Deere donates $1M to The First Tee

“At The First Tee, we rely on strong partners like John Deere Golf to help us carry out our ambitious efforts to reach 10 million additional young people between 2011 and 2017,” said Joe Louis Barrow, chief executive, The First Tee.

John Deere will donate $1 million over five years to The First Tee, further emphasizing Deere’s active commitment to the game of golf and the career development of professionals in the golf maintenance industry.

Besides supporting The First Tee network, funds will be used to create and launch a golf maintenance career-oriented youth development program, in conjunction with the PGA TOUR. Local chapters of The First Tee will partner with the Tour’s

Tournament Player Courses to provide the opportunity for high school-aged participants to learn about topics in agronomy and golf course maintenance careers.

“This donation will continue to help those kids enrich their lives throughout the U.S. in the game of golf and enlighten them on the opportunities within our industry,” Steve Vincent, John Deere Golf’s North American sales manager, said. “The intent of this is to reach out to over 10 million youth and help them learn the lesson of life.”

“We’re going beyond the game of golf to behind-the-scenes,” Mark Ford, John Deere’s strategic marketing manager, told Golfdom.