News Archives - First Tee – Premier départ Québec

First Tee – Quebec builds lasting impact at Golf Les Rivières

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Que. — Golf Les Rivières has become a hub for junior golf in Quebec since joining First Tee – Quebec in 2022, helping hundreds of young people learn the game while developing life skills.

The course, which features nine executive holes, a mini-putt course, a practice range and disc golf, now welcomes more than 80 unique participants annually through First Tee programming. For coaches, seeing familiar faces each season has become a point of pride.

“My greatest pride is seeing young participants come back every year,” said coach Audrey-Ann Comeau. “More than 50 per cent of the young people here this year are returning from last year, with over 60 per cent of them doing more than one activity.”

Maxime Charron / @UNconventionalGolf

Among those returning is 10-year-old Coralie Lemay, who joined First Tee four years ago. For her, golf has become more than a sport.

“I have been participating in the First Tee program for four years. Every year, the teachers teach us lots of things,” Lemay said. “I really enjoy going out on the course; that’s what I like best.”

Maxime Charron / @UNconventionalGolf

Her story reflects the program’s mission to make golf fun, accessible and community driven. At Golf Les Rivières, that mission comes to life through colourful, engaging games including Tic-Tac-Toe on the putting green, chipping into hula hoops, and football-inspired challenges on the driving range. These activities make learning the sport exciting while empowering participants to achieve goals on the course and make good choices off it.

“It’s really important for us to introduce youth to the First Tee program so that golf can be fun and accessible to everyone,” Comeau said. “For our sport to be healthy, we need to take care of the next generation. The most important shot is the next one.”

First Tee – Quebec continues to expand across the province with programming offered at clubs in Montréal, Lévis, Lac Saint-Jean, Gatineau, Rimouski, Val d’Or, Rouyn-Noranda, Grandy, Mirabel, Rive-Sud and Lanaudière, in addition to Trois-Rivières.

This summer, Golf Les Rivières hosted weekly classes from May through August, along with four weeks of day camps. By combining skill instruction with playful activities and character-building lessons, the program continues to grow stronger each year. Rising participant retention shows that youth across Quebec are not only learning golf — they are embracing it as a fun, meaningful sport that fosters values extending beyond the fairways.

To get involved with First Tee – Quebec, visit firstteequebec.ca/en/get-involved/.

Succesful Inaugural First Tee – Québec Cup

The inaugural First Tee – Québec Cup was hosted at the Royal Montreal Golf Club on June 27^th, 2022. It was a great day for golf and to gather in support of First Tee –Premier départ Québec, Golf Canada’s youth development program. With the generosity of sponsors, donors, and the 88 participants, $143,500 was raised to directly support the delivery of First Tee – Premier départ Québec programming across the province.

The winning foursome of the first, First Tee – Québec Cup included Kerry Goodleaf, Chris Lahache, Bart Goodleaf, and Shaun Starr. The team won by two strokes and shot 17 under to be crowned the champions.

First Tee – Premier départ Québec provides youth aged five to 18 with affordable access to learn fundamental golf skills while reinforcing the life skills and values learned through sport. Since launching in 2021, there are over 20 First Tee program locations across Québec delivered at golf facilities, schools, and community centres, with coach training specifically designed for each of these environments. First Tee engages equity-deserving communities and traditionally underrepresented groups in hopes of introducing the game of golf to children who otherwise may have not had the opportunity, and further evolving the sport to reflect multicultural Canada more closely.

It was quite fitting that the winning foursome represented Club 24, an athletic not-for-profit organization based out of Kahnawake. Club 24 was also launched last year and helps local athletes reach their true potential in competition, school, and life.

Club 24 will be running a two-week First Tee – Premier départ Québec camp sometime in the next eight weeks for about 10 to 15 golfers aged 10 to 15 years, said Kerry Goodleaf in the Kahnawake News.

