Greenwood lady wins $5,000 at golf ball drop

 

story and photos by Joel Rafkin
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Pennies from heaven? How about $5,000 from a helicopter? Such was the case for Debbie Teale of Greenwood. A ball with her name on it landed closest to the hole in the Ultimate Golf Ball Drop on Saturday at the skills competition held at The First Tee of Fort Smith.

About 125 youth ages 3-18 participated in the culmination of the summer session of The First Tee’s program. The participants were divided into five age categories and showed off their skills in putting, chipping and driving. Each participant had three opportunities per event and score was kept. The top three scores per event and per age group received ribbons at the conclusion of the competition.

Burgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies and drinks were served at the end of the skills competition which lasted about two hours.

The First Tee raised $19,800 this year, a 10% increase over last year, from the sale of tickets at $10 each for the ball drop. The money is used to fund the organizations operations throughout the year said Monica McKinney, fund development coordinator. In addition, there were silent auction items and t-shirts for sale at the event.

The First Tee has five sessions per year — two in the summer, a fall and a spring. There is a $35 membership fee plus $25 per session. For $135 a child can play golf all year.

All equipment is provided. In addition to golf instruction, character development is accomplished through the integration of nine core values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgement.

"Typically people think golf and they think ‘expensive’ and we try to make it economical for everyone," McKinney said.