First Tee Of Roanoke Valley Set For Big Year In Junior Golf

New lead instructor Bill Rader expects exciting things in 2015 for The First Tee of Roanoke Valley.
New lead instructor Bill Rader expects exciting things in 2015 for The First Tee of Roanoke Valley.

The recent warm weather has golfers of all ages eager to dust off the clubs and hit the links.

For junior golfers, both girls and boys, there’s no better place to learn the game, improve your skills and develop the life-enhancing values the game offers, than The First Tee of Roanoke Valley.

2015 looks to be even more exciting as The First Tee of Roanoke Valley chapter celebrates its tenth anniversary while also welcoming a new lead instructor.

The Scott Robertson Memorial Junior Golf Academy is the home of The First Tee of Roanoke Valley. The First Tee of Roanoke Valley was an offspring of the renowned Scott Robertson Memorial Junior Golf Tournament.

With such a strong presence in the national junior golf community, it was determined that the next step for the Scott Robertson Memorial was to introduce more youth in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding localities to golf and the life lessons it teaches.

After reviewing the programs available, it was determined that affiliating with The First Tee organization would allow the Scott Robertson Memorial to accomplish that goal. After completing the extensive process to become a First Tee chapter, The First Tee of Roanoke Valley opened in 2005 under current executive director Jennifer Blackwood.

The four acre facility is located in northwest Roanoke, adjacent to Roanoke Country Club and Westside Elementary School. The facility includes a large clubhouse with offices and classrooms, a driving range, a synthetic-turf putting green and practice bunkers. Additionally, several practice holes allow players to simulate rounds of golf right at the Densmore Rd. location.

Steady to this day, The First Tee of Roanoke Valley’s primary mission is to provide young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education in life-enhancing values. As displayed in the main classroom on Densmore, the nine core values of The First Tee are confidence, perseverance, judgement, honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, responsibility, courtesy and respect. First Tee members advance through a multi-step program based on instruction, ability and classroom activities that are popular to everyone.

The Roanoke chapter has continued to grow through its first ten years as word spread of the instruction and opportunities available. 2015 will be no exception.

“We expect 800 junior girls and boys to continue participating through the certification process,” Blackwood said in mid-April. “We also expect another 6,200 participants through our connections with elementary schools, phys-ed classes in the various schools and partnerships with other agencies. While our hub is in Roanoke, we have close ties with areas outside the valley such as Franklin County and Buena Vista.”

There’s never a shortage of activity at The First Tee.

Classes take place spring, summer and fall. While they typically take place during morning and early afternoon in the summer, classes move to afternoons in the fall to accommodate school hours. Players can also enjoy week-long summer camps and play-days at various local country clubs throughout the Roanoke Valley, Botetourt and Vista Links Golf Course in Buena Vista.

And, if you like the limelight, First Tee members have plenty of opportunities to be part of the PGA and Champions Tour.

The First Tee of Roanoke Valley has been an integral part of Youth Day at The Greenbrier Classic PGA TOUR event since its inception in 2010. Typically held on the Tuesday of tournament week, this exciting day includes a luncheon hosted by  Greenbrier Resort owner Jim Justice, along with special PGA pros in attendance.

Last year’s guest was six-time major winner Nick Faldo, and in 2013 a more recent major winner, 2015 Masters champ Jordan Spieth, answered questions and joined First Tee members in the Greenbrier ballroom. Following lunch, a special clinic is held on the driving range and the afternoon concludes with ever-popular First Tee Scramble, a three-hole scramble format that teams First Tee members from Roanoke and West Virginia with PGA pros on the Old White TPC for a nifty $10,000 purse.

Likewise, a First Tee of Roanoke Valley member has traveled annually to California, where The Champions Tour partners with The First Tee in a special multi-day event that teams First Tee members with a Champions Tour pro at the storied Pebble Beach Golf Club.

Mid-July will offer a Youth Day at the Virginia State Open at Ballyhack Golf Club and September 19-20 brings the Parent-Child Tournament to Roanoke Country Club.

One of biggest changes for 2015 came with the retirement last fall of long-time Director of Programming and Instruction, Mary Beth McGirr. McGirr, a LPGA Master Professional and former women’s college golf coach at, among others, Wake Forest, was a favorite instructor of many First Tee participants who came through the ranks.

Taking over for McGirr as lead instructor will be Nashville native Bill Rader, known more familiarly as “Coach Bill” on the Densmore Rd. grounds. Rader joins programming coach Mack McClung. Rader moved to the Roanoke area 15 years ago where he began his quest for PGA certification with classes that involved playing, teaching, business and staffing. He was an apprentice to Billy McGuire.

Rader connected with McGirr at a 4H golf camp at Smith Mountain Lake last year, and learning of her plans to retire, was encouraged to apply for the opening. The rest is history and Rader has hit the ground running.

“I’m really exited about joining The First Tee,” Rader said in a recent interview at the First Tee clubhouse. “I don’t want to change a whole lot. I want to carry on what Mary Beth left.”

Rader says the keys to success are the volunteers and sponsors.

“There’s never enough,” Rader noted of the volunteer corps at First Tee. “We are fortunate to have an outstanding volunteer list. We have approximately one coach for every four kids. The volunteers keep us going and it’s very gratifying.”

“The sponsors are also an important part of First Tee,” Rader added. “They offer grants and fundraisers; everything is important.”

In February, Rader took two First Tee of Roanoke Valley members to Naples, Florida to participate in an event connected to the prestigious ACE Classic.

“It’s a privilege for me to be with The First Tee,” Rader said. “It’s great to be associated with something you love, and to live in a great place with my wife Michelle and two boys.”

“We are so lucky to have Bill join us,” Blackwood said. “It is our board, along with their leadership and vision, that has made First Tee of Roanoke Valley so successful.”

Summer class registration ends June 30th. Call The First Tee at 540-563-1833 to be part of the fun.

Bill Turner

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