By Sara Wright, Guest blogger, PGA TOUR
When the First Tee of Greater San Antonio first put clubs in the hands of the Diaz family about 15 years ago, there was no way to predict just how much the game would impact the family’s life.
Sara, the eldest of three children, her brother Adolfo, the middle sibling, and the youngest, Elsa, all learned to play golf with their dad through the program, but in the case of the Diaz siblings, their time with First Tee provided so much more.
While Sara was born in the U.S., she and her family moved to her mother’s native Mexico to grow up learning Spanish. About a decade later, the family returned to the U.S., with Sara, Adolfo and Elsa then needing to re-learn English. That’s where the First Tee program came in, allowing the siblings to not just learn the sport of golf, but perhaps more importantly to practice their English in a fun and supportive environment. Of course, Sara learned a lot more than that during her time in the First Tee program. She also learned important character development, goal setting, fundraising techniques, public speaking, essay writing and confidence to travel on her own.
When Sara qualified in 2008 for the prestigious Wal-Mart First Tee Open in Pebble Beach, the program’s top national opportunity, she was extremely lucky to have been paired with the legendary Tom Watson. If that wasn’t exciting enough, she was featured on the Golf Channel during the tournament and was awarded the Oroweat Healthy Minds Scholarship during a surprise press conference. She recalls that week as ‘truly unbelievable.’
In 2010, Sara was selected to be a junior reporter at the WGC-CA Championship in Doral, FL, where she worked for the first time inside of the PGA TOUR’s media center. Later in the fall, she was chosen to go to Walt Disney World in Orlando for a Future Leaders Forum. That same year, she was given another incredible opportunity to participate in a commercial with the great Jack Nicklaus for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Jupiter, FL., where she snuck in a putting lesson from the greatest golfer of all time.
After she graduated from the First Tee program as the first participant in the San Antonio chapter to complete the Ace-level certification, her opportunities with golf continued. Initially recruited to play golf at Texas A&M-Commerce, Sara progressed to the University of Richmond Division I program where she was offered a full scholarship for her Master’s degree and the opportunity compete alongside her younger sister in 2014. Needless to say, the Diaz sisters had a blast playing together – albeit for just a year – on the same team.
In 2017, she was asked to return as an alumnus to her favorite place, Pebble Beach, and share her experiences as a speaker for The First Tee Pure Insurance Legends and Leaders Dinner alongside Condoleezza Rice and Leon Panetta.
Even though Sara knew this sport would always play a huge part in her life, what she didn’t realize at the time, was that all of these experiences were preparing her for this current role at the PGA TOUR, where she now manages their multicultural marketing strategy. Hired in March 2019, she excels in positioning the TOUR brand in unexpected places and has helped produce and distribute content through a variety of different channels allowing golf to be portrayed in a new light to a larger demographic.
Sara helped in the success of the TOUR’s recently-launched Spanish Instagram page, @pgatouresp, where she hosted the eSeries Video Game Challenge in Spanish to show the behind-the-scenes of what goes on during the recording and reveal the personalities of our players in a casual setting.
Sara also had a huge part in adding to the new PGA TOUR and First Tee’s co-sponsored site, Links to Learning. With her help, this site, which was established shortly after schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to provide golf-centric educational material into homes, added a section for youth to learn Spanish and additionally, she worked with a team to translate the whole site to Spanish – https://www.pgatour.com/academia.html.
Most recently, Sara also had the honor of interviewing the Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, Jay Monahan and Harold Varner III on the return to golf and the current social injustice in our country. Check it out here: https://www.pgatour.com/video/2020/06/05/a-thoughtful-conversation-with-commissioner-monahan-and-varner-i.html
“Because of golf, I have met wonderful people from all walks of life and have opened my eyes to different lifestyles and perspectives,” she said. “I feel extremely lucky and appreciative of all the experiences the sport has provided me. I have been honored to help create awareness, address misconceptions and curate the onsite tournament experience so people from all ages, races and backgrounds can feel welcome and enjoy the sport that has been such a big part of my life.
