This month, we partnered with Milwaukee High School of the Arts for a two-day golf clinic held right on their campus. Over the course of two days, more than 370 students rotated through hands-on instruction and skills stations, getting real time with clubs and learning the basics of a game many had never tried before. PE teacher Nate Beuttler helped coordinate the unit, and the energy across every session reflected just how hungry students were to engage with something new.
But we wanted to take it a step further.
Fifty students who stood out during the unit earned spots on an incentive field trip to Noyes Park Golf Course, home base for First Tee — Southeast Wisconsin programming. When the bus pulled in, students got right to work. They competed in putting contests, took cuts on the driving range, and then did something many of them had never done before: they walked onto a golf course and played a hole.
For some, it was a first swing on a real fairway. For others, it was the first time they’d ever set foot on a course at all. Watching students experience that, the mix of nerves, laughter, and genuine excitement, is a reminder of why outreach like this matters.
First Tee — Southeast Wisconsin is committed to bringing golf and its lessons to young people across our community, regardless of background or prior experience. Partnerships like the one with Milwaukee High School of the Arts are a direct extension of that mission. When we can bring the game into a school, and then bring students to the game, something real happens.
We’re grateful to MHSA and to every student who showed up ready to try something new. We hope to see some of them back on the course.