This August, we held our first ever First Tee Leadership Summit in the unforgettable backdrop of West Creek Ranch in Montana. This event took place for two weeks, bringing together 20 teens each week from across the country to develop leadership skills through dynamic outdoor and team-building activities.
Through collaborative workshops, First Tee’s core competencies of building character, self-confidence and resilience played a huge part of the experience, to explore the concepts of relationship building, positive risk taking, and character evaluation.
We recently caught up with participant Benjamin Parris from First Tee – Denver to hear how this year’s event impacted him.
Benjamin Parris, First Tee – Denver
In Denver, I often hear the amazing experiences fellow participants have when they return from First Tee national events. Until the first week of August 2021, I had never experienced one for myself and I was not quite sure what to expect when I was selected for The First Tee Leadership Summit in Partnership with the PGA TOUR Superstore at Mr. Arthur M. Blank’s West Creek Ranch in Montana.
As soon as I arrived at the airport, I knew it would be a special week as I was immediately greeted by fellow participants and alumni chaperones. When we arrived at West Creek, even more participants were eager to greet us and introduce themselves. I knew I had formed relationships almost immediately, and those only got better as the week went on.
At the summit, we got to participate in activities such as horseback riding, archery, white water rafting, and other spectacular outdoor experiences. Also, during our days, we had the opportunities to listen to guest speakers like Dick Sullivan (CEO of the PGA TOUR Superstore), Ralph Stokes (the PGA TOUR Superstore’s Director of Partnership Marketing and former University of Alabama running back), Joe Shepard (a PGA TOUR Superstore Regional Manager), Stacie Monks (a PGA TOUR Superstore District Manager), and our keynote speaker Michael Vick (former NFL quarterback). We learned lessons in values, teamwork, skill sets, representation, and more.
Each day at the summit had a different theme. Our themes were: “relationships are the foundation for leadership,” “positive risk taking,” and “my character is me.” While our speakers were able to give us insightful words and stories on these themes, we learned just as much from our outdoor experiences as we did from our speakers.
On Tuesday, we focused on relationships and how trust is the foundation of every successful relationship. After hearing from Dick Sullivan and Michael Vick, six participants, including myself, departed for the ropes course while everyone else elected to horseback ride. When we arrived, we immediately had to build a relationship as we picked partners to ascend on a partner climb up a 30-foot wooden ladder. My partner Sam Gibbs from the First Tee of Fort Worth deserves a quick shoutout for putting her trust in me all week from the second we became partners at the ropes course.
On Wednesday, we worked on taking positive risks. My first risk of the day was waking up at 6:30 after a late night to go on a sunrise hike. Let me tell you, the views in Montana were spectacular, it was very much worth the risk of not sleeping in. Later that day I took another risk by going on a 3-hour horseback excursion, by far the longest I had ever been near another animal, besides my dog at home. My biggest takeaway from learning about positive risks were to approach people who think differently than you so you can challenge your own thinking and to seek out your own mentorships.
On Thursday, our final full day at the summit, we did a lot of self-reflection while thinking about how to own our characters. Stacie Monks began the day after another gorgeous sunrise hike. She posed the following question to all the participants. “What type of leader do you want to be?” She went onto discuss how to create a culture when you are leading others and how to empower them. Later that morning we had perhaps the hardest task of the entire summit, but also to me the most impactful. We were asked to complete this phrase. “This is what I believe about myself as a leader…” This wasn’t a simple sentence to complete, and to really answer the question, it required more than just a few sentences. To complete the thought, I had to reflect upon all the things I had been through that week at West Creek. I had to think about climbing with a partner, taking leaps of faith, the inspiration I had received from our speakers and workshops, and what I had learned from all the people around me. Later that evening, we sat around the fire pit as we listened and shared all 18 of us has discovered about ourselves as leaders.
My favorite part of the leadership summit was the comradery all of the participants formed. I got the opportunity to make 17 new friends, who over the course of the week felt like family. I know that I’ll be keeping in touch with them for years and years to come and can’t wait until I can see them again. For me, the week made me feel like a true member of the greater First Tee family. I had never met a fellow participant from outside of Colorado, but now I feel like I’m connected to the First Tee everywhere I go. I can’t wait to stay involved with the program as I go to college and beyond.
I want to thank the First Tee, PGA TOUR Superstore and West Creek Ranch staff one final time for giving me what was truly a life changing experience. The programming was phenomenal, and the experiences were irreplicable. I came back home truly knowing what type of leader I am and how I can continue to grow as a leader. I can’t wait to apply what I learned in Montana to our local programs in Denver as well as other extracurriculars I participate in. I feel honored that I was a part of the inaugural summit.