My goal is to have multicultural initiatives interwoven into everything we do at the PGA TOUR,” Sara added. “I’m very excited for the future of this organization and how we can continue to connect with ALL of our fans!”
Positivity and perseverance have always been revered characteristics. This seems true now more than ever before. For most, regular day-to-day routines were flipped completely upside down during the COVID-19 pandemic. And it was a rapid change to the norm.
As the global health crisis took shape, most children saw their schools closed and their sports and after-school activities canceled. This inevitably included First Tee’s in-person programs, which were suspended for the unforeseeable future.
Many parents created a virtual learning environment for their children at home. While the lucky ones worked remotely, many faced layoffs as businesses closed their doors and unemployment rates skyrocketed. Our work-life balance shifted and even regular interactions with family and friends changed drastically almost overnight.
While some states begin to slowly reopen, the future is still unclear. Around the world, people and businesses are doing their part: helping others, spreading good news and simply reassuring each other with signs or messages of positivity that we WILL get through this. We will persevere.
Examples of golfers using perseverance and positivity are also plentiful, but the name that sticks out to us is one that we’ve heard frequently over the past year.
Photo courtesy of the PGA TOUR
She is not a professional golfer (at least not yet), but Amy Bockerstette, along with her iconic self-assurance and her “I got this” mentality, is a player who knows first-hand what it takes to persevere against all odds.
If you are one of the few who have not heard of ‘Amazing Amy’ yet, don’t worry. We got you. Watch this video released by the PGA TOUR about Amy and her viral moment with Gary Woodland in 2019 on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.
So, what can we learn from Amy? Well, her story is one that truly shows just how powerful positive attitude and self-talk can be.
“Amy’s energy, her love, her attitude was so contagious,” four-time PGA TOUR winner Woodland said. “I need more of that, and I think the world needs more of that. Her positive self-talk is stuff I’m still using to this day.”
Woodland credited Amy’s positivity and perseverance as a driving force to his U.S. Open victory that came a few months after he met her. So if it works for Gary and Amy, it can work for all of us.
Positive self-talk is an essential tool in perseverance.
Positive self-talk helps boost your confidence. This seems like a no-brainer, but studies have shown that positive self-talk is among the most efficient and effective means of increasing a person’s self-confidence. Many psychologists believe confidence is one of the primary prerequisites to personal and professional success.
In addition, it helps eliminates stress. According to the American Heart Association, positive self-talk can aid in controlling stress. As a result, it makes you feel calmer and less anxious, reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease and other physical ailments brought on by stress.
How can you practice positive self-talk?
Create a positive outcome in your head: Imagine a goal and how you will accomplish it. Once you keep this intent in mind, it becomes easier for you to accomplish and set out steps to achieve it.
Build on your accomplishments: This can be done in two parts. First, remember your previous accomplishments. These memories will make you feel good about yourself. Then, praise yourself when you achieve your new goals.
Repeated affirmations: Focus on regularly saying optimistic statements about yourself, your present endeavors or what goals you intend to accomplish. By repeating these affirmations, a person has a higher chance of recalling positive thoughts instead of negative ones.
One of the goals of First Tee is to better equip our children for whatever comes their way. With that in mind, we have provided a vision board activity to complete with your child at home.
A vision board is a physical representation of a goal or set of goals that you’re aiming to achieve. It is a collage of items that are meant to kick start their imagination and help visualize those goals with words of positivity and affirmation. Check out the project linked here on our new Links to Learning website.
With positive self-talk, we CAN persevere even through the most uncertain and trying of times. Remember, you’ve got this. (Now, just repeat that to yourself as often as it takes!)
Our character education programs aim to put youth on a path for success. First Tee Alumni continue to demonstrate this long-lasting impact by sharing their success stories. Owais Durrani is one such alum from First Tee of Greater Houston. Owais uncovered his self-confidence through First Tee and is now making a difference in his community.
