First Tee Birmingham uses golf to build ‘game changers’
Honesty. Integrity. Perseverance. Setting and achieving goals. Respecting other people and collaborating to meet common objectives. Managing emotions. Building and maintaining a positive self-identity. These are tools for living a successful life as a person of high character, equipped to meet life’s challenges as they arise.
According to Carlos Carter, president of First Tee Birmingham, these tools can be learned and practiced through the game of golf. First Tee teaches young golfers a curriculum that promotes character development and life-enhancing values.
“Golf is the tool we use to make better people.”
Carlos Carter, president of First Tee Birmingham. (contributed)
For its classes and events, as well as equipment and other resources, the nonprofit First Tee has what Carter called “great partners” in the public Highland Park Golf Course, the PGA Tour Superstore in Hoover and Top Golf in Birmingham’s Uptown entertainment district. First Tee also works with Birmingham City Schools and Woodlawn’s I3 Academy on in-school programs, said Carter.
On June 18, the Highland Park course will host the third annual First Tee Birmingham Classic golf tournament. The organization’s signature fundraising event, the tournament is open to all interested adults, with an entry fee of $150 per player or $500 per foursome. The event also provides opportunities for people to volunteer as coaches or in other capacities.
“You don’t even have to be great at golf,” Carter stressed. “You just have to have knowledge of the game and be supportive in helping kids learn through the curriculum. It’s an opportunity to provide some critical mentorship.”
First Tee is a nonprofit organization with more than 150 chapters in the United States and internationally, promoting personal growth and junior golf programs for kids and teens of all backgrounds. The Birmingham chapter headed by Carter is the successor to the original Birmingham organization, which was launched in the late 1990s but had been dormant since 2010. The new chapter was launched in 2023, in partnership with Regions and the Regions Tradition golf tournament.
Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman grew up in the First Tee Birmingham organization, which she continues to support as a board member and volunteer coach. (contributed)
A ready example of First Tee’s impact on young lives is Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman. She was seven years old when she became interested in golf through the original First Tee program in Birmingham and remained actively engaged through high school, including helping to coach younger players. Recently, she recalled why the game appealed to her.
“When you play golf, it’s just you and the course,” Smitherman said. “That puts you in a position to learn a lot about yourself. It also teaches the value of determination and perseverance, as well as the importance of sportsmanship.
“You learn that you can have a few bad holes and, if you keep your head in the game, you can still turn it around and have a great round. That’s a valuable lesson.”
Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman works with young golfers at a recent clinic at Highland Golf Course. (contributed)
For Smitherman, the First Tee experience — and the life lessons she learned from the program — came full circle with the relaunch of the Birmingham chapter in 2019. Then new to the city council, she immediately connected with the new organization as a volunteer. Her involvement has continued to grow, said First Tee’s Carter, noting that the councilor now serves on the board of directors, in addition to being a coach and advocate, among other things helping to ensure a discount for all youth players at the city-owned Highland and Roebuck courses.
“She has been integral to everything we’ve accomplished,” Carter said. “She continues to help us at all levels of what we do.”
Smitherman said that’s because what she learned at First Tee continues to apply in her career as an attorney and an elected official. She named several ways she has seen the value of the program demonstrated throughout her life.
“Having the mental toughness to find a way through challenging situations,” Smitherman said. “Respecting people as individuals, trying to understand their perspective while being honest and true to yourself. So many things that are helpful in the professional world, and that are tied to things I heard about at First Tee.
“It’s really about a lot more than hitting a golf ball.”