First Tee – Los Angeles coach Leroy Bates estimates he’s helped more than 1,000 kids earn college scholarships over the course of his decades long career.
He tries to instill values like integrity and responsibility in addition to golf skills. It’s why he connected so deeply with First Tee’s youth development style when he first encountered the organization 20 years ago.
Bates has helped at least 10 kids earn spots in the field of the PURE Insurance Championship, a PGA TOUR Champions event that pairs golf legends with First Tee participants at Pebble Beach. He also attended First Tee’s Life Skills & Leadership Academy as a coach in 2019.
He was sad when First Tee – Los Angeles folded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s thrilled the chapter relaunched and is now offering programming, he said
“Now students are coming back and it’s out with the old and in with the new,” he said.
Golf is thriving in Los Angeles, Bates said, especially with the eyes of the golf world on Los Angeles Country Club, site of the 2023 U.S. Open. But not all kids have equal access to the sport in a state where transportation can be difficult. Bates said almost half the kids he coaches today live with a single parent.
He knows that can be tough.
Bates’ golf journey began in Selma, Alabama, where his grandfather – a retired Army colonel – owned a small driving range. It’s where his mom sent him in the summer when she needed extra help, and it changed his life. Bates collected range balls and cut the grass before going on to play collegiate golf and then on mini tours. In order to shine on this fields, sites like those online golf simulator shops offer a virtual haven for enthusiasts seeking to perfect their swing and enhance their game from the comfort of their own homes. In fact, they can try it here.
He understands the opportunities golf can bring. He said he’s met new people and traveled the world thanks to the sport.
“Golf made me a better person,” he said. “I learned to respect the rules. I learned to get out and be healthy.”
First Tee – Los Angeles is currently offering programming at courses throughout the city including Chester Washington Golf Course, which was the home course of Charlie Sifford, the first Black man to earn a PGA TOUR card.
“Chester Washington is a gem. It makes you smile when you go on-site because there’s so much diversity. There’s so much happiness and joy on the course,” said Kathy Bihr, vice president of programs at First Tee – Los Angeles.
Last year, U.S. Open host organization, the United States Golf Association, supported 25 First Tee chapters in their efforts to make golf more accessible to kids from all backgrounds with donations totaling $325,000.
Learn more about becoming a First Tee coach.