Giving a boost to First Tee

Eric Dobmeier said he learned more than how to accurately hit a golf ball during his two years in the First Tee of Charlottesville program.
The 18-year-old Charlottesville native said he learned patience and other skills that help him to now work with the program as a volunteer and teach other children how to play golf while learning valuable life skills.

The program, which uses the city’s golf course at McIntire Park, as well as private courses, is in danger of losing much needed practice space as officials make final plans to build the Meadowcreek Parkway.
“This program gave me self-motivation and I learned I could do anything I put my mind to,” said Dobmeier, who has had cystic fibrosis since he was an infant. “I will not let [my disease] affect my ability to do things. I’m keeping up and passing my friends.”
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that affects the body’s ability to move salt and water in and out of cells and causes the lungs and pancreas to secrete thick mucus. The median expected life span for a CF patient is 40 years.
This week, Dobmeier and other volunteers of the First Tee of Charlottesville program will host the first Taste of the Links event to raise money for the golfing program.

The event, which will showcase food and beverage selections from 20 businesses in the area and a silent auction, will be held at the Pavilion at Old Trail in Crozet. Tickets for the event are $50 per person and $90 per couple.
Money raised from the fundraiser will go to help fund the program that now reaches more than 400 children in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and surrounding areas, said Phillip Seay, director of the program.

‘More than a golfing program’

The program, which is also funded through the city parks department, is offered in four sessions a year. It costs $50 to $75 per session and scholarships are available.
“We are one of the core programs in the city’s recreation department,” Seay said. “But we’re more than a golfing program because we teach the kids life goals.”

Leah Sherlock has seen her 6-year-old son, Riley, thrive since starting the program this past summer. Riley has developmental problems that have made it a challenge to find extracurricular programs that were inclusive, Sherlock said.
“Not only has Riley been successful [in golfing], but his social skills have greatly improved,” Sherlock said. “I’m not a golfer personally, but the purpose of this program is to teach golfing while teaching the nine core values. I don’t know any other sport that does that.”
Those values – honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment — are taught during the golf lessons.
Sherlock, a local veterinarian, is donating a house veterinarian call to the silent auction Friday. She is concerned the Meadow-creek Parkway expansion will hurt the program’s ability to continue.
The construction of the parkway includes an estimated $32.5 million interchange at the U.S. 250 Bypass and McIntire Road that will take land from McIntire Park.
Supporters of the project say the interchange is needed to alleviate traffic on the U.S. 250 and Park Street. Those against the parkway say the project was illegally segmented into three parts instead of one to evade federal environmental protection laws and that the money should be used for other projects.

Par for the course

But for parents with children in the First Tee program, the thought of losing the golf course comes down to accessibility.
“The children are at risk of losing this valuable program that allows them to practice,” Sherlock said. “The benefits are so visible. When Riley has success like this it helps him in other areas of his life.”

Susan Saliba, whose 6-year-old son, Sami, has been in the program for almost a year, said she hopes the city can keep some of the golf course for public use. She said that without the public golf course her son and most other children would not be able to play golf outside of the program because most families cannot afford a private membership.
If land for the golf course has to be sacrificed for road expansion there could be a smaller golf course left intact, Saliba said.
“This expansive land is great, but there has to be a compromise,” Saliba said.
She would like city officials to consider a Par 3 course, which would be available for the children in the program to use and be more accessible to working people.

Seay, who has voiced his concerns over losing the golf course, said he feels confident city and state officials will work out a compromise that will leave most of the city golf course intact.
Although various private courses allow the program to use their facilities, the public course is regularly used for the youngest members.
“People understand that we need a place for kids to practice golf,” Seay said. “We’re no different from other sports in that we need a place to hold our programs.”