that point, usually either our program director, Mike Clark, or Jermaine who's our Operations Manager will reach out to kind of schedule, they used to be in person interviews, now because of the times they're, you know, either a Zoom or over the phone interview.

And we just ask questions, right?

'Cause we want to lay out the expectation of what the volunteer, what we expect.

At that point, you know, if the person is still interested, thank you to a partnership with Safe Sport, all First Tee chapters use Safe Sport to run background checks.

- All right, very good.

- So once that comes back, all our volunteers will then complete, the first year it's about a 90 minute online training.

And then each, every, every subsequent year, it's about 10 to 15 minutes.

So this is something that all chapters do, both nationally and internationally.

'Cause now First Tee is an international nonprofit youth development organization, and it's something we take very seriously.

So a volunteer is not allowed to be, really help with any classes until they finish both their background check as well as their online training.

- So basically they're commissioned by the First Tee organization and given their training and taught the new challenges and how to deal with young people.

You were talking about the different ages, providing the training and the, all the opportunities.

Obviously, golf requires equipment.

- Sure.

- Putters, irons, metal woods, and so forth, and especially tees and balls.

So it can be very expensive.

How does the First Tee program help young people that are obviously on a budget, some disadvantaged economically, how does First Tee provide equipment?

- So, you know, we work with a grant writer.

We do write a lot of grants for equipment 'cause at the end of the day, First Tee, there is no barrier to entry.

So we will never turn a child away if they can't pay for the class or if they don't have equipment.

So through grant funding, as well as, you know, people in the community that give money as well as clubs, that's one thing we accept all donations.

- [Bill] Very good.

- So if you have any used clubs that are in your basement, you know, we do accept donations.

They go right to the kids.

We keep track.

Annually, we give about 20 to $25,000 in equipment out to the kids.

- Very good.

- You know, we also, one hurdle is kids clubs are different than adult clubs.

So we partner with US Kids and other kid manufacturers to where, when our students come to the program, we have clubs available if they don't have their own.

- I noticed when you go to some of the major retailers or even some of the golf professionals club pro shops, you see some youth clubs.

I know some of the major retailers, such as Walmart, they sell the PGA brand of youth clubs, which has the PGA logo on it.

And so there are opportunities.

So if you're a, someone that feels led to provide a donation, you can go down, perhaps even purchase something like that, a set, a starter set and take it down to your golf course, Mud Run, which is a city owned course.

Correct?

- Correct.

So the city owns it.

We're a little unique.

We actually, First Tee manages the golf course on behalf of the city.

So everybody at Mud Run except the superintendent is a First Tee employee.

- [Bill] Okay.

- We love the relationship with the city.

They've given us really a home and a headquarters at Mud Run and the kids love it.

And, you know, we have a great driving range.

We have a beautiful nine hole course, two chipping greens and putting greens.

So it's nice that we're able to do our programming as well as, you know, provide a beautiful golf course for the public here in Akron.

- Well, Jeff O'Brien, I originally being a former Akron JC member, and one of my goals was to always work at the Firestone Country Club during tournament week and volunteer.

And last year I continued to volunteer at the Bridgestone for the championship tour.

And I noticed this was given to me, got a little rain spot, 'cause it was raining that day at the, at the course, but it's for First Tee of greater Akron, I first kind of read about it.

It says, join our First Tee program.

First Tee greater Akron is looking for volunteers who want to make a difference in our community.

Our work at First Tee is not about improving your golf score, it's about strengthening everybody else, including the youth.

So please contact you, Jeff O'Brien, Executive Director, your phone number at the course, (330) 375-2638.

That's (330) 375-2638.

Or you can email Jeff, Jeff O'Brien@firstteeakron.org.

So that's how I kind of noticed the program.

Got involved, so you see the courses out there throughout Northeast Ohio probably have information about First Tee.

Check with your golf professional at your course, and to donations.

You're talking about grants.

I know Charles Schwab, which is very active in the Championships Tour.

The Charles Schwab Challenge Grant is happening in greater Akron and so there is support there.

We appreciate that.

So if you're a golf professional and you want to provide extra location information, can you contact the First Tee?

Have you talked to other professionals?

- Yeah, so we partner with a lot of the pros in the area.

