First Tee Champions Challenge Returns to Paradise

By Carson Racich

NAPLES, Fla. — Amidst the icy grip of winter, a tale of camaraderie and competition unfolds on the shores of the beautiful Paradise Coast. As snowflakes and temperatures fall up north, four First Tee Chapters converge with the First Tee Naples/Collier Chapter for the Golf to Paradise –

First Tee Champions Challenge in Naples, Florida.

Picture this: Two players from each chapter face off against their counterparts in a gripping showdown spanning three different styles of play mimicking a Ryder Cup Style format on three different courses in SWFL. [Tiburon Golf Club, Wyndemere Country Club, TwinEagles Club].

Participants tee off with an early morning start, engaging in a two-person scramble at Tiburon Golf Club. Each team meticulously crafted a game plan, all with the same goal of gaining an early advantage in the condensed format. However, the unforgiving nature of golf means that even minor errors can create a fall in standings.

Braden Miller, a participant from The First Tee of Naples/Collier, said “We set a goal for today, maybe it was a little too ambitious, but we will take two under and get to work tomorrow hoping to climb back up.”

It’s not all about birdies and bogeys. In true First Tee fashion by integrating the game of golf with life skills curriculum and infusing their nine core values, participants had the opportunity to trade in their golf clubs for a noble cause following round one's play.

Venturing to Jolly Bridge, participants and coaches immersed themselves in a community service project, joining forces to aid in hurricane relief efforts by clearing the mangroves of debris. At the forefront of this service project, Michael Sipos, from Collier Sea Grant, came out to direct and educate participants on the effects of the hurricane, types of debris and the benefits of small efforts making big impacts.

“This means the world to have these kids out here” emphasized Sipos. “We are here to teach them that as the new generation, we hope these skills of best practices targeting environmental sustainability stick with them so they do the right thing in the future.”

While some may see picking up trash as a chore, the First Tee participants and coaches were quick to get their gloves on so they could be the first to scale the rocks and climb through the mangroves in order to collect the most.

“Watching the kids gamifying the efforts by racing to see who could get the most trash was awesome” Sipos expressed. “We didn't just get a little, we got A LOT.”

Closing out the day, when the sun dipped behind the horizon and signaling the end of a day's battle and hard work, participants and coaches found solace and serenity on the gentle waves of the Naples-Princess Catamaran. A night of sailing allowed for a moment to reflect and decompress before another full day of play and activities.