Friday, May 18, 2012

Golf News

"The First Tee" Visits Richland Country Club
 
An idea that came from three past Richland Presidents - Hal Johnson, Jim Robers and Roy Luckett, proved to be an exceptional outing for 24 Richland members. The First Tee, a national program that uses golf to teach life skills to young teenagers, was having a golf camp at Golf House Tennessee in Franklin and 30 boys and 18 girls from chapters across the south were in attendance for a week.  
 
Richland has been tremendously supportive of the Tennessee Golf Foundation and in fact, has more annual donating members than any private club in Tennessee! Hal, Jim and Roy enlisted the help and support of PGA Professional John Spelman, and the result was a late afternoon cookout followed by a nine hole scramble with 48 First Tee juniors and 24 Richland members. We had 24 three person teams that played in sixsomes and got around in 2 hours and 20 minutes with team scores ranging from 33 to 40.  Not bad for a day where the temperature hit 95 degrees.
 
Here are some remarks from our members:
 
Noble Judy:  "These kids were so polite and some had real talent. I have been wanted to give back and this was perfect.  I hope to keep track of the young people I met and plan to keep in  touch".
 
Parke Brown: "What a terrific charity. Thank  you for inviting me, we had a wonderful day".
 
Marbut Gaston: " I gave my two juniors my business card and told them to call me when they graduated and I will have them back to play 18 holes at Richland as my graduation gift to  them".
 
Hal Johnson: "It was home run and it all came together perfectly. Our members had a ball...why wouldn't we do it again next year?"
 
Wendy Herr: " Mike and I are so glad that we volunteered to participate in Richlands outing for the youngsters from the  First Tee program.  I was so impressed with their play, their understanding of the game, and their support of each other.  It was so much fun to see our team praise each other, make sure I knew of the accomplishments of their  teammates, and to hear their personal aspirations and goals.  It was also a treat to watch Martarius hit his drive on the green on #3.  Mike and I both hope Richland participates in the program again next year, and I will get some more ladies to participate...... and the thank you notes with a picture to remember the day was a really special surprise."