Oceanside Young Professionals Tour: Pro Kids

​On Thursday, September 20th,  the Oceanside Chamber’s young professional group, OYPN visited Pro Kids The First Tee of San Diego at their Oceanside campus located at 821 Douglas Drive. Pro Kids is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of local children through golf. CEO, Andrew Holets led the tour starting with the 4,400 square foot Ely Callaway Golf & Learning Center and the history of the program that started with a small group of volunteers and served as a model for the PGA’s The First Tee Program before becoming a charter member. We met with an educator to learn more about structure of her classroom and how she keeps her students on task before moving onto another room to discuss the scholarships Pro Kids has to offer.

Although members can participate in Pro Kids programs as soon as 7 years old, the support for members through renewable awards for college and beyond. We were surprised to learn that through their scholarship program, Pro Kids has donated more than $2 million in awards to 171 scholars to date. In addition to their those campus amenities, Pro Kids also offers a wide variety of books available to members in their library as well as a golf simulator and pollinator garden.

Andrew then led the group to their outdoor patio feature to talk about the nine core values which are prevalent throughout the program: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgement. The tour ended with a golf clinic from one of their PGA Certified instructors and open play on their TaylorMade Honors Course. 

​The Oceanside facility is open to Pro Kids’ members. The space including an outdoor patio and six-hole course is also available for special events and other public meetings. Please call (760) 547-8566 if you are interested in hosting an event at this site.