The First Tee of Fort Worth, a nonprofit youth development organization, will build a golf practice facility at Edward J. Briscoe Elementary School, located at 2751 Yuma Ave. in the Morningside neighborhood.
The First Tee received approval June 28 from the Fort Worth ISD Board of Education to lease a portion of land on 12 acres located behind the school for the facility, the first of its kind in Fort Worth.
The new golf facility will include an area for a 14-bay practice range, a short game area with sand bunker and putting and chipping greens, and a modular classroom building.
The project is the result of a partnership between The Rainwater Foundation as a part of its current Morningside Children’s Partnership, the First Tee of Fort Worth, the Fort Worth ISD and other community partners.
In addition to teaching the sport of golf, the First Tee will use the facility to provide youth living in Morningside community access to its nationally recognized life skills curriculum, which teaches youth interpersonal skills, self-management skills, goal-setting skills and resiliency skills to help them better manage situations at school, home and in various other out-of-school activities. Golf provides an opportunity for them to learn a sport that relies on the player’s individual character and ethical behavior in order to be successful.
The First Tee will deliver its character education program, The Nine Core Values, along with The First Tee Nine Healthy Habits, which were created through a collaboration between the First Tee, ANNIKA Foundation and Florida Hospital for Children to promote healthy, active lifestyles for young people.
“We are excited to be able to partner with the Morningside Children’s Partnership in their very important work supporting the young people throughout the Fort Worth community” said Kevin Long, executive director of the First Tee of Fort Worth. “We are also excited about delivering our program throughout Fort Worth ISD and continuing to build bridges to successful futures for the youth of our community.”