Spokane Golf Show features First Tee program for children

Bob Heck has been a part of the Spokane Golf Show for the past two years, conducting seminars and giving free swing tips.

But the PGA apprentice, who teaches out of The Creek at Qualchan Golf Course, will have much more invested in this year’s event, Saturday and Sunday at the Spokane Convention Center.

Heck is the Director of Golf and Instruction for The First Tee of the Inland Northwest, an upstart nonprofit organization devoted to using golf as a means of introducing children to life skills and what’s called The First Tee Nine Core Values.

As part of an agreement with promoters of the 2011 Spokane Golf Show, $1 of every paid admission to this year’s event will be donated to Heck’s chapter of The First Tee, which was accredited by the national franchise last September.

“This is suddenly a very important vehicle for us,” Heck said of the golf show. “People who come to golf shows are golfers, and a lot of them have children who are into golf, too.

“So this is a great way for us to get word out to the community about who we are and what we do.”

As part of his agreement with event promoters, Heck – along with hosting a couple of swing improvement demonstrations – will also conduct seminars at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday during which he will explain more about The First Tee program and how anyone who is interested can get involved.

Heck, who spent the last two years securing The Creek at Qualchan as a home course and lining up title sponsors for The First Tee of the Inland Northwest, equates his summer-long program to that of the Boys Scouts of America, where members progress to different levels of learning.

More details on Heck’s program, including 2011 session dates and fees, can be found at thefirstteeinlandnw.org.

According to Heck, The First Tee is targeted primarily at low-income and underprivileged kids, for which a scholarship program has been established.

“So while we do charge a nominal fee, we would never turn down a child for the inability to pay,” he said. “If someone struggles with the fee, we would just cover it out of our scholarship program.

“It doesn’t matter who they are, or where they come from, we want them to be able to be a part of The First Tee of the Inland Northwest.”

Heck would like to get as many as 500 participants in the local chapter’s first year of operation, but admits that might be a bit of a pipe dream.

“Realistically, if we could get 300 kids through the program, that would be fantastic,” he said.