Owais’ Story:
When Owais Durrani slips on his white doctor’s coat, he stands ready to help treat whatever illness or injury walks through the emergency room doors at UT Health in San Antonio. Currently finishing up his residency, Owais has quickly learned his profession is one that demands a lot – self-confidence, determination and resilience – characteristics he’s been building on since his time at First Tee.
“Life gets difficult and complex at times, but even the most challenging of circumstances boils down to a few basic principles – many of them included in First Tee’s values.”
During his time at First Tee of Greater Houston, Owais developed an interest in social issues and says First Tee gave him the confidence to pursue opportunities that he once didn’t see possible for himself as a first-generation American.
Owais received his dual-Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Political Science from the University of Texas. He took his passion up a notch by attending medical school. In his gap year, Owais interned at the White House under the Obama administration. He remained dedicated to learning about how to address health disparities, one of his life’s greatest passions.
Confident in his foundation, Owais is excited about his future giving back to underserved communities.
In 2010, Sara was selected to be a junior reporter at the WGC-CA Championship in Doral, FL, where she worked for the first time inside of the PGA TOUR’s media center. Later in the fall, she was chosen to go to Walt Disney World in Orlando for a Future Leaders Forum. That same year, she was given another incredible opportunity to participate in a commercial with the great Jack Nicklaus for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Jupiter, FL., where she snuck in a putting lesson from the greatest golfer of all time.
After she graduated from the First Tee program as the first participant in the San Antonio chapter to complete the Ace-level certification, her opportunities with golf continued. Initially recruited to play golf at Texas A&M-Commerce, Sara progressed to the University of Richmond Division I program where she was offered a full scholarship for her Master’s degree and the opportunity compete alongside her younger sister in 2014. Needless to say, the Diaz sisters had a blast playing together – albeit for just a year – on the same team.
In 2017, she was asked to return as an alumnus to her favorite place, Pebble Beach, and share her experiences as a speaker for The First Tee Pure Insurance Legends and Leaders Dinner alongside Condoleezza Rice and Leon Panetta.
Even though Sara knew this sport would always play a huge part in her life, what she didn’t realize at the time, was that all of these experiences were preparing her for this current role at the PGA TOUR, where she now manages their multicultural marketing strategy. Hired in March 2019, she excels in positioning the TOUR brand in unexpected places and has helped produce and distribute content through a variety of different channels allowing golf to be portrayed in a new light to a larger demographic.
Sara helped in the success of the TOUR’s recently-launched Spanish Instagram page, @pgatouresp, where she hosted the eSeries Video Game Challenge in Spanish to show the behind-the-scenes of what goes on during the recording and reveal the personalities of our players in a casual setting.
Sara also had a huge part in adding to the new PGA TOUR and First Tee’s co-sponsored site, Links to Learning. With her help, this site, which was established shortly after schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to provide golf-centric educational material into homes, added a section for youth to learn Spanish and additionally, she worked with a team to translate the whole site to Spanish – https://www.pgatour.com/academia.html.
Most recently, Sara also had the honor of interviewing the Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, Jay Monahan and Harold Varner III on the return to golf and the current social injustice in our country. Check it out here: https://www.pgatour.com/video/2020/06/05/a-thoughtful-conversation-with-commissioner-monahan-and-varner-i.html
“Because of golf, I have met wonderful people from all walks of life and have opened my eyes to different lifestyles and perspectives,” she said. “I feel extremely lucky and appreciative of all the experiences the sport has provided me. I have been honored to help create awareness, address misconceptions and curate the onsite tournament experience so people from all ages, races and backgrounds can feel welcome and enjoy the sport that has been such a big part of my life.
My goal is to have multicultural initiatives interwoven into everything we do at the PGA TOUR,” Sara added. “I’m very excited for the future of this organization and how we can continue to connect with ALL of our fans!” 