This is what the event is about – bringing like-minded individuals together to support and empower the youth of Quebec to be the best version of themselves.

“We are grateful to all those who came out and supported our First Tee – Quebec Cup. It was amazing to build greater connections with people who share our goal of advocating for youth and enriching their lives through sport,” said Jeremy Proteau, Manager, First Tee – Premier départ Quebec. “First Tee is new to Canada, but we are growing fast. Our ability to expand and positively impact communities across the province is made possible through the generosity of our community, and this event was a testament to that support.”

For more information on how to get involved with First Tee – Quebec, or how to donate, visit https://firstteequebec.ca/en/

RBC Community Junior Golf supports First Tee – Canada and Youth on Course to build greater diversity and inclusivity in the sport

Today, RBC announced the first wave of publicly accessible golf courses selected to join RBC Community Junior Golf, a new initiative designed to build greater diversity and inclusivity in golf by creating affordable access to the sport for youth in underrepresented communities across Canada.

In partnership with Golf Canada, RBC Community Junior Golf will support the implementation of the First Tee – Canada and Youth on Course programs at municipal or publicly accessible golf courses, with the goal of engaging 15 facilities in 2022. The courses were selected based on accessibility to local public transit as well as proximity to community centres, with an intentional focus on regional and diverse representation.

By the end of 2023, RBC Community Junior Golf is expected to engage more than 10,000 young people by delivering free First Tee programming, which teaches life lessons through the game of golf, as well as $5 Youth on Course green fees to select Canadian courses across the country.

2022 RBC Community Junior Golf locations:

Archie’s Family Golf Centre – Cornwall, ON
Chedoke Golf Club – Hamilton, ON
Humber Valley Golf Course – Etobicoke, ON
Legends on the Niagara – Niagara, ON
Peel Village Golf Course – Brampton, ON
Tam O’Shanter Golf Course – Scarborough, ON
Walter Gretzky Municipal Golf Course – Brantford, ON
Whitewater Golf Club – Thunder Bay, ON
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Golf: Fraserview Golf Course – Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Golf: Queen Elizabeth Park Pitch and Putt – Vancouver, BC
Cedar Hill Golf Course – Victoria, BC
Club de Golf Municipal Dallaire – Rouyn-Noranda, QC
Club de Golf Les Rivières – Trois-Rivières, QC
Blomidon Golf and Country Club – Corner Brook, NL
Mill River Golf Course – Woodstock, PEI

“As a long-standing supporter of golf and an advocate for youth, RBC is proud to bring RBC Community Junior Golf to life,” said Shannon Cole, Vice President, Brand Marketing, RBC. “We believe that sport has the power to build character, teach valuable life lessons, and provide opportunities for young people to grow, and we are excited to work with Golf Canada to provide First Tee and Youth on Course programming across the country.”

Canadian youth ages five to 18 years can benefit from programming at one of the ten participating golf courses. RBC Community Junior Golf participating facilities will work with community centres or schools in their local area to register youth participants. For more details, visit the RBC Community Junior Golf website: https://www.golfcanada.ca/rbcjrgolf.

Golf Canada is grateful to have a like-minded partner in RBC with a shared intentional focus to increase access to junior golf, especially for youth from backgrounds that historically have been underserved.

“The enthusiasm from RBC to advance the sport and provide funding to introduce the game to a diverse range of young golfers at municipal and especially publicly accessible facilities has been extraordinary,” said Kevin Blue, Chief Sport Officer, Golf Canada. “RBC Community Junior Golf will accelerate the delivery of First Tee programming across the country and with RBC’s support, golf will be a vehicle to foster life skills and positively impact Canadian youth from all backgrounds.”

One of the important ways RBC brings its Purpose of helping clients thrive and communities prosper to life is by empowering young people. RBC Future Launch is the bank’s $500 million commitment to help Canadian youth prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, including $50 million in focused funding to create meaningful and transformative pathways to prosperity for 25,000 BIPOC youth by 2025. In addition, through the RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open tournaments, RBC has helped raise over $35 million in support of local charities in Canada and the United States.

