First Tee Week 2026 is in the books, and we are still feeling the energy from everything that happened May 23-30. This year’s theme, “Dear Coach,” gave us an opportunity to do something we do not do enough: stop and say thank you to the coaches who make this program possible.
Here is a look at everything we were up to.
The Dear Coach Campaign
At the center of this year’s First Tee Week was our Dear Coach campaign. We mailed cardstock signs to select families across our program locations and invited them to record short video messages for their coaches for a chance to share, in their own words, what those relationships have meant to them.
The videos families sent back were moving. Throughout the week, we shared them on social media, and the response from our community was everything we hoped it would be. These coaches pour so much of themselves into this program, and it was meaningful to give participants and families a platform to honor that.
Media Features
First Tee Week also brought some great opportunities to share our story with the broader Wisconsin golf community.
David Cohn, CEO, joined Stephen Watson and Gabe Neitzel on the On the Tee podcast to talk about First Tee Week and the impact our coaches have on young people in Southeast Wisconsin. Listen to the episode here.
Tom Gerke, Program Director, and Wyatt O’Loughlin, Operations Coordinator, also stopped by the Tory Lowe Show to talk about the week, our summer programming, and how families can get connected with First Tee — Southeast Wisconsin. Listen to the episode here.
Wyatt O’Loughlin also joined Garbedian on Golf to talk about First Tee Week and what the program means to the Southeast Wisconsin community. Listen to the episode here.
We were featured in a wisconsin.golf article highlighting the real impact that coaches have on program participants. Read the full article here to learn more about how our community builds game changers.
We are grateful for each of these opportunities to get our mission in front of new audiences.
Brewers Game Outing
To wrap up the week, we took our families to American Family Field for a Milwaukee Brewers game. The evening started with a tailgate and ended with a lot of smiles. It was the perfect chance to bring coaches, families, and participants together outside of the program setting and just enjoy being around each other.
Thank you to everyone who participated, shared, showed up, and cheered us on during First Tee Week 2026. This program exists because of this community, and weeks like this one are a reminder of that.
See you at summer programming!