You know, right now we have three program locations, Mud Run, Raintree, and Brookledge.

We're always looking to expand.

You know, you hinted at the volunteers.

That's really our goal, you know, as we head into 2022, is growing our volunteer base because without our volunteers, we can't continue to grow.

- And we want to thank Firestone Country Club and Bridgestone, Don Padgett, Jr or Don Padgett, III now is the, in charge at the Director of Golf for that program.

And he's providing a lot of help for the program.

So how has this year been challenged with the COVID-19, with the pandemic moving on to the future?

Have their been certain expectations with COVID-19 involved?

- Yeah, so it's funny you bring that up.

I was just having a conversation with our Board Chair, Jonathan Gadd and you know, we have at the end of this year, 2021, we'll have our last board meeting and he'll go down as history as a board chair that never had an in-person board meeting.

- [Bill] Right.

- So he's been Board Chair for two years.

You know, COVID, I think, has made us stronger as an organization.

You know, we've pivoted, we've been able to do some online programming on YouTube, whether it be lesson plans, interviews with the staff.

And one of the things with the new curriculum is we're going to, a lot of our curriculum is kind of like this rules of golf book right now.

Right?

So as rules change, we had to reprint it.

Everything's going tablet and computer and phone based.

- That's correct.

- So we experienced that during COVID.

We're very proud that not one staff member, volunteer, or participant in the two years of COVID that we know of contracted COVID.

- [Bill] That's excellent.

- And we have, you know, we had new policies and procedures.

We did it safely.

We asked the parents, do you want us to return to programming?

And the resounding answer in the survey was yes.

So then we said, hey, how do we do it?

We took every precaution possible.

And you know, now that we're hopefully on the tail end of this, we're definitely a stronger organization for going through the past two years.

- What are some of the reactions of the youth that you are dealing with?

And we were talking about the programming and the First Tee core values like integrity.

There was a training program I saw online through the PGA Links to Learning with First Tee.

And it says, for instance, integrity, to feel, or to show regard for oneself or others around you, sportsmanship, accounting for your own actions, being dependable, showing up at the golf tee when you're supposed to be there, learning etiquette, the responsibility, core value, playing by the rules, being kind to others.

So all these great core values, you see the, you can really train.

I've seen you, well, Mike Clark out there with the youth.

And it's impressive how the youth just love to do this.

Young people just love to get involved.

- Yeah, it's a fantastic program.

And you know, it's funny, we consider in our, this time, right?

These are soft skills that you would say that kids learn.

And we had our First Tee fall meetings late in 2021.

And our CEO, Greg McLaughlin gave a story.

He was having lunch with Arthur Blank.

Who's very successful, he started Home Depot, started PGA Superstores.

He owns the Atlanta Falcons as well as a soccer team in Atlanta.

Huge supporter of First Tee.

And he told Greg, he goes, you know, I don't consider these soft skills.

I consider them hard skills and skills that you need to be successful after, you know, after college and when you become an adult.

And that really resonated with me that, you know, outside of the nine core values, which are important, we teach kids how to introduce themselves to adults, how to shake hands, take your hat off when you go inside.

Those type of values and skills are only going to help kids, you know, as they progress through their life.

- Excellent.

And if you see young golfers that progress from amateur golf to eventually pro golf, and you look at the PGA tour, talk about Tiger Woods.

I was talking to a good friend whose golf, well, he's a sports statistician, Jack Kitchen, used to be a broadcaster in Akron and Cleveland in sports and Jack has one of those memories, where he will say, yeah, Tiger did this.

He won this event.

When I went out west to the University of Missouri to walk onto a golf team at Mizzou in the Big Eight years ago, Al Chandler was our coach.

He was the 1953 PGA youth, they called him Junior Champion.

And you know, so I was, you know, seeing a coach like that.

You had probably when you were a young person in Connecticut, to see people like that, get involved in golf to stimulate young people's interests like a Tiger Woods.

Like his dad did, his late father.

Well I want to thank you for being with us here on Forum 360.

We've had the pleasure of talking to the Executive Director of First Tee Akron, Jeff O'Brien.

Jeff, thank you for being with us.

Again, we hope that people will get involved and young people will benefit at First Tee of Akron.

Thank you very much for being on Forum 360.

- Thank you for having me.

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