Pure Insurance & The First Tee of Phoenix 100-Hole Putt-A-Thon Celebration!!
Saturday June 23, 2018
8:30am – 1:00pm
The Legacy Golf Resort – 6808 South 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85042
Contact Mike Tucker at [email protected] or 602-566-7393 for information on how you can participate!
Pure Insurance is a National Sponsor of The First Tee through the Pure Insurance Championship Impact The First Tee. This incredible tournament is played in September (this year’s event is September 25-30, 2018) at the Pebble Beach Golf Links bringing together players from the PGA Champions Tour and members of The First Tee from across the nation for a golf tournament like no other.
The First Tee of Phoenix and the local Pure Insurance office is excited to expand on this national partnership with our own event to impact kids here in Phoenix Area. The First Tee of Phoenix and Pure Insurance are collaborating with our 1
st Annual 100-Hole Putt-A-Thon Celebration!! This fun and worthwhile event will bring participants from both organizations for a day of fun, fellowship, and fundraising. Participants will be playing (putting) 100 holes to raise money for kids participating within The First Tee of Phoenix programs through scholarships and programming support at the golf course level.
Every participant will be playing 100 holes on the putting green. There will be 20 holes set up on the putting green where groups of 3 (two adults and one The First Tee of Phoenix Junior Member) will circulate through 5 times. Our estimation that this will take between 75-90 minutes to complete. Each participant will keep their score through the 100 holes. There will be a maximum of 4 putts per hole. Prizes will be awarded for the lowest cumulative score, as well as, the most “Hole-in-Ones”.
This event is open to anyone who would like to support The First Tee of Phoenix. All we ask is that you give of your time and play with us on that day and raise some needed funds for the kids within our program. We know initially this may seem to be a challenge, but we hope you will give it your best effort using your own existing network of family and friends to help support your involvement in the 100 Hole Putt-A-Thon. Our previous 100-hole celebrations have been very successful and this year’s plan is to make it the best ever!
To register on the site go to
www.FirstTeeChallenge.com and click the Player Registration link on the top left corner of the page.
My Experience as a Junior Course Reporter at The Waste Management Phoenix Open
By Jack Breidenbach, The First Tee of Phoenix
Day One and Two – Thursday February 2 & Friday February 3, 2017
It was a cool, crisp morning at the TPC Scottsdale. No players on the course, it was barren and empty. Hard at work behind the scenes, people were busy early setting up the spectacle known as the Phoenix Open.
We first met Ted Cash, the mastermind behind turning the TPC Scottsdale cart barn into a media room welcoming golf reporters from around the world. His team starts a week early creating temporary walls that divide the room into sections. The transformation definitely makes a great workplace for reporters during the week.
We next spoke with Wade Stettner, head meteorologist for the PGA Tour. He told us Phoenix is a relatively easy place to predict weather. No fog, little winds, nothing like coastal courses. The only delay during the Phoenix Open experience is the usual frost delay. The Tour’s and Stettner’s main concern for most tournaments is lightning. “Play will be stopped if lightning is within 6 miles – no exceptions.”
Next we visited with Brad Williams, General Manager of the TPC. Brad told us “Our main focus is creating the best experience for our fans. The process of setting up the legendary 16th hole begins in October. The maintenance staff is working around the clock keeping the course in pristine condition.”
Our next stop was with the people from ShotLink, the high-tech tracking system used by the PGA Tour to bring us stats on every tour player’s game. Using a grid system and GPS technology, Shotlink is able to track distances for every player.
We then found ourselves on a journey into the jungle that is the 16th hole. We met the genius behind the Golf Channel’s production, Jeremy Friedman. Jeremy brought us into the box where Tom Lehman, Brandall Chamblee and Steve Sands were live on Golf Central’s Pre-Game show. Brandall stopped to greet us after the show. Later, we went over to the 18th tower and, thanks to Mr. Friedman, met Rich Lerner and David Duval, the announcers for the action out on the course.
We then took a brief detour to visit our friends at CBS Sports. Joel, a producer with CBS, gave us a tour of their four trailers, each responsible for performing different jobs. We watched the audio and video crews in the first trailer. We then met their graphic design team who creates the sleek and creative scoreboard at commercial breaks. Finally we watched the music crew in their trailer as they were in the midst of creating a montage of past Phoenix Opens.
