First Tee Hosts Golf Clinic With PGA Star Justin Thomas

CHARLOTTE -Nearly 150 kids joined Major Champion Justin Thomas on the driving range Tuesday to learn a thing or two about the game of golf. This ahead of the Wells Fargo championship at Quail Hollow this weekend.

“I really enjoy doing it because it obviously it makes me feel great to be able to see the looks on these kids faces,” said Thomas.

The event was hosted by First Tee of Greater Charlotte, an organization for kids between ages five to 18 from all walks of life to build confidence on and off the course.

“I always say the world doesn’t need any more golfers, but we need better people,” said First Tee’s Daniel Fogarty. “And that’s why we exist, is to use the game of golf to create better people.”

And they’re not stopping with this event. First tee, along with golf course management company Troon, and Mecklenburg County, have joined forces to enhance four county golf courses for up to 20 years.

“When Troon came to us with this proposal and we really saw it as an opportunity to get more kids access to green space and green grass and introducing them to the game,” said Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation facilities manager Preston Buckman.

First Tee donated 250,000 dollars this year to improve practice facilities. Troon is now donating two percent of all gross revenue from the four courses back to First Tee.

“Every patron that comes out to hit a bucket of balls, play a round of golf, a percentage of their spend is going to fund programs, scholarships and initiatives for the first tee,” said Joe Goodrich, vice president of Troon. “Over the period of that 20 years, it’ll be a minimum of $3 million.”

Justin Thomas himself donating 20 thousand to first tee.

“Just being here with these kids today and seeing how much and how many of them love the game of golf, I felt like it was going to be put to good use and and hopefully inspire the youth,” he said.