First Tee – Monterey County equips young people with character, confidence, and academic skills for lifelong success, golf is the outdoor classroom.
Your MC Gives donation today powers tutoring, mentorship, and life-skills coaching for 11,370+ local kids and propels our goal of reaching 25,000 by 2029.
Children deserve brighter futures, regardless of their background.
Invest in their futures - give now.
Big Idea: Mobile Innovation Lab
First Tee Monterey County is hitting the road with a game-changing Big Idea: our proposed Mobile Innovation Lab will bring golf simulators, STEAM learning, and life skills directly to schools and neighborhoods across Monterey County. This mobile classroom delivers opportunity where it's needed most—especially in underserved areas where transportation is a barrier. This high-tech, mobile classroom-on-wheels empowers local youth to explore swing mechanics, physics, coding, and college prep in a fun, hands-on way.
Your donation powers access, equity, and inspiration by meeting kids where they are and helping them grow into confident, resilient Game Changers.
Join us in driving opportunity home, one neighborhood, one child, one future at a time.
First Tee Monterey County is more than a golf program, it’s a lifeline for youth in our most under-resourced communities. From Salinas to farm towns like Greenfield, Castroville, and King City, our coaches deliver safe after-school programs that build character, confidence, and hope. In the past year alone, we empowered over 11,370 youth at 28 program sites across Monterey County.
The vast majority of these participants come from low-income, predominantly Latino communities. In 2025 we plan to expand into more schools – including North County and the Monterey Peninsula – using our mobile “Tee Fleet” to reach rural youth. Participants have better school attendance and are almost twice as likely to meet or exceed academic standards as their peers.
They develop resilience and responsibility by giving back to their communities. By building brighter futures for these young people, we strengthen families and create safer communities across Monterey County.
I had such an amazing time as a participant, volunteer and eventual staff member at First Tee. I not only learned how to be a better golfer, but it helped prepare me to be successful in life and my career. First Tee equipped me with the necessary life skills to navigate personal and professional growth through a formative time of my life. I am grateful that a program like this exists in communities that truly need it the most. It is there to open doors and provide mentorship to participants who need this type of guidance and who otherwise wouldn’t know what kind of support is available to them.
- Reinel Pauline Nocon, Salinas, CA
