What am I getting my child into? By signing your child up for one of our programs, you are enrolling them in a Life Skills youth development program operated on the platform of golf.  The end goal of our efforts is to glorify and ingrain core values that apply to all facets of life.  Golf is a game of etiquette, respect, and self-confidence which makes it a tremendous teaching tool.  Every child enrolled in our program will be learning not just Golf Skills but Life Skills as well. Who will be teaching my child? The First Tee Louisville staff includes 3 PGA Golf Professionals, 5 Assistant Golf Professionals, 1 Youth Specialist from the Louisville Urban League, and numerous youth and adult volunteers.  For large groups and events, we will enlist the help of several other local PGA Pros and their Assistants.  All of our Golf Professionals are experienced in teaching both individual and group golf lessons and our program leaders have gone through specific program training through The First Tee National Office. Where will my child start? The First Tee has various levels that all the youth are encouraged to work through.  As they move through the levels, more privileges and responsibilities are attached to their title. We currently have youth in PLAYer, Par, Birdie, and Eagle groups. Every newcomer to the program will start by completing The First Tee’s PLAYer program.  This is a program written and designed by The First Tee National Office.  In this program, your child will learn basic etiquette and rules on the golf course, get some on-course experience, and learn fundamentals of the full swing, putting, chipping, and pitching. How will my child advance? When we are nearing the end of an 8 week session, those youth that have displayed proficiency in our lessons and activities will be given the option to complete an instructor-proctor evaluation.  The evaluation will cover the Life Skills as well as Golf Skills that we expect a member of the next level to comprehend and display.  If the youth performs within the expected standards, they will receive a Certificate of Completion and can be enrolled in the next group for their next 8 week session. How long should it take my child to advance through a program level? The First Tee National Office reports that the average time investment required to move through a program level from start to finish is 30 program hours.  In one 8 week session, a youth will receive 8 hours of program time.  That means that, on average, it should take three to four 8 week sessions for your child to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to advance.  Don’t allow yourself or your child to be discouraged because they have been in Par Level all summer long!  We will not teach the exact same program to them as we do to new-comers in the Par program.  The 2nd and 3rd session Par youth will get a modified curriculum geared towards helping them become proficient in the skills needed to advance to the Birdie Level. What if my child is already an experienced golfer? It’s not uncommon for our program to see a newcomer who is already a very skilled golfer.  While their golf skills may be on a much higher level than some other new participants, we will still require them to complete the evaluations for the entry level programs.  The reason for this is simple:  We are a Life Skills program.  We teach interpersonal skills as well as rules and etiquette that are every bit as important as Golf Skills.  It’s not uncommon for a high school player to join our program and in a single 8 week session, pass the evaluations and move onto the next level.  However, we will require them to complete the program in a normal setting rather than a “fast track”.  Perhaps the most important outcome of their involvement in a beginner program is the time they will spend as a role model for all the inexperienced golfers.  Peer leadership is an important component of our Eagle Level program.   Before our Eagle Level participants leave us for college, they are able to lead program groups on their own. When do the sessions start and how long do they last? We begin our programming in the beginning of April and we have sessions that end in the last week of October.  Our sessions meet one day a week for one hour and each session lasts eight weeks long.  You can miss up to three classes and after that we will ask you to sign up for another session because of the child being too far behind in the class to catch up Does my child need to bring golf clubs? No, we will supply the participants with clubs for the first three weeks.  On the fourth week on them showing up, we will supply the participants with clubs, bag, balls, tees and whatever is necessary to keep them playing golf !