National Opportunities:
First Tee doesn’t just get kids on the course, it offers them exciting opportunities for growth. With the help of our corporate partners, we host a series of events for our participants, allowing them to meet new people, play some golf, and achieve greatness. Descriptions and selected individuals are listed in the dropdown boxes below.
Golf & Leadership Events
First Tee Leadership Academy in Partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore | June 17-22
In partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore, First Tee Leadership Academy builds on the 5-week local Leadership Series and provides selected teens insight on how successful teams perform. This opportunity is only for chapter teens in PGA TOUR Superstore markets.
First Tee National Championship | June 23-27
The First Tee National Championship will be held at Clemson University, bringing together First Tee’s elite players for an opportunity to showcase how the program has helped build the strength of character needed to play at the collegiate or next level.
Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr | July 9-13
Participants selected to attend this five-day learning and empowerment academy will participate in important conversations around issues of identity, racism, diversity, equity and inclusion. The academy builds throughout the week into a final outreach project in collaboration with DE&I leadership in the local host community.
Participant Advisory Council | July 22-24
First Tee Participant Advisory Council (PAC) advises HQ on matters pertinent to all First Tee participants. It is critical for youth to be heard, and the PAC provides an important forum for youth to express themselves, voice their ideas, and provide input for projects or programs that impact the experience of all First Tee participants.
First Tee Leadership Summit in partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore | August 5-9; August 12-16
The Leadership Summit is designed to strengthen the participants leadership skills through dynamic outdoor and team-building activities, preparing them to transfer those skills to other scenarios they will face in the future. The teens will also participate in collaborative workshops in which they will be influenced to challenge their conceptions of transformational leadership. This opportunity is only for chapter teens in PGA TOUR Superstore markets.
PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee | September 17-22
An official PGA TOUR Champions event at Pebble Beach Golf Links, the tournament pairs top participants from First Tee with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs. To be selected, juniors are measured in both golf ability and their knowledge of the First Tee life skills curriculum. The tournament is televised on Golf Channel.
John Deere Drive Your Future Academy | October 10-14
This all-girls event focuses on leadership development, remaining active in the game of golf, learning the value/impact of volunteerism, and recognizing the importance of teamwork.
First Tee Innovators Forum | November 17-21
The Innovators Forum sets to empower First Tee teens to develop a meaningful service project in their communities focusing on raising awareness on global issues focusing on education, health, and sustainability.
Academic Recognition
First Tee College Scholarship Program
The Scholar Program is designed to provide further support, life skill development and mentorship of our alumni through their journey. Higher education continues to be a critical factor in unlocking opportunities for young people to thrive, and First Tee is committed to their success.
FTGH Process:
First Tee – Greater Houston will first identify potential candidates to apply for one or more National Opportunities with First Tee this year. Our National Opportunity Process normally takes place around mid-January. Our chapter is limited in the number of applications that can be submitted for a particular opportunity and therefore we have an in-person interview process which is scheduled at our Memorial Park location inside the Chevron Center for Education & Golf. Any participant that has already been selected to attend a particular opportunity is no longer eligible to attend that event a 2nd time. If eligible, each participant are only allowed to select up to three (3) National Opportunities to apply for and rank them in the order 1, 2, 3 (1 being the most desired). If a participant gets selected to apply for a National Opportunities (submitting essay questions and getting selected to apply through our interview panel), all participants can only apply for two (2) National Opportunities max due to the number of participants we have in our program!
The eligibility requirements do vary between these events. Criteria for each event will provided to all potential candidates. We will then provide participants with essay questions to respond to ahead of the in-person interview which will be due back to us by by a certain date. Participants must be 14 years old at a minimum by the time of that current event, to apply for that current opportunity and have been a member of the program for 2 years by the application deadline. (Application deadlines vary for different opportunities). All participants interested in applying must also be active with the chapter for 2023.
Due to the number of interested participants, we are limiting First Tee – Greater Houston Interview Selection Process to a total of 24 Participants. The 24 participants will be selected by First Tee – Greater Houston staff and coaches. Participants will be judged strictly on their answers to the essay questions responses and if there are any ties, First Tee – Greater Houston staff and coaches will also consider how active a participant has been since they have been a part of our organization – how many sessions they have taken and if they attended class or not, and other extracurricular activities they have been part of, outside of First Tee classes.
If a participant is selected to be apart of the Interview Process, they must dress in attire as they would going to a job interview. There will be three (3) members of the judging panel who participants visit with for 15 minutes. Participants will be scored by the judging panel on a scale from 1 to 100 according to essay feedback, appearance, face to face interview skills, life skills knowledge and personal golf skill knowledge.
After the interview process, the judges scores and First Tee Staff/Coaches scores, will be average out together to determine what participants gets to apply for certain National Opportunities.