Jason Day, Justin Rose and Jim Furyk make a lot of cuts.So they’re usually pretty busy on the weekends.But along with their wives Ellie, Kate and Tabitha, respectively, and Blessings in a Backpack, they combined to feed nearly 7,000 students at 40 different schools across the country over weekends during the last school year.The support is not just financial. In many cases, they’re hands-on building community gardens, attending “backpack stuffing”events, as well as inviting students to the course or practice range. Blessings in a Backpack is a national 501(c)3 organization that, through an all-volunteer network, mobilizes communities, individuals and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry. They currently provide nearly 3.3 million hunger-free weekends to 88,000 children in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Golf course architect, Tripp Davis is back at his alma mater to rework the JimmieAustin Golf Course at the University of Oklahoma and enhance the school’s golf practice facilities. “Having played college golf and being part of a National Championship Team here at OU in the 1980’s, I am fortunate to have a unique insight into the college game and how golf teams come together to practice. The key is giving players the ability to practice in a realistic environment and experience real on-course situations,”Davis said. “It is taking variety in practice to another level beyond the typical practice range and short game area.”
Eleven acres of green space at Briscoe Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas will be converted into a 14-station golf practice range that includes putting greens, two bunker complexes and a portable classroom. The Fort Worth school district teamed with The First Tee on the project and expects the investment to garner returns in both academics and athletics. While The First Tee is responsible for the construction of the driving range, the Fort Worth school district is providing the land and will finance the portable building that will be used for classrooms. The range will be available to students at Briscoe and youth in the surrounding area. “I think that it’s a wonderful idea to give everyone the opportunity to play golf no matter what their financial situation,” Michael Matthews, a 17-year-old senior at nearby Brewer High School who lettered in golf after starting with The First Tee at age 8, told the Star Telegram.