To learn more about RBC Community Junior Golf in support of First Tee and Youth on Course, visit golfcanada.ca/rbcjrgolf.

Golf Canada Partners With First Tee to Establish First Tee – Canada

10 August 2020 – Oakville, Ontario

Golf Canada and First Tee announced today a new partnership to launch First Tee – Canada. First Tee’s Board Chairman, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, shared the news during a global announcement that Presidents Cup will return to Royal Montreal Golf Club in 2024.

Together, the partnership will bring First Tee’s youth development emphasis to strengthen Golf Canada’s junior golf activities – previously conducted under the Future Links brand – that reach kids in schools and at golf facilities. The innovative First Tee curriculum will focus on empowering young people to build their strength of character through the game of golf. Golf Canada will serve as the national headquarters of First Tee – Canada.

“Partnering with First Tee towards the 2021 launch of First Tee – Canada will provide Canadian youth and especially those in underrepresented groups access to affordable and meaningful character education programs through golf,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada have developed a strong foundation for junior golf programming over the past twenty plus years through Future Links. We are excited going forward to partner with the globally recognized First Tee brand and work collaboratively with the Golf Canada Foundation to strengthen our youth development activities.”

“Golf Canada has made a significant impact on the growth of the sport in Canada through their multi-faceted junior golf initiatives and was a natural fit for us to partner with the launch of First Tee – Canada,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO, First Tee. “Together, we will bring the First Tee youth development program nationwide and build on Golf Canada’s impressive grassroots success with programming that reaches kids via nearly 600 golf facilities and 4,100 participating schools.”

The PGA of Canada will play a leading role in the training of coaches who will serve as mentors to the kids and teens in the program. Coaches will help bring the curriculum to life by introducing youth to fun and active experiences that help them build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that can carry to everything they do.

“We are proud that PGA of Canada professionals will play an important role in utilizing golf to teach First Tee core values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, judgement and courtesy,” said Kevin Thistle, CEO of PGA of Canada. “We look forward to supporting the development of youth and junior golfers through the coaching and mentorship of PGA of Canada professionals in alignment with the National Coaching Certification Program.”

First Tee – Canada will target to launch multiple chapters in 2021 with a growth strategy to establish First Tee chapters in markets across Canada through 2023. The inaugural First Tee – Canada chapter launching in 2021 will be located in Victoria, British Columbia at the Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community which is also home to Golf Canada’s National Training Centre. This was made possible by the support of the Matthews and Kusumoto families. Dan Matthews is a global Trustee and a member of the Board of Governors of the First Tee and a member of the Board of Directors of the Golf Canada Foundation. A First Tee chapter in Quebec will also be launched shortly thereafter, continuing the incredible legacy of past Presidents Cups. With support from the Presidents Cup, First Tee has successfully launched global chapters in Australia (2019) and Korea (2015).

Through its deep network of donors and trustees, Golf Canada Foundation will be a critical partner in supporting the launch and advancement of First Tee – Canada through its fundraising and philanthropic efforts. Canada’s Provincial Golf Associations will also play a role in the advancement of First Tee – Canada as chapters begin to form in markets across Canada. In addition, Golf Canada will continue to work with the NGCOA Canada (National Golf Course Owner’s Association) and other key industry stakeholders towards a more inclusive golf experience for Canadian youth.

Since its inception in 1997, First Tee has impacted more than 15 million young people through its character-building programs on golf courses, in schools and at youth-serving locations.

The First Tee network has grown to over 150 chapters and more than 1,200 program locations across the United States as well as six international chapters—Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco and Canada—delivering programs that help young people build character and develop life skills through the game of golf. A First Tee chapter out of Vancouver is operating independently out of Vancouver, and previously out of Montreal, prior to the launch of First Tee – Canada.