the original site of the former Tucson Open, and the site where the legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias qualified for that tournament and tied for 42nd place. Well-regarded course
architect Ken Kavanagh handled the course renovation, also creating a three-hole course within the driving range for First Tee, and is among many notables in the golf community who have supported the program. Among them are tour
pro Don Pooley and Laura Ianello, coach of the Arizona Wildcats’ reigning national championship women’s team, who serve on the First Tee board of directors. “We have a wonderful
board, and when you have people like Don and Laura supporting you and doing whatever they can to help, it makes a huge difference,” McDermott said. “It’s all about the kids and they embrace that. It means so much to us.” Landyn Lewis, a PGA-
sanctioned pro and former assistant at Tucson National, is nearing the end of his second year as program director. He and participant and volunteer services director Vicky Gonzalez form the two-person team that keeps the program running and expanding. The Forty Niner Club
recently became the seventh First Tee site, joining a list that includes El Rio, Sewailo, Rolling Hills, Country Club of Green Valley, Crooked Tree and Randolph Park. At just 26, Lewis says
he can relate well to the youngsters in the program and is all-in with his job as director after serving as a volunteer coach while he was working at Tucson National. “When this position
became available, I jumped at it and it has been the best
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decision I’ve ever made,” said Lewis, a Tucson native who played at Pima College. “Anytime I think I might be having a tough day, I just start interacting with the kids, taking them out on the course and trying to make it known that I am there for them, and for more than just to learn about golf. It has been so rewarding. “We’re not trying to build
the next Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam. We’re more focused on trying to build the next great citizen. Golf just happens to be the vehicle for doing that, and we are getting support from all corners of the Tucson area.” The program has absorbed
the longstanding Ricki Rarick summer junior golf program, Southern Arizona Junior Golf and the PGA Junior League. It also works closely with the JGAA and the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, and touches many more kids through its public schools outreach and Boys & Girls
No one is prouder of these kids participating in The First Tee of Tucson than the driving force behind the program, the Tucson Conquistadores. That includes Judy McDermott (shown here), the executive director of Conquistadores, a civic organization that also funds the program through its involvement with the PGA Tour and, ultimately, its Cologuard Classic of Tucson, which is part of the Champions Tour.
Clubs, and receives support from the UofA golf teams. There are about 1,000 kids
registered as part of the First Tee full-time curriculum, but McDermott estimates that about 50,000 are exposed to golf through other efforts. The expansion has created
a need for more volunteer coaches and, McDermott
pointed out, that includes people with limited or no knowledge of golf. “What we’re really doing
is mentoring,” she said. “It might even be just teaching in our computer lab, which has nothing to do with the golf swing. It has to do with learning life skills, and that’s what we’re all about.” n
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FIRST TEE OF TUCSON
FIRST TEE OF TUCSON
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