Though we met many people doing different behind the scenes jobs, everyone is here for the same reason: the players. We caught up with a few hometown heroes, like Sun Devil graduates Chez Reavie and Phil Mickelson. “It’s always great to see people you grew up with in the crowd cheering you on,” Reavie told me in our conversation. As for Mickelson, a seasoned veteran and three-time champion at the open, he embraces the crowd. He told me, “there is nothing quite like it on tour. It is definitely an event on the calendar that I look forward to.” We also caught up with Matt Kuchar, who doesn’t focus on his competition. “I am not worried about how the leaders are playing, you can only play your game.” The Georgia native loves his Atlanta Falcons, and likes their chances on Sunday. “I am confident we can get the win.” With two days in the books, and two days remaining, it should be an interesting finish. Expect fireworks.
My Experience as a Course Reporter at
The Waste Management Phoenix Open
By, Mika Miyata, The First Tee of Phoenix
Day One – Thursday February 2, 2017
The Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO) is something I look forward to each year, and so far, the 2017 experience has been the best one yet. I have been given the amazing opportunity of being invited as a First Tee course reporter (as one of two, the second being Jack) at the greenest show on grass. Today’s weather provided a prime day to not only watch golf but to see all the behind the scenes work that involves running a tournament of this magnitude.
The day started with us getting a tour of the media center and learning about how interviews are conducted. We talked to Ted Cash, who showed us around the interview room. Watching golf on TV gives you the perception that the interview room is a giant conference room that holds numerous people, but at the WMPO it is quite opposite; it is merely just a small area of the cart barn with a backdrop and few rows of chairs. I found this quite interesting, due to the fact that I, along with many other people, have never known this before.
Afterward, we spoke with Leslie Grabeman from ShotLink (a stat system used by the PGA), Wade Stettner, he is a tournament meteorologist who monitors the weather and determines if it’s fit for play, and Officer Patterson from the Scottsdale Police Department who surveys the entire course with his canine for bomb detection. We also had the opportunity to talk to Brad Williams, the General Manager of TPC Scottsdale. He gave us major insights on how the WMPO operates and functions. He even told us that they started the construction of the grandstands in last October, and they are already talking about tournament planning for 2018. I mean that’s crazy, this year’s tournament has barely begun!
The coolest part of my day was going to the Golf Channel set on the 16th green and getting to talk to Jeremy Friedman. It was crazy trying to talk to him in the midst of the 16-hole madness, the crowd was cheering so loud that we could barely hear! But through all the chaos, he told us behind the scenes information about the show Golf Central. Mr. Friedman also told us information regarding the process it takes to produce the show and setting everything up. He also told us that his favorite part of the job was getting to travel to all the different tournament locations. It was really cool to watch Brandel Chamblee, Steve Sands, and Tom Lehman record their segment and turn around to see the show being broadcasted live.
Today’s all-access, behind the scenes experience, is one I will remember for my entire life. Thank you to the First Tee of Phoenix for this amazing experience.
Day Two – Friday February 3, 2017
This morning we need to be at WPMO early, Jack and I were going to be interviewed by Chanel 3. As I was walking up to the media center I could see that there were already more people there than the day before. You could also hear the loud cheers from the 16th green, and it was only 7:30 am! I thought to myself, it was going to be another fantastic day at the WMPO.
It felt surreal to be standing on the 18th skybox talking to April Warnecke of Chanel 3 about yesterday’s experiences (on live TV!). It felt like the interview took a long time, but it really was only about a couple minutes.
Throughout the day, we flashed our media badges visiting various production trailers. We met Steve from PGA Tour Live who works with film production; matching the audio to what we see on TV. We also met Joel who gave us a tour of the CBS Sports trailers. It was very interesting to learn about the production, mixing, audio, and visual process. There’s so much involved in airing a golf tournament.
Later that morning we bumped into Jeremy Friedman again who took us up to the 18th hole NBC production tower. While up in the tower David Duvall and Rich Lerner was recording their segment, Live from with a Birdseye View of the 18th green. I really enjoyed meeting Mr. Duvall and Mr. Lerner and getting to snap a quick picture! The views of the 18th green was of course, AMAZING!
Afterward, we headed back to the media center to catch the players coming in. Jack and I, along with several professional reporters were trying to get interviews with them. Some of the players rushed through, but Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar were kind enough to answer our questions. I was really happy that we got to talk to the players, especially the ones who are well known, as it was already time to turn in our press badges.
This was my first time being a junior course reporter, it’s an experience I will never forget. I am so appreciative and thankful to everyone who took time out of their busy day in order to show us around and answer questions, especially Coach Jeff Pound of the First Tee, for being with us for the past two days.
