LAKELAND, Fla. - Former PGA Tour player Andy Bean has been named honorary chairman of The First Tee of Lakeland YMCA, which will be built on the site of a former par-3 course where Bean learned to play golf as a child.
The course was built by Publix SuperMarket Inc. founder George Jenkins to give his employees a place to play golf. The 18-hole par-3 closed last June.
Former LPGA Tour player Sherrin Smyers spearheaded the effort to bring a First Tee program to Lakeland. Her husband, architect Steve Smyers, is donating his design services to the project.
Sherrin Smyers is joined on the advisory committee by LPGA players Rachel Teske, Wendy Doolan and Michelle Ellis. Retired Florida Southern College golf coach Charley Matlock is also involved in the project.
Members of the community have pooled their efforts to make the First Tee facility a reality. Publix SuperMarkets is in the final stages of drafting a lease that will make the 25-acre parcel of land available for $1 a year for three five-year leases. City-owned Lakeland Electric Co. installed $125,000 worth of lights for the facility’s driving range and also donated $50,000 annually toward maintenance for the first five years.
Construction is expected to begin in the fall, with the facility opening in summer 2